Quick Links to Research | Teaching | Curriculum Vitae |

Areas of Specialization: Metaphysics (in both analytic philosophy and classical Chinese philosophy)

Areas of Competence: Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Religion, Ethics (esp. in classical Chinese philosophy)

I am an assistant professor of philosophy and CLAS-Honors preceptor of philosophy, jointly appointed by the philosophy department and the Honors college at the University of Maine.

Before UMaine, I was a Future Faculty Teaching Fellow in the Department of Philosophy, Religion, and Classics at Butler University in 2017-2018.

I received my PhD in philosophy with a minor in the history and philosophy of science from Indiana University, Bloomington in 2018.

Before Indiana, I received my MA in philosophy (ethics concentration), BA in philosophy, and BA in economics (dual degree) from Peking University in Beijing, China.

Before PKU, I grew up in Weifang in Shandong Provice in China.

My primary research area is metaphysics. I think and write on topics in metaphysics and in the overlap between metaphysics and philosophy of language in the analytic-philosophical style by engaging with theoretical resources in various philosophical traditions. Topics that I am especially interested in include metaphysical anti-realism, truthmaking, and metaphysical explanation.

At UMaine, I regularly teach a wide range of philosophy courses, including Introduction to Philosophy, Classical Chinese Philsophy, Formal Logic, History of Modern Philosophy, and Metaphysics. I also regularly lead preceptorials and give guest lectures in the "Great Books" program in the Honors college.

Part of what I do as a philosopher belongs to what I call "experimental" philosophy, in the same sense as "experimental" art or music rather than "experimental" sciences. Unsurprisingly, like experimental stuff in other areas, some of my experimental works are disliked, criticized, and to some extent oppressed by those who have strong opinions about how philosophy (Chinese or "Western") should be done. But, instead of being a Ruist clerk, a Buddhist monk, or a logical geek, I would rather be a Daoist punk. Punk never dies!

Outside of philosophy, I like avant-garde art (film, music, etc.), watching sports, playing basketball, and cooking for and hiking with my family.