Edward Slingerland
contemporaryComparative Philosophy, Cognitive Science of Religionb. 1969
Edward Slingerland is a professor of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia and a leading scholar of early Chinese thought and cognitive science. He is best known for his interdisciplinary work bridging classical Chinese philosophy with embodied cognition, conceptual metaphor theory, and the science of spontaneity. His translations and commentaries on texts like the Analects and works by Xunzi and Mencius have shaped contemporary Anglophone engagement with Confucian ethics.
Notable Achievements
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Developed an influential interdisciplinary framework applying cognitive science and conceptual metaphor theory to early Chinese philosophical texts
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Authored a widely used scholarly translation and commentary of the Analects of Confucius (2003)
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Wrote 'Effortless Action' (2003), a landmark study of wu-wei across early Chinese traditions including Confucian, Daoist, and Legalist texts
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Authored 'Trying Not to Try' (2014), bringing early Chinese concepts of spontaneity to a broad audience via evolutionary psychology and neuroscience
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