Are you thinking about studying Philosophy (60 EC)? Learn more and watch the introduction video.

Are you thinking about studying Philosophy (120 EC)? Learn more and watch the introduction video.

This study examines the mutual intelligibility between all 225 pairs of 15 Chinese dialects, in two main branches, i.e., six Mandarin dialects and nine non-Mandarin (Southern) dialects.

Philosophy of law is concerned with the the foundations of law.

China is a one-party regime, yet elections are held for the local congresses. PhD candidate Wang Zhongyuan investigated how the Communist Party uses this democratic instrument to strengthen the authoritarian regime. PhD defence 31 January.

An overview of Professional Associations and Journals

The master's programme in Philosophy: Moral and Political Philosophy at Leiden University offers an excellent opportunity to explore fundamental issues in moral and political philosophy.

This study presents the first systematic investigation and detailed theoretical analysis of the temporal interpretations of sentences with bare (aspectually unmarked) predicates in Mandarin.

This Global and Comparative Philosophy master’s programme is unique in Europe. It offers comparative perspectives from around the world that will enable you to be part of the next generation of thinkers: someone studying and shaping philosophy for a globalised 21st century.

The Leiden Centre for Continental Philosophy (LCCP) is a research community based at the Institute for Philosophy at Leiden University. LCCP is envisaged as an open space for stimulating discussion, critical debate and inventive co-operation in the local and international philosophical community. We…

Today, knowledge is the most crucial element to stimulate organizational competitiveness and economic development.

This project proposes to connect two discourses highly present in contemporary literary criticism in China, as well as on the world literary scene and academic circles: the discussion on emigration literature and the concept of ‘essayness’ derived mainly from (post)modern Western theories of the ess…

This project is a three-year collaborative research between European and Chinese researchers (2015-2018). As a part of the China-Europe “Understanding Population Change” Collaborative Research Initiative, the project utilizes multidisciplinary research methodologies (social and cultural anthropology,…

In what way is constructivist logic able to account for both the role of the judging agent in inference and the universal claims of logical validity?

Daniel Stumm defended his thesis on 16 April 2020.

This project aims to situate the current policy concept of ‘valorization of scientific knowledge’ in historical and epistemological perspectives. Conceptual understanding of the utility of scientific practices is developed in dialogue with historical analyses of the politics of knowledge in European…

In this dissertation, Boethius’ mathematics and logic and their roles in philosophy are reassessed, and on the basis of these, the connections between mathematics and logic in Boethius and their applications to theological or philosophical topics are explored.

Chinese materia medica (CMM), comprising a diverse array of natural substances from plants, animals, and minerals, has been integral to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) throughout history. This study investigates the dynamic evolution of CMM, noting shifts in species for improved therapeutic effects…

Associates of Leiden University Center for Intercultural Philosophy

This dissertation is a study of the view of the Neoplatonist Proclus (Athens, 411-485) on to what extent and how the changing and unreliable world of sense perception can itself be an object of scientific knowledge.

Assesses the importance of Merleau-Ponty to current and ongoing concerns in contemporary philosophy.

Education in (Chinese) Medicinal Plants associated to the Hortus botanicus in Leiden - Which Traditional Chinese Medicinal plants can be grown in the Hortus? - Establishing of a database which Chinese medical plants are available in Dutch Botanical Gardens - Data validation (correct identification,…

While Nietzsche's works and ideas are relevant across the many branches of philosophy, the themes of contest and conflict have been mostly overlooked. Conflict and Contest in Nietzsche's Philosophy redresses this situation, arguing for the importance of these issues throughout Nietzsche's work.

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If you want to maintain a valid penal system, you have to continue to ask the big questions on punishment. Why do we punish people? What is permissible for the government and what is not? Philosopher of Law Jeroen ten Voorde examines these kinds of questions and keeps his academic colleagues and the…

This master’s programme introduces the student to philosophical issues arising at the intersection of law, politics, and policy. This master’s programme is meant for students who wish to combine a master’s in Law, Political Science, Public Administration, or an adjacent discipline with a master’s in…

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What is a good data protection law? How does a good data protection law evolve? Is European data protection law a good one? And whether the European data protection applicable to China?

On the 4th of June, Menghui Shi successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Menghui Shi on this achievement!

How such did the traditional text of the Sinews Transformation Classic remain interesting to a changing readership?

The project focusses on how US views of the Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia influenced its strategic interpretations of the region. Being eleven million strong, dispersed across the region and sharing ethnic ties with Communist China, interpretations of the diaspora intersected with key Cold War…

How can party bans be justified? Which parties were banned in post-war Europe – and why? Do militant democracy instruments work? Is an international militant democracy concept in the making?

This thesis investigates the processing of words written in Japanese kanji and Chinese hànzì, i.e. logographic scripts.

How and to what extent the historic house (re-)constructs identity through image-making in China.

Can we establish a new quality control system for herbal medicines that is based on bioactivity rather than a few abundant chemicals?

This project employs a systematic experimental approach to examine the interaction of these two hitherto independent lines of research (tone sandhi and focus realization) in six dialects of Chinese, which lie on a continuum between dialects with dense tonal distributions and sparser distributions. In…

‘Visibility and secrecy are both valuable tactics and should not be antagonized in LGBT movements, ’ says Jingshu Zhu. Zhu defended her dissertation on Wednesday 21 February.

The Institute for Philosophy at Leiden University is host to the NWO programme,

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