BRIEF INTRODUCTION
Previously, I spent most of my research time on the philosophy of mind and language, and cognitive linguistics. Years ago, I picked up political philosophy again, and began to rethink what sort of philosophy I should engage in, or develop, given today’s epistemic and political situation. Let me briefly summarize what I have gradually come to perceive. Taiwan is a young democracy, and has begun to face problems of value conflict and socially divisive political disagreement. One conspicuous problem is that, on public and political issues, people who uphold different values are losing patience over how to reason with one another. There are several reasons that led to this problematic situation. One of the reasons, I think, is philosophical. At the risk of oversimplification, it may briefly be characterized as follows: When people frame the contested issues differently, especially when their viewpoints are radically different from one another, one party’s reason may not count as a reason at all from another party’s point of view, and the barriers to mutual understanding seem insurmountable. The problem just described is not unique to Taiwan. It’s become a worldwide phenomenon. It is worth reminding that philosophers are in the same quagmire, even if they frame their ideas and formulate them in highly elaborate ways. Moreover, philosophy as an academic discipline has been swarming with theories. Any parties involved in deep disagreements, or caught up in some irresolvable value conflicts, can back their positions with reasoned arguments and, like it or not, summon reinforcements from philosophical theories available on the “philosophy market.” I proposed a way of doing philosophy, which I called “civil philosophy,” to tackle the aforementioned difficult problem. My book, which is written in Chinese and entitled “Civil Philosophy,” （公民哲學） is ready to be published.
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