Guyu Zhu

Hometown: Beijing

Fall 2020 – present

PhD in Philosophy

FSU Legacy Fellowship

Educational/Professional Background

I obtained my Bachelor of Arts degree at Bates College, a liberal arts college in Maine. There, I double-majored in Philosophy and Mathematics, and minored in German.

Then, I went to the University of Chicago for a Master of Arts degree. At the University of Chicago, I focused my study on Philosophy.

Research and Teaching Interests, or Professional Field

I am primarily interested in contemporary philosophical issues in epistemology and metaphysics. My research has been revolved around notions in philosophy of mind and action such as action, activity, ability, agency and subjectivity.

In metaphysics, I think about the relationship between activity and ability/disposition/capacity/power. In particular, whether there is a species of powers that is active in contrast to those powers or dispositions that are merely passive (e.g. the fragility of a glass)? Is there any significant difference between powers that are rational and the powers that are non-rational? What is it to exercise a power or ability? How to articulate the relationship between the exercise of a power and the power itself?

In epistemology, I think about the relation between the agent's self-understanding of what she is doing and the reality of her action, where 'action' is on a very broad register including things that we say we can do that don't necessarily involve bodily movements, for example, making a judgment. In more abstract terms, I am interested in a species of knowledge named ""self knowledge"" and a species of knowledge named ""practical knowledge"", as well as their significance to knowledge as such, i.e., the unity of knowledge.

I also have side, historical interests in Aristotle and Kant. In the Aristotelian corpus, I have read articles and books on his energeia-dunamis distinction,  the notion of a dunamis meta logou, the kinesis-praxis distinction, his notion of phronesis, hylomorphism, etc. Among Kant's works, I am interested in his writings on reason, rationality and the power of judgment.

Future Plans/Aspirations

From the aspect of professional plan, I wish to become a university philosophy professor.

In terms of philosophical aspiration, I wish to work on the project of the unity of knowledge as well as the project that articulates the harmony of thought and reality.