Sydney Morrow

Sydney Morrow received her Ph.D. from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in Spring 2018. Her dissertation is titled “A Comparative Study of ‘Existential Destitution’ in Pre-Qin Chinese Philosophy and Karl Jaspers in the Context of Homelessness in Hawaiʻi”. In it, she uses a comparative approach to formulate a methodology and application of place-based philosophy. Drawing from resources in classical and modern Chinese philosophy, she draws out themes related to hardship, dire circumstances, and personal cultivation in the face of each. She believes that philosophy ought to be concerned with contemporary problems, and that analysis of these pressing issues is best done in contextualized and localized ways.

Her research interests include Pre-Qin and Han Chinese Philosophy, 20^th Century Chinese Philosophy, 20^thCentury European Existentialism, Environmental and Agricultural Ethics, Applied and Place-based Philosophy, Comparative and Cross-Cultural Philosophy, and Homelessness Studies.

Her current writing projects include:

• “Engaging Fei Xiaotong’s Societal Inclusivity in an Age of Isolationism”
• “Penniless but not Poor: Forming a Theory of Existential Poverty Using Resources from Classical Chinese Philosophy and Simone Weil”
• “Exhausting Future Possibilities: The Liberated Philosophy of Jin Yuelin and Engagement in Preferred Futures”

Teaching

Sydney has experience teaching history of Western philosophies, ethics, and logic, along with specialized courses in Chinese philosophy.