MPhil Student

I’m Nanyun, an MPhil student at the philosophy department of Lingnan University. Before Lingnan, I obtained my BA in philosophy from New York University. My current research interests include philosophy of art (literature in specific) and aesthetics.

The philosophical issues in these two areas that interest me the most lie in the aesthetic cognitivism debate, which asks two questions: 1. Does literature (and perhaps art in general) bear any cognitive value? 2. If it does, does such cognitive value make it better literature? I believe we can hope for a positive answer to the first question, but the second question can get a lot more convoluted — in any case, contemplating these issues would be intellectually beneficial for everyone in guiding our ways of life in a pan-entertaining social context.

In my leisure time, literature, TV series, and video games are three of my favorite ways of entertainment. These hobbies can partially explain how I got interested in the philosophical problems I am dealing with in the current state.