Amy Olberding

My research is largely concentrated on the ethical aspects of ordinary life, especially as these feature as prominent concerns in early Confucianism. My most recent book, The Wrong of Rudeness, considers just what might tempt us to rudeness and incivility, and reflects on the moral, social, and political reasons we shouldn’t be easy and free with rudeness and incivility. In addition to the everyday ethics of interpersonal interactions, I am interested in how role models, or exemplars, work to inform both moral learning and abstract moral reasoning. Some of my work seeks to examine early Confucian sources and their robustly emulation based orientation, seeking to frame early Chinese moral discourse with reference to exemplars. Finally, I am interested in early Chinese debates about death, grief, and mourning, especially as these offer novel perspectives not commonly found in western-lineage philosophical tradition.

My personal website can be found here: https://www.amyolberding.net