In Meditation of a Small State: Joshua Wen-Kwei Liao (廖文奎, 1905-1952) And His Reflection on Statehood

In this dissertation project, I will study the intellectual history (Ideengeschichte) of Joshua Wen-Kwei Liao (廖文奎, 14 November 1905–25 June 1952). Joshua Wen-Kwei Liao was a founding theorist of post-war Taiwan independence, however, his multifaceted social and political thought was the primary concern of my research.

Joshua Wen-Kwei Liao was the first Taiwanese doctor of philosophy in the United States. He studied at the University of Chicago under the guidance of the pragmatists George Herbert Mead (1863-1931), Edwin Arthur Burtt (1892-1989), and James Hayden Tufts (1862-1942). His publication The Individual and the Community (1933), was selected by the British publisher Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co to be included in the International Library of Psychology, Philosophy and Scientific Method. In addition to American Pragmatism, Joshua Wen-Kwei Liao’s thought system entailed Neo-Confucianism, Sun Yat-sen’s political doctrines, life philosophy, and behaviorism of social sciences. His numerous publications included The Individual and the Community (1933), Studies in the Philosophy of Life (人生哲學之研究, 1936) and Comparison of Civic Training (比較公民訓練, 1936), and translations of A Discourse on Political Psychology (政治心理論, 1937) and Complete Works of Han Fei Tzu: A Classic of Chinese Political Science (vol. I, 1937; vol. II, 1959). The different intellectual trends of Joshua Wen-Kwei Liao’s political and social thought formulated how intellectuals consolidated community-building.

In addition to his intellectual writings, Joshua Wen-Kwei Liao’s political writings Quo Vadis Formosa (1946) and Imperialism vs Nationalism in Formosa (1947), and Formosa Speaks (1950) put emphasis on the self-determination of Taiwanese people and the undetermined status quo of Taiwan sovereignty. Although the secondary literature focused on the identity ambivalence of Chinese and Taiwanese of Joshua Wen-Kwei Liao, this dissertation project focuses on the consistent and vehement reflection on statehood and how Joshua Wen-Kwei Liao formulated his ideal statehood of western liberalism and eastern Neo- Confucianism.

In this dissertation project, I will systemize the multifaceted political and social philosophy of Joshua Wen-Kwei Liao while studying his biographical sketch. Joshua Wen-Kwei Liao shared western and eastern intellectual traditions while holding liberal and nationalistic characteristics.

Keyword Taiwanese philosophy, Taiwanese history, intellectual history, pragmatism, Neo-Confucianism, Sun Yat-sen’s political doctrines.