Mercator Lecture:
Can AI Learn Tong通? Subtle Proximity and a Dao-Based Model of Intelligence
Robin R. Wang is Professor of Philosophy at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles and is currently a Visiting Professor at the Center for Science and Thought. Her teaching and research focus on Chinese and Comparative Philosophy, particularly Daoist philosophy, as well as the intersections of women and gender in Chinese thought and culture.
This talk introduces the Dui–Tong Problem—the divergence between correctness (對dui) and relational responsiveness (通tong). Drawing on the Zhuangzi, it develops Subtle Proximity as a Dao-based logic of continual relational repositioning for navigating this tension. The framework is articulated through five theses and five Daoist epistemic virtues, offering an alternative model of intelligence beyond prediction, calculation, and control.
You can either join us in person at the CST or online. For further information please visit our website.
Please register via e-mail at: c.luettgens@uni-bonn.de
Location and Date
Wednesday, July 1, 2026
4:00 - 6:00 pm
Center for Science and Thought
Konrad-Zuse-Platz 1-3
53227 Bonn
Desirable Digitalisation: Rethinking AI for Just and Sustainable Futures
Our research program is a collaboration between the Universities of Cambridge and Bonn and numerous international partners, and is funded by the Mercator Foundation in Germany.
We investigate how to design AI (artificial intelligence) and other digital technologies in a responsible way, placing the questions of social justice and environmental sustainability at the very heart of our work.
Contact and Organisation
Christiane Schäfer
University of Bonn, Center for Science and Thought, Institute of Philosophy, Konrad-Zuse-Platz 1-3
53227 Bonn