François Jullien's 'Un sage est sans idée' Challenges Western Thought

François Jullien, president of the Collège international de philosophie, has published his latest essay 'Un sage est sans idée' (A Sage Is Without Idea). The work continues his long-standing project of juxtaposing Western philosophical traditions with Chinese wisdom, as seen in his previous books 'Éloge de la fadeur', 'Figures de l'immanence', 'Le Détour et l'Accès', and 'Traité de l'efficacité'. In this new essay, Jullien argues that originality is a value specific to Western speculative thought, whereas Chinese wisdom embraces banality. He discusses the possibility of a morality of regulation and the potential confrontation between wisdom and science. The publication offers a framework for 'depayser la pensée'—disorienting thought to expand it beyond its own boundaries.