The symposium, "The Relevance of Chinese Philosophy Today," presented by the Student Philosophy Society in association with Northridge's Department of Philosophy, will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. in the University Corporation Special Events Room on the second floor of the Sierra Center on the west side of the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St., in Northridge.

Manyul Im, a philosophy professor at Cal State Los Angeles, will explore the legacy of conflict between personal moral duties and political activism in Chinese philosophy during his talk, "Confucianism: Virtue, Choice and Civil Service."

The conflict, Im says, has produced, in contemporary Confucian cultures, a reluctance among citizens to live publicly visible, political lives. Such reluctance, he will argue, is detrimental to the interests of the Asian Diaspora and, in particular, to Asian-American communities.

Im was born in South Korea and has lived in the United States since 1972. He received his bachelor's in philosophy from U.C. Berkeley and his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Chenyang Li, a professor of philosophy at Central Washington University, will take on the topic "Can Chinese-Americans Lead? Hobbesian Men, Gilliganian Women, and Confucian Chinese." He will explore the possible effects of Confucian ethics on Chinese Americans as they take leadership roles in society.

Li received his bachelor's and master's in philosophy from Peking (Beijing) University in China and his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Connecticut.

A question and answer period will follow the formal presentations. The event will be moderated by Gregory Velazco y Trianosky, chair of CSUN's Department of Philosophy.

For more information about the event, call the department at (818) 677-2757.