Bart Dessein

Bart Dessein obtained his MA degree in 1987 at Ghent University, with a dissertation on Indian Madhyamaka / Chinese Sanlun philosophy. This Buddhist school focuses on the reasoned argument and logic. He obtained his PhD degree in 1994 with a dissertation on Sarvastivada Buddhist scholasticism. The main research fields of Bart Dessein are the philosophical traditions of South and East Asia. He, more precisely, investigates philosophical developments in early Buddhism (India, Central Asia, China), and the mutual influences the Buddhist tradition and Confucian tradition have had in China. To the latter, investigation in the intellectual and scientific scene in China is connected. He is the promotor of several PhD researches on contemporary Confucian philosophy and Chinese society.