Abstract

Ideas of the good are ideas of what is worthy of pursuit, and a thinker's conception of the worthy objects of pursuit may differ from that of the ordinary person. Suppose we call ordinary self‐interest the objects of pursuit that relate to the ordinary person's own interests, including such things as health, possessions, power and honour. And suppose we call an ethical ideal a thinker's conception of how one should live – a conception of what, according to the thinker, should constitute the proper object of devotion for everyone. An attempt to understand ideas of the good in Chinese thought involves discussing the ways in which different philosophical movements view the ethical ideal and its relation to ordinary self‐interest.