Classical Confucianism

Confucianism’s emphasis on filial piety is both a hallmark of its approach to ethics and a source of concern. Critics charge that filial piety’s extreme partialism corrupts Chinese society and should therefore be expunged from the tradition. Are the critics correct? In this article, we outline the criticism and note its persistence over the last century. We then evaluate data from the empirical study of corruption to see whether they support the claim that partialism corrupts. Finally, we report some recent (...) experimental work done with colleagues testing the claim that filial piety is associated with tolerance of corruption in Chinese societies. The results suggest that the critics are on to something. However, partialism (or kin affection) is not a cause of concern. Instead, authoritarianism (another aspect of filial piety) is associated with tolerance of corruption. We conclude that critics should reformulate their criticisms if they seek to combat corruption effectively. (shrink)

This study explores the core teachings of Buddhism and Confucianism, especially about homosexuality, and compares the two. This study argues that the attitude of Buddhism and Confucianism towards homosexuality is highly dependent on the cultural context in which these religions exist and are practiced. In other words, certain Buddhist/Confucian societies are sometimes more tolerant of homosexual practices than other Buddhist/Confucian societies. That is, the core teachings of religions cannot be merely a measure; culture participates in shaping religious responses to homosexuals. (...) However, it also does not mean that these two religions do not have a unique view on homosexuality. Using the literature study method, this study will focus on exploring the attitudes of these two religions, Buddhism and Confucianism, towards the practice of homosexuality, especially to queering the core teachings of both. The results of this study indicate that in both Buddhism and Confucianism, acceptance and rejection of homosexual practices exist, and almost all use their respective core teachings as arguments. In short, this study contributes to providing an overview of how homosexuality is accepted and rejected in Buddhism and Confucianism. (shrink)

An overview of how friendship has been represented and assessed in the Confucian tradition, and particularly in classical Confucian texts such as the Analects and the Mencius. Themes covered include the relationship between the family and friendship, the ambivalence towards friendship in imperial China, and the connection between friendship and the Confucian ideal of personal cultivation. The chapter finishes by exploring novel conceptions of friendship and human relatedness suggested by the Confucian tradition.

van Els, Paul. "#MeToo avant la lettre." Filosofie-Tijdschrift 28, no. 3 (May 2018): 35–39.

van Els, Paul. "Een niet-bestaande leer" (A Non-Existent Doctrine). Review of Confucianisme, by Burchard J. Mansvelt Beck. China Nu 31, no. 1 (2006): 46–47.

Early Chinese argumentative texts are full of historical anecdotes. These short accounts of events in Chinese history enhance the appeal of the text, but they also have an important rhetorical function in helping the reader understand, accept, and remember the arguments propounded in the text. In this paper I examine the rhetorical function of historical anecdotes in two argumentative texts of the Western Han dynasty (202 BCE-9 CE): Han’s Illustrations of the Odes for Outsiders and The Master of Huainan. These (...) two texts found creative use for anecdotes, namely as illustrations of quotations from canonical sources. Through case studies of several combinations of anecdotes and quotations, I argue that the combinations serve to present the creators of these texts as beacons of knowledge with profound understanding of historical events and canonical literature, and with the necessary skills to fruitfully combine the two. (shrink)

Recent events have directed public attention to the issue of whether there should be so-called “statutes of limitations” on oppressive transgressions committed in the past. We ask: in such cases, is sociopolitical forgiveness (or “forgetfulness”) owed to transgressors? We detail two moral-political narratives that might help address this issue: one constructed around the values and perspectives of justice, rights, and autonomy-based views (the JRA approach), and another oriented around the values and perspectives of care ethics, virtue ethics, and relationality, drawing (...) additionally on several non-Western traditions including Buddhist and Confucian thought (the CVR approach). We maintain that while each approach has strengths, their essential tenets lead to serious shortcomings, such that neither is able to provide a wholly satisfactory solution to this pressing sociopolitical question. The resulting stalemate should be taken as a call to action for new theorizing by social and political theorists. How should we, as a society, handle the fact that people can do oppressive things at one age and then either forget about them or sincerely regret them at another age? Is there another approach out there that might solve this problem? (shrink)

How much injustice and oppression must be tolerated before a revolution is justified? In theory, the United States’ political structure, by design, makes the question of revolution obsolete: by putting political power into the hands of the people via democratic mechanisms such as voting, the division of power among separate branches of government, and representative influence and control, there should be no need for revolution because everything the government does either has the consent of the people or is (relatively swiftly) (...) checked by their dissent. In practice, the United States’ political structure has failed to bring about such democratic justice. Given structural, systemic failures of justice (which promise to be ongoing), it is worth asking when, if ever, a revolution in the United States would be justified. To begin answering this question, we first turn to three traditional theories of revolution prominent in Western political theory, all of which have serious theoretical and practical problems, many of which are exacerbated by the contemporary American context in which our discussion is situated. We conclude that, if the aim of revolution is to bring about justice more equally enjoyed by all, then classic Western justifications of revolution are deeply flawed and possibly untenable. We propose a Confucian-inspired account of revolution, which promises to provide criteria for engaging in revolution that are neither solely directly democratic nor completely rights-based. This relational, virtue-theoretic account of revolution enables us to take into consideration not only the role of government, the nature of the ruler, and the nature of the governed, but also the nature of the relationship between the ruler and the governed. We contend that our proposal provides more, and better, resources for thinking through when, and under what conditions, a revolution would be justified in the contemporary United States. (shrink)

In this essay I offer an alternative perspective on how to organize class material for courses in Chinese philosophy for predominately American students. Instead of selecting topics taken from common themes in Western discourses, I suggest a variety of organizational strategies based on themes from the Chinese texts themselves, such as tradition, ritual, family, and guanxi (關係), which are rooted in the Chinese tradition but flexible enough to organize a broad range of philosophical material.

Although current educational priorities tend to avoid strong moral positions, one of the world's most venerable yet persistently influential moral traditions not only lays out a number of major moral principles but also incorporates them into its pedagogy. Confucius teaches us about the importance of seeking knowledge, learning how to learn, applying ancient wisdom to contemporary situations, valuing virtue over material gain, following the Golden Rule, and living by our principles. He also has ways of assessing his own students' progress (...) in these matters. Confucius' pedagogy is an interesting model to consider and contrast with contemporary models. This chapter introduces these principles and assessments from the Analects and draws out some comparisons to and contrasts with two alternative theories in western moral thought, Augustine and John Dewey. (shrink)

Creating and caring for a garden is a long-term project whose success requires commitment and devotion and love and proper performance of a range of activities that involve virtues and sensibilities like attentiveness, carefulness, humility, imaginativeness, and sensitivity to the natures and needs of plants and animals. In this chapter, I elaborate this conception of gardens and explore its relationship to artistic activities, like composing poetry or performing music. My focus are Confucianism and Daosim and their accounts of the relationships (...) between cultured practices, ethics and the arts, and garden-practices. (shrink)

"Is Traditional Chinese Thought Philosophy?" has been a perennial question ever since the term zhexue 哲學, as a translation of the Western concept of philosophy, was introduced to China via Japan, and it will stay this way for years to come. Two factors make the answering of this question a Sisyphean project. First, a lot of scholars feel that they have to answer this question. The contemporary academic disciplines were defined by Westerners, and the discipline of philosophy was alien to (...) traditional Chinese scholarship. Then, unless the structure of academia is radically redefined, anyone who relies heavily on traditional Chinese materials and wishes to work... (shrink)

The idea of the Anthropocene is not only about environmental issues; it is for a new geologic epoch. Moreover, it is a new worldview, a new philosophy. It provides a new context and perspective for us to re-think some traditional philosophical ideas, including the ancient Confucian philosophy of harmony among heaven, earth, and humanity.

The study of Chinese philosophy in the English-speaking world has largely focused on ethical and political theories. In comparison, Chinese metaphysics—here understood primarily as theories regarding the nature, components, and operating principles of reality—has been far less researched and recognized. In this essay, we examine various meanings of “metaphysics” as it has been used in denoting a branch of philosophy and make the case that metaphysics is an important part of Chinese philosophy. We argue for the need to study Chinese (...) metaphysics as a serious field of scholarship. We also present some most recent studies of Chinese metaphysics by leading scholars of Chinese philosophy who publish in the English-speaking world. This essay aims to show that not only that Chinese metaphysics is an appropriate and legitimate subject of scholarly research but it can also be a fruitful subfield of in the study in Chinese philosophy. (shrink)

针对价值抉择难题存在不同的解决模式，以比较的视野检视几种有代表性 的模式，可以更加直观地展示它们的优缺点，从相对意义上凸显出当下存在的更为有效的 解决方案。 首先是罗蒂的自我实现与公民同胞等量齐观模式，此模式过于依赖个人与社 会两个领域的简单区分，同时也低估了不同诉求之间的张力；其次是伯林的不同价值体系 非此即彼模式，此模式夸大了不同价值体系的截然对立，错误地认为互有张力的价值不能 在同一价值体系里共存；最后是更具可行性的儒道互补模式，此模式重新解读儒道互补， 通过价值配置的方式解决了不可通约价值之间的张力问题，它允许多元价值体系的共存 和互补，从而有助于相辅相成地达成个人生活与社会的和谐。.

本文討論儒家思想傳統在近代和現代所面臨的五個主要的挑戰:科學,民 主,女性主義,環境主義,以及儒家自身如何生存下去的挑戰。.

Abstract: In this essay I will discuss five major challenges faced by Confucianism in recent times. Two of these challenges have been widely acknowledged, namely those of science and democracy. I believe that Confucianism's problem with science has been largely solved, even though more constructive work would further strengthen Confucianism in this regard. The problem of democracy is still being dealt with. I will examine three more major challenges. The third major challenge for Confucianism comes from environmentalism. Confucianism has taken (...) note of its important message and has begun to respond to it. The fourth major challenge is the feminist challenge. Even though contemporary Confucianism accepts sexual equality, philosophically significant progress is yet to be made. The final challenge is the challenge of Confucianism's own survival. After serving three major assults in the 20th century, especially the most recent assult by "the glorious cat," Confucianism needs to find a way to renew itself into future. . (shrink)

平等是现代社会的主要理想价值之一。我们必须认识到，平等有不同的形式。而且任何形式的平等都有随之而来的其他形式的不平等。本文考察儒家思想传统在经济、伦理和政治维度的平等和不平等观念。认为儒家平等观念的主 要特征是比例平等以及随之而来的相关方方面的不平等。儒家的平等思想是其理想社会的重要部分，并试图探究这一观念的当代意涵。.

当代儒家研究的一个特点，是不仅把儒家哲学看做伦理道德哲学，而且也看做社会政治哲学。结合当今世界语境，尝试提出一个儒家关于世界和谐理念的构想，应从研究儒家思想中的道义领先原则、恕道以及“和而不同”等方面 着手，重点研究这些问题，对于现实当今世界的政治秩序和谐，有着重要价值。.

长期以来，中国学术界流行把儒家的基本思想乃至整个中国文化归结为“天人合一”，并常常把“天人合一” 的源头归结于《易经》。其实考诸中国思想史，把儒家的基本思想总结为“天人合一”，特别是把“天人合一” 的来源归结于《易经》的说法并不准确，是一种误导。《易经》的“天、地、人”三才思想较之于“天人合一”更为符合儒家思想的本旨。在儒家三才和谐的理念中，天、地、人三者各自都有自身的功能与价值。身为三才和谐结 构中的积极参与者，人类拥有促进与维持宇宙和谐的重要责任。就环境哲学而言，儒家的“三才”说既不是“环境保护主义”，也不是“自然保护主义”，而且相对于大地伦理学与深层生态学等西方的整体性环境哲学而言，儒家 整体性的环境哲学赋予人类在宇宙间以一个更崇高的地位和责任。 .

Engaging in dialogue with African philosophy, I respond to questions raised by Thaddeus Metz on characteristics of Confucian philosophy in comparison with African philosophy. First, in both Confucian philosophy and African philosophy, harmony/harmonization and self-realization coincide in the process of person-making. Second, Confucians accept that sometimes it is inevitable to sacrifice individual components in order to achieve or maintain harmony at large scales; the point is how to minimize such costs. Third, Confucians give family love a central place in the (...) good life before extend love to the rest of the world. Fourth, the Confucian philosophy of gender equality is based on appropriate division of labor consistent with its yin-yang philosophy, rather than equal split of power in the family. Fifth, in the Confucian view, hierarchy and harmony do not necessarily contradict each other, though hierarchy is not essential to all forms of harmony. The two can co-exist. (shrink)

While largely agreeing with Ruiping Fan, Chenyang Li makes three points regarding the handling of COVID-19. First, in addition to state capacity, social trust, and leadership, as identified by Francis Fukuyama, factors responsible for successful pandemic responses include the value of individual freedom upheld by citizens. A high level of individual freedom can make it difficult to implement strict measures even when they are objectively necessary. Second, a strong state can be effective in handling a pandemic, but without checks and (...) balances it also runs the risk of leading a country into a major catastrophe. Third, Confucian ethics and other ethics can aid in coping with the pandemic. However, their efficacy is not unlimited, and ultimately, human survival overrides other concerns. (shrink)

感謝《鵝湖月刊》給我機會討論拙作《比較的時代 ——中西視野中的儒家哲學前沿問題》（以下簡稱《比較的時代》），也很感謝李明書、李健君、張麗麗三位年輕有為的學者認真討論我在書中提出的一些問題。 三位學者都認識到這裏討論的「比較哲學」是通過比較來研究哲學，而不僅僅是比較已經存在的相同和不同的哲學思想。 在我看來， 單純地比較不同的哲學思想基本上是哲學史的工作。 而通過運用比較的方法做哲學則是哲學本身的工作，是建構性的原創性的工作。 說我們的時代是一個比較的時代，是說我們處於一個以比較為特徵來研究和建構哲學思想的時代。 通過比較來做哲學，就是要通過研究不同的哲學流派和不同的哲學思想，來進而建構新的哲學思想，以回答時代向我們提出的問題。在這個方面，我個人的看法是，今天的儒家哲學研究已經進入了一個不可迴避、不可逆轉的比較 的時代。 這是一件大好事。 這樣的研究使我們有更廣闊的視野，使我們有更多、更豐富的思想資源，也使我們更可能有效地回答時代提出的問題。 這裡我分別對三位學者提出的問題做出回應。.

The political philosophies of Kongzi, Mengzi, and Xunzi can fruitfully be understood as focusing substantially on politically relevant merit – and as having conceptions of politically relevant merit intertwined with their conceptions of morality and virtue. In short, on their account, politically relevant merit finds its necessary foundation in morally relevant merit. In critiquing this position, Han Fei questions four positions that must be true in order for the early Confucian position to succeed: 1) Politically relevant merit is necessarily tied (...) to moral merit; 2) Virtuous individuals who possess the relevant moral merits can reliably be identified even by those who are not themselves virtuous; 3) Moral cultivation is actually possible; and 4) Those qualities that make someone virtuous can reliably be ascertained. This paper examines the worries that Han Fei has with these positions and offers up an account of Han Fei’s own account of politically relevant merit – a non-moral alternative tied to task specific competencies. (shrink)

Introduction to special issue of Culture and Dialogue, on “Confucianism: Comparisons and Controversies,” co-edited with Henrique Schneider.

Amy Olberding, The Wrong of Rudeness: Learning Modern Civility from Ancient Chinese Philosophy, Oxford University Press, 2019, 183pp., $29.95 (hbk), ISBN 9780190880965. Reviewed byAndrew Lambert, City University of New York, College of Staten Island.

This chapter examines key Confucian worries about the Aristotelian sophos as a model of human flourishing. How strong are these worries? Do Aristotelians have good replies to them? Could the Aristotelian sophos, and this figure's distinguishing feature, sophia, be more appealing to the Confucian than they initially appear?

The Lüshi chunqiu was written for and inspired the king who united the warring state to become China's first emperor in 221 BCE. This book explicates the concept of "proper timing," proposing that it helps bring unity to the diverse eclectic content of the text. The book analyzes the roles of human nature, the justification for the existence of the state, and the significance of personal, historical and cosmic timing. An organic instrumental position emerges from the diverse theories contained in (...) the Lüshi chunqiu. The conclusion looks at ways to apply the Lüshi chunqiu’s philosophy to contemporary issues of time and timing, human nature, political order and constitutions, social and environmental ethics. (shrink)

Confucius aimed to overcome the Spring and Autumn period and achieve order by restoring the humanist tradition and putting it right. At the same time, Confucius distanced himself from discovering the order of natural things, which caused him to be regarded as a representative humanist philosopher. This interpretation could be misleading in that it overlooks the natural aspect of Confucian philosophy. To that aspect, this article asserts that a moral practice in Confucianism has a natural character. The point emphasizing the (...) natural character of Confucian philosophy must be argued in a way in that it does not disregard the humanist character of Confucian thought. This is possible by recognizing the dual aspect of Zhi (直), and I argue further that Confucius can be interpreted through the concept of moral naturalism. Definitions of Zhi in the Analects indicates that morality bases itself on forms of human life developed in a natural way. Confucius’s references surrounding Zhi underlie the concept that our moral beliefs and actions are not solely justified by reason alone but in a sense also depend on facts in the natural world, providing grounds to interpret his moral philosophy as a naturalism. On the other hand, that Confucius thinks Zhi alone cannot make one Ren differentiates his position from strong naturalism, which reduces the normative realm of morality to causal laws of nature. From his emphasis on the cultivation of the given dispositions to personality, one can infer that Confucius did not agree with the reduction of moral norms to natural facts. The duality of Zhi showing the aspect of morality being forced by nature while not negating the proper character of morality can be properly and coherently understood from the view of soft naturalism. (shrink)