Abstract

This dissertation attempts to demonstrate the philosophical coherence and depth of Wang Yangming's concept of moral decision. The meaning of "moral decision" herein is "the act or process through which one determines the moral value of one's own intention or action." The dissertation explores the following subjects: the essential characteristics of moral decision, Yangming's metaphysics, self-cultivation, the necessary relation between happiness and moral decision, Yangming's concepts of good and evil, objectivity in Yangming's criterion of morality, and the role of emotions in moral decision. ;Exploration of these subjects reveals that, for Yangming, moral decision is a comprehensive process of awareness, deliberation, and action that incorporates our spiritual, mental, and physical functions and directs them to knowing and practising what is morally right. The process also has an intrinsic capacity for self-correction and self-maintenance. If carried out correctly, moral decision promises personal happiness, and, ultimately, attainment of a supreme state of cultivation and the understanding that our individual actions and fates are linked irrevocably to the welfare of other beings. Consideration of the position of the concept of moral decision in Yangming's broader philosophy leads to the revelation that moral decision is actually part of a greater process of personal cultivation that leads to the elimination of selfish desires, and thus the elimination altogether of the need to decide morally. ;The conclusion of the thesis is that Yangming does have a coherent and deep concept of moral decision. Internally, its main tenets harmonize and reinforce one another; externally, it mirrors Yangming's broader philosophy. Its depth is shown in the integration of the concept of moral decision with Yangming's metaphysics and philosophy of mind, and the concept's ability to adequately respond to problems associated with moral theories. The result is a concept, not only deep in meaning and complexity, but also surprisingly unified, reflecting very much the human consciousness upon which it is based.