The Quest for Ethical Truth: Wang Yangming on the Unity of Knowing and Acting

Comparative Philosophy 8 (2):46-64 (2017)
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Abstract

Drawing an analogy between Wang Yangming’s endeavor to know ethical truth and Descartes’ quest for epistemic certainty, this paper proposes a reading of Wang's doctrine of the unity of knowing and acting to the effect that the doctrine does not express an ethical teaching about how the knowledge that is already acquired is to be related to acting, but an epistemological claim as to how we know ethical truths. A detailed analysis of Wang’s relevant texts is offered to support the claim.

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Citations of this work

What Is the “Unity” in the “Unity of Knowledge and Action”?Harvey Lederman - 2022 - Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 21 (4):569-603.

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References found in this work

Warrant and proper function.Alvin Plantinga - 1993 - New York: Oxford University Press.
Grundlegung zur metaphysik der sitten.Immanuel Kant - 1785 - Gotha,: L. Klotz. Edited by Rudolf Otto.
Persuasive definitions.Charles Leslie Stevenson - 1938 - Mind 47 (187):331-350.

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