Category Archives: Confucianism

Episode 13 of “This Is the Way”: Family Before State

Confucianism is well known for prioritizing familial responsibilities and love over other competing demands such as public interest or duties to the state. In this episode we explore two of the best known passages from early Confucianism that some modern scholars believe makes Confucianism morally problematic. The first passage we discuss is the “Upright Gong” passage, Analects 13.18, which has Confucius advocating mutual “covering up” of crimes by fathers and sons. The second passage is Mengzi 7A35, in which Mengzi is asked what the sage king Shun would have done if his father had committed murder. Mengzi’s answer, briefly stated, is that Shun would have given up his throne and would have fled with his father to care for him for the rest of his life.

Through these passages we explore questions about justice, consequentialist ethics, and the nature of moral dilemmas (and Confucian ways of handling them). Continue reading →

Two articles in Hypatia

Two articles related to Chinese philosophy have appeared over the last year in the journal Hypatia:

  • Sor-hoon Tan, “Confucian Family Ideal and Same-Sex Marriage: A Feminist Confucian Perspective” (Hypatia , Volume 39 , Issue 3 , Summer 2024 , pp. 597 – 615; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/hyp.2023.100)
  • Subin Lee, “Confucian Familialism and the Crisis of Care” (Hypatia , Volume 39 , Issue 3 , Summer 2024 , pp. 597 – 615; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/hyp.2024.50)

Click on the DOI links for abstracts and more information.

This Friday, NOVEMBER 8: “Aspiration, Ambition, and Confucian Debates on Human Nature” (online session)

THE COLUMBIA SOCIETY FOR COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY

Welcomes you to an ONLINE meeting:

Hannah Kim (The University of Arizona):

« Aspiration, Ambition, and Confucian Debates on Human Nature »

With responses from Timothy Connolly (East Stroudsburg University)

ABSTRACT: A standard introduction to classical Confucianism teaches that Mengzi thought “human nature is good” and Xunzi, that “human nature is bad”. But the exact nature of their disagreement is subject to ongoing debate, with some underplaying the disagreement (they just mean different things by “human nature”) while others take the disagreement to be about the nature of agency, moral education, or dispositions. In this talk, I’ll argue that Agnes Callard’s distinction between ambition and aspiration helps us clarify what the disagreement is about. Mengzi thought humans need to fully pursue the values they already have, while Xunzi thought humans need to aspire towards values they don’t have and aren’t predisposed to. This account has the benefit of capturing Mengzi’s and Xunzi’s respective views on agency and education and providing Xunzi with a picture of moral motivation that even a selfish agent could develop.

DATE: November 8, 2024

TIME: 5:30-7:30pm EST

Zoom info below:

Continue reading →

Loy Reviews Kim, Confucian Constitutionalism

Sungmoon Kim, Confucian Constitutionalism: Dignity, Rights, and Democracy, Oxford University Press, 2023, 296pp., $83.00 (hbk), ISBN 9780197630617.

Reviewed by Hui-chieh Loy, National University of Singapore

Sungmoon Kim’s book continues his long-standing project of bringing together insights from Confucianism and a political theorizing meant to be fit for the modern world. Like his earlier works, the new book combines interesting discussions of pre-modern texts and thoughtful applications of ancient ideas to modern concerns. The ambition of the book, as stated early on, is to articulate a “democratic theory of Confucian constitutionalism” (1). This ambition situates Kim’s book within the ongoing debate between the two main competing strands of modern Confucian political theorizing: Confucian political meritocracy and Confucian democracy. Kim advocates for the latter, putting his proposals…

Continue reading on ndpr.nd.edu

Episode 10 of “This Is the Way”: Moral Cultivation

How do we become good? What is the process by which we acquire the virtues? We examine these question by focusing on some key concepts in Mencius’s account of moral development such as reflection and extension. This discussion also centers on Mengzi 1A7 and the famous “king and the ox” passage that has been the subject of much conversation and debate. Continue reading →

Episode 9 of “This Is the Way”: Moral Sprouts

What is the nature and source of morality? Are human beings naturally inclined toward moral goodness? The early Confucian thinker Mencius (Mengzi) believed that human beings by nature possessed certain moral sprouts that could be nurtured and developed into robust virtues. In this episode we explore Mencius’s account of these moral sprouts, examining both philosophical and psychological justifications for their existence. Continue reading →

Three “Collaborative Learning” (四海為學) Seminars in March/April

Reading Sunzi Bingfa

In the history of Chinese thought the Sunzi Bingfa plays many different roles. It has influenced ways of thinking about politics and warfare, but also efficacy in many arenas, and even environmental issues. The Sunzi Bingfa is also written in a way that provides a great introduction to reading classical Chinese, making it a useful text for students to read for many different reasons. In this course we will do a close reading of the Sunzi Bingfa.

Led by: Dimitra Amarantidou, University of Macau, and Paul J. D’Ambrosio, East China Normal University

This course meets from 6:00-8:30pm Beijing time, March 5, 12, 19, 26, April 2, 30, May 7, 14, 21.
Skype link: https://join.skype.com/IvuqyZhnUKjC

Concrete Humanism: Major Confucian Texts and Thinkers

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Episode 2 of “This Is the Way”: Confucians on Shame

The second episode of This Is the Way is on shame as a moral emotion, as understood by classical Confucian philosophers (especially Confucius and Mencius, but also Xunzi). Our special guest is Jing Iris Hu (HU Jing 胡婧), author of “Shame, Vulnerability, and Change.” Key questions include the following: What are the Confucian arguments for having a sense of shame? To what extent can shame be autonomous or independent of social attitudes, and what mechanisms do the Confucian recommend for making it so independent? Do fully virtuous people need a sense of shame?
Below you will find a more detailed accounting of topics, some specific passages and books or articles mentioned in the episode, and an opportunity to “weigh in” and share your views about the topic (or about the hosts’ wild claims about the text). Continue reading →

Call for Contributors to A Cultural History of Confucianism in Antiquity

A message from Thomas Radice:

Thomas Radice is editing A Cultural History of Confucianism in Antiquity, the first of a six-volume series to be published by Bloomsbury, and is looking for contributors. Each volume in the series covers the same eight themes: Texts, Arts, Politics, Metaphysics, Ethics, Rituals & Traditions, Comparisons, and Gender. Chapters run about 10,000 words.  Currently, he needs contributors for Metaphysics, Ethics, Rituals & Traditions, Arts, and Gender in early China until Qin. If you are interested, please feel free to contact him for other details at RadiceT1@SouthernCT.edu.