Liu Reviews Kim, A Confucian Theory of Power

Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

Sungmoon Kim, A Confucian Theory of Power, Manchester University Press, 2026, 232pp, $130.00 (hbk) ISBN 9781526182661.

Reviewed by Antong Liu, Singapore Management University

The main body of this book is an extensive essay by Sungmoon Kim on the concept of power and its evolution in Confucian political thought. While arguably underlying any attempt to theorize politics, power “remains one of the least examined concepts” in the Confucian tradition (7). This lack of attention to power, as Kim claims, correlates with scholars’ overemphasis on Confucian moral virtue (3) but weakens the potential for Confucianism to thrive as a robust political theory in contemporary East Asia (8). To mitigate it, Kim begins by interpreting several moments in the ancient history of Confucian political thought in…

Upcoming 四海为学 Collaborative Learning Events

Dear Colleagues,

Next week the 四海为学 Collaborative Learning Project will host two events:

November 2nd at 17:30 Beijing time Derek Hird will give a lecture titled “Strictness, Kindness, and the Way of the Father”

November 3rd at 19:00 Beijing time we will host a book discussion of Li Yong’s Confucian Comparative Political Philosophy.

Please feel free to advertise these events or share them with anyone. All our events are free and open to everyone. Note that no pre-registration or passcode is required for any 四海为学 events.

For a list of upcoming events see our calendar here.

Sincerely,

Paul J. D’Ambrosio

Reflective Equanimity in Confucius

The latest article in our series on the philosophy of Confucius drawing from the Dialogues of Confucius is now out!

Reflective equanimity and Tian 天 in the philosophy of Confucius: Insights from the Dialogues of Confucius

If you have trouble accessing the full article, just let me know, and I’ll be happy to send you a pdf.

Abstract: Kwong-loi Shun offers a Confucian account of reflective equanimity that stems largely from the work of Mencius and Zhu Xi. Although Shun labels it as ‘spiritual’, his account tends toward the naturalistic. In this article, we offer an account of reflective equanimity according to Confucius that takes seriously the spiritual aspect, by tying it to Confucius’ notion of tian. We describe three aspects of tian from the Dialogues of Confucius that are consistent with Shun’s view and, we believe, extend his view, while simultaneously preserving and reconciling the competing ‘personal’ and ‘cosmic’ aspects of Confucius’ view of tian.

BSHP Workshop Announcement: Generalisation and De-reification

Online Workshop: Generalisation and De-reification: Cross-Cultural History of Philosophy in East Asia and Beyond

The British Society for the History of Philosophy (BSHP) will hold an online workshop, “Generalisation and De-reification: Cross-Cultural History of Philosophy in East Asia and Beyond,” on 20 November 2026, 09:00 UK (GMT) / 17:00 China (CST) / 20:00 Sydney (AEDT).

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Episode 39 of “This Is the Way”: Mohist Consequentialism

The ancient Mohists are often said to be the world’s first consequentialists — the first on record to propose that we should consistently live by an ethical standard that asks us to bring about as much good as possible for the world. In this episode, we put Mohist consequentialism under a microscope. On the Mohist view, the best action is always the one that maximizes benefit and minimizes harm. How did the Mohists justify this approach? What sorts of things count as “benefit”? Is the theory too demanding to be viable or useful for most people? Join us as we try really hard to set aside our biases and explore what’s good and admirable about a central feature of both Mohist ethics and many ethical theories today. Continue reading →