Suchergebnisse

In past work on Chinese "cosmology", I have resisted using the term "metaphysics" because of the history of this term in classical Greek philosophy. Angus Graham has warned us of the equivocations that arise in eliding the distinction between Greek ontology and classical Chinese cosmology. In this essay, I have been inspired by my dear friend the late Yu Jiyuan's distinction between classical Greek "metaphysics" and "contemporary metaphysics with ambiguous edges" to adapt the term "metaphysics" for use within the classical Confucian corpus. In the language of Confucian "metaphysics", the ultimate goal of our philosophical inquiry is quite literally "to know one's way around things'" (zhidao 知道) in the broadest possible sense of the term "things". In the application of Confucian metaphysics, "knowing" certainly begins from the cognitive understanding of a situation, but then goes on to include the creative and practical activity of "realizing a world" through ars contextualis—the art of contextualizing things. I apply the insight that "metaphysics" so understood in the Confucian context provides a warrant for establishing a useful contrast between a Greek conception of the "human being" and a Confucian conception of "human becomings".

In a single generation, the rise of Asia has precipitated a dramatic sea change in the world's economic and political orders. This reconfiguration is taking place amidst a host of deepening global predicaments, including climate change, migration, increasing inequalities of wealth and opportunity, that cannot be resolved by purely technical means or by seeking recourse in a liberalism that has of late proven to be less than effective. The present work critically explores how the pan-Asian phenomenon of Confucianism offers alternative values and depths of ethical commitment that cross national and cultural boundaries to provide a new response to these challenges. When searching for resources to respond to the world's problems, we tend to look to those that are most familiar: Single actors pursuing their own self-interests in competition or collaboration with other players. As is now widely appreciated, Confucian culture celebrates the relational values of deference and interdependence—that is, relationally constituted persons are understood as embedded in and nurtured by unique, transactional patterns of relations. This is a concept of person that contrasts starkly with the discrete, self-determining individual, an artifact of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Western European approaches to modernization that has become closely associated with liberal democracy. Examining the meaning and value of Confucianism in the twenty-first century, the contributors—leading scholars from universities around the world—wrestle with several key questions: What are Confucian values within the context of the disparate cultures of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam? What is their current significance? What are the limits and historical failings of Confucianism and how are these to be critically addressed? How must Confucian culture be reformed if it is to become relevant as an international resource for positive change? Their answers vary, but all agree that only a vital and critical Confucianism will have relevance for an emerging ...

The chapter discusses the cultural & cognitive difficulties arising from Western philosophical inquiries into Confucianism. The tendency to inquire is itself potentially essentializing & imperialistic, especially as applied to the Confucian tradition, which is chiefly aesthetic rather than epistemological, & assumes uniqueness rather than generalizability. A comparison of Western & Chinese philosophical discourses is followed by discussion of key issues such as continuity, tradition, "sedimentation," & transcendence. 38 References. K. Coddon

In recent years China has entered the international human rights debate, consistently making the case for cultural diversity in the formulation of human rights policy. Ames follows this argument of cultural relativism, emphasizing China's cultural differences and critiquing the concept of universal human rights, particularly as presented by Jack Donnelly in his book Universal Human Rights. Discussing the history of universal human rights and Confucian values, Ames asserts that a growing dialogue between China and the United States would benefit China in terms of political and individual rights and the United States in terms of a greater sense of civic virtue.