Democracy in Contemporary Confucian Philosophy

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Elstein
Keyword(s):  
Confucian Philosophy

Understanding and translating Confucian philosophy in the Analects: a sociosemiotic perspective

Semiotica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fan Min
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Descriptive Study ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Original Text ◽  
Intercultural Understanding ◽  
Cultural Assumptions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Confucian Philosophy ◽  
The Analects

Abstract As the representative of Chinese classical works, the Analects represents a source of difficulty in both understanding and interpretation of Confucian philosophy. Confucian philosophy as a philosophy of creativity and otherness is closely related with the social and cultural values in society. Therefore, the study of Confucian philosophy in the Analects cannot be separated from the descriptive study of the effects of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, contexts, language use, and the effects of language use on society. This article attempts to explore how the meaning of Confucian philosophy in the Analects is interpreted and accepted by Western readers through complex social semiotic interactions. The article focuses on the interpretation of Confucian philosophy as a reflection of cultural assumptions, values and prohibitions, and the manipulation of the social semiotic resources in the process of understanding, translation, and acceptance of Confucian philosophy in the Analects through a discussion of its original text, different versions and the reasons behind the social semiotic activities. The article concludes with a consideration of significant social semiotic interactions that influence the translator’s interpretation and reader’s acceptance of Confucian philosophy so as to facilitate intercultural understanding.

Introduction to Confucian Psychology: Background, Content, and an Agenda for the Future

2021 ◽  
pp. 097133362199044
Author(s):  
James H. Liu
Keyword(s):  
Self Reflection ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
New Confucianism ◽  
Diary Writing ◽  
Confucian Philosophy ◽  
Zeng Guofan ◽  
Mental And Physical Health ◽  
Background Content

Psychology has a pervasive but shallow engagement with Confucian philosophy, mainly referencing its popular form as a part of Chinese tradition. This special issue takes a more systematic view of Confucianism as comprehensive philosophy. Drawing from New Confucianism, it is argued that the signal contribution of Confucianism to psychology as human (rather than natural) science is an ontology of the moral mind (heaven and humanity in union). This holistic ontology makes the cultivation of benevolence (仁) a lifelong mission for Confucianists. Practices of self-cultivation are exemplified by a case study of Zeng Guofan, a Qing Dynasty official and scholar, who combined academics, calligraphy, meditation, diary writing and self-reflection to refine his character, nurture and educate his family, and be of service to society. Second, Confucianism’s traditional lack of interest in epistemology is addressed through the complementary (dialectical) principle of ‘one principle, many manifestations’, where methods of Western science can be incorporated into the investigation of practices such as brush calligraphy that are shown to have beneficial effects on mental and physical health. Confucianism can also be treated as an object of scientific inquiry: We find that even among highly educated Chinese people, understanding of Confucianism today is mostly fragmented and abstract. Confucian Psychology can be summarised as a psychology of aspirations for bettering the condition of humanity through character development and greater awareness of the situation to realise the endowment of moral mind. Finally, there are deep connections between Confucian and Indian psychology—both involve height psychology, a psychology of aspirations and for spiritual transformation.

Confucian Modernity, Ultimacies, and Transcendence

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 397-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Cummings Neville
Keyword(s):  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Ultimate Reality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Confucian Philosophy

Abstract I want to engage Taylor with a comparative Confucian vision of modernity. In order to do this, I need to present a metaphysics which can serve as a framework for comparisons necessary for a global philosophical historical perspective on modernity and transcendence and in which, in particular, I can represent both Christian and Confucian categories as alternative specifications of ultimate reality. Using non-personalistic metaphors of spontaneous emergence and stressing (dis)harmonies, Confucian philosophy gives its own specification of the ultimate conditions of human life. This will allow me to sketch how Confucian modernists might engage with modernity. I will thus defend in Confucian terms Taylor’s claim that genuine religious transcendence is possible within the conditions of modernity.

Dewey and Confucian Philosophy

2018 ◽  
pp. 552-574
Author(s):  
Roger T. Ames
Keyword(s):  
Common Sense ◽  
Moral Imagination ◽  
First Century ◽  
Technical Term ◽  
American Pragmatism ◽  
History Of ◽  
Confucian Philosophy ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Role Ethics

Perhaps the most important international relationship in the twenty-first century is that between America and China. Given the often delicate and sometimes underproductive history of the relationship between America and China broadly, this chapter argues that American pragmatism might serve as a vocabulary to promote a positive dialogue between these cultures at a moment in history when such a conversation is imperative. These commonalities provide a language introducing Confucian philosophy to the Western academy and also an external perspective from which to examine the presuppositions of our own worldview and common sense. The chapter compares the central Confucian notion of relationally constituted persons (ren 仁)— or human “becomings”—with Dewey’s technical term, “individuality.” It explores the centrality of moral imagination in Confucian role ethics and in Deweyan ethics and also concludes that these two traditions share the idea of a human-centered religiousness.

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