Plagiarism as a Culturally-Motivated Crime

The article discusses the possibility of classifying plagiarism as a culturally motivated crime. Creating works, especially written works, is strongly related to culture as well as to knowledge and skills acquired during education. Therefore, plagiarism can be perceived as a culturally-conditioned act, and, thus, differently perceived depending upon the culture with which the artist identifies themselves. The author juxtapose two legal orders, namely of countries where plagiarism is a crime and those where the failure to mark the authorship of a work results from the customs prevailing in their culture, i.e. societies influenced by Confucian philosophy. The research goal is to raise the hypothesis and determine whether the perpetrator of culturally motivated plagiarism can use one of the tools indicated in criminal law, the so-called cultural defense.

Chung-ying Cheng’s Dialogue with Confucianism and Kant: A Gadamerian Critique

Gadamer’s hermeneutics offers several strategies for critiquing Chung-ying Cheng’s synthesis of Confucianism and Kant. Interpreting Kant’s Groundwork, Cheng argues that the distinction between perfect and imperfect duties is too rigid: if the “life principle” is the ultimate root of Kant’s four types of duty, then human inclinations are good; Kant’s perfect duties turn out to be imperfect in some situations, while his imperfect duties such as benevolence (or ren, in Confucian philosophy) turn out sometimes to be perfect. Although Cheng’s synthesis does not satisfy the Groundwork’s universal aim, it does show how to apply Kant’s insights to empirical moral situations.

The religious prism of South East - Asia

When two or more religious belief systems are combined into a new system, this is known as religious syncretism. It may also be defined as the incorporation of beliefs from unconnected traditions into a religious tradition. Polytheism and numerous religious affiliations, on the other hand, are seen as diametrically opposed to one another. These situations can arise for a variety of reasons, with the latter scenario occurring quite frequently in areas where multiple religious traditions coexist in close proximity to one another and are actively practised in the culture. It can also occur when a culture is conquered, with the conquerors bringing their religious beliefs with them but not succeeding in completely eradicating the old beliefs, and especially the old practises. Faiths' beliefs or histories may have syncretic components, however members of these so-labeled systems sometimes object to the label's use, particularly those who belong to "revealed" religious systems, such as Abrahamic religions, or any system that takes an exclusivist stance. Syncretism is viewed as a betrayal of the pure truth by some supporters of such beliefs. According to this logic, introducing a belief that is incompatible with the original religion corrupts it and renders it untrue altogether. Indeed, detractors of a certain syncretistic trend may occasionally use the term "syncretism" as a derogatory pejorative, meaning that individuals who attempt to adopt a new idea, belief, or practise into a religious system are really distorting the original faith by doing so. A fatal compromise of the integrity of the prevailing religion is, according to Keith Ferdinando, as a result of this development. Religions that are not exclusivist, on the other hand, are likely to feel free to absorb other traditions into their own systems of thought. Many traditional beliefs in East Asian civilizations have become entwined with Buddhism due to the assumption that Buddhism is compatible with local religions. The Three Teachings, or Triple Religion, which harmonizes Mahayana Buddhism with Confucian philosophy and elements of Taoism, and Shinbutsu-shg, which is a syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism, are two examples of notable concretizations of Buddhism with local beliefs. The Three Teachings, or Triple Religion, harmonizes Mahayana Buddhism with Confucian philosophy and elements of Taoism, and Shinbutsu-shg, which East Asian religious beliefs, practises, and identities (who, by any measure, constitute the majority of the world's Buddhists) frequently incorporate elements of other religious traditions, such as Confucianism, Chinese folk religion.

Unnecessarily Modest: A Feminist Response to O’Dwyer’s Confucianism’s Prospects: A Reassessment

Shaun O’Dwyer’s Confucianism’s Prospects: A Reassessment is a major contribution to the fields of both Confucian philosophy and political philosophy. In this review essay, I highlight O’Dwyer’s commitment to feminist concerns while raising questions about his skepticism about the intersection of Confucian and feminist philosophies.