Culture and Ethics

The necessity for global ethics to guide international and intercultural research is by no means new phenomenon. In 1996, James Bretzke wrote about a then-growing appeal for global ethics, which led to a habitude of scholarly employment of hermeneutical and communicative theories that were thought to represent workable models for Christian ethics. The notion of morality has been subjected to descriptive references by socio-anthropologists when they report on the moral comportment of the societies they study. A descriptive explanation should suffice as a micro definition for the purpose of associating the notions of ethics and morality with the conduct of individuals on the basis of membership affiliation. A normative definition that is applicable to all humans would depict a macro or universal account. Gert and Gert specified that a condition of rationality is almost always a requirement for moral agency.

Filial Piety

Filial piety is an essential aspect of ancestor worship. The Confucian doctrine of Filiality dictates that children honor their parents in both the material world while they are alive and the spiritual world when they are dead. Ancestor worship comes into play when the parents are dead and filial piety becomes ancestor worship as children venerate their dead parents. Filial piety is the embellishment of the central tenet of the Confucian system of ethics recorded in the most important cultural and scholarly books, taught by the sages, and obeyed by the people. Filial piety is perhaps the single most consequential scheme of sociopolitical and administrative control to ever have been envisioned and effectuated upon a people in the history of civilizations. Although the notion of filiality has evidently been practiced in virtually all civilizations and cultures, Confucius described filial piety as the most important virtue, which ensures the preservation of family lineage.

Epistemic Arena

This chapter presents details of the setting that constitute the epistemic context of, not only Confucian heritage and Western cultures, but of all humanity. Both Eastern and Western cultures and civilizations are situated in the context of human existence. Conditions that are common to all of humanity include human-to-human quandaries, cruelty, and other troubles that are in addition to natural disasters, disease, and death. Differences in the perception of the nature and status of individual personhood have meant and continue to manifest universal appreciation and disapproval in societies differentially. Confucianism engulfs the ethical convention of societies that have adopted the dogma of ancestor worship and filial piety, including the family as model of polity. Expressed in biological and sociocultural terms, individual differences pervade all of humanity. The nature of humans accounts for biological differences. In contrast, sociocultural attributes of individual differences are culturally based.

Confucius and His Teachings

This chapter presents an account of Confucius' personal life, his character, professions, and doctrinal dispositions. Confucius championed ethical rectitude and demonstrated that morality and public administration begins at home, in the family. Being mindful of widespread iniquitous, widespread inhumane and unethical activities, conducted by people at all levels and professions in the society, Confucius was determined to minimize the effects of administrative corruption and improve social control through the institution of ancient Chinese customs, specifically filial piety and ancestor worship. He was essentially interested in learning or remembering the ancient rites and customs. He admittedly introduced no new philosophical ideas apart from combining politics with religious rituals, ethics, and learning. As an extraordinarily adept scholar of the Confucian canon, Confucius whose birth name was Kong-qui, ably presented a variety of interpretations of given canonical passages. Confucius was suspected of being a Buddhist priest given his strong inclination towards Buddhism. Confucius exhibited a somewhat mercurial personality.

The Confucian Individual

Confucian individualism is analogous to the Western acclaim for personal individuality. The notion of individualism, which is seen as fundamental and pervasive in Western civilization, is not to be contrasted with collectivism, which is perceived in Eastern societies as the underlying social structure. The Chinese, on account of Confucius, conceive of individuals and family as subordinated to the importance of society or the state. Confucius was mindful of the essential status of individuals when he, as an individual, performed the rituals at the funeral of his mother, having individually studied the ancient history pertinent to the rites. An occasion of ontological impracticality is the fact that the exclusive attention to communal concord and harmony at the expense of personal individuality cannot have contributed to the medical advances and the breakthroughs made possible in modern medicine. Also discussed in this chapter is the contribution of Confucius in the academic sphere of the Chinese society.

Universal Ethics

Ethics is required, if not integrated, in nearly all areas of human interaction involving contracts, communication, and/or all other collaborative activities. Examples include: sports, entertainment, education, and business. Although virtually all activities have some business implications in a utilitarian sense, some activities involve fewer people than others. Soccer, for example, involves more people than, say, archery or chess.