Moral Virtue, Civic Virtue, And Pluralism, Stephen C. Angle
Aug 2016
Moral Virtue, Civic Virtue, And Pluralism, Stephen C. Angle
Stephen C. Angle
Kim Sungmoon’s Confucian Democracy in East Asia: Theory and Practice makes many important contributions to our understanding of what is at stake in thinking of Confucianism as a viable political theory in the modern world. One of the book’s most interesting features is its grounding in the on-going practice of Confucianism in South Korea, on the one hand, and yet its emphasis on pluralism within Korean society, on the other.[1] Kim thus aims to describe and defend a polity that, while not relying on its citizens’ unanimous acceptance of Confucianism as comprehensive doctrine, nonetheless can legitimately maintain a distinctively …
Contemporary Confucian And Islamic Approaches To Democracy And Human Rights, Stephen Angle
Mar 2016
Contemporary Confucian And Islamic Approaches To Democracy And Human Rights, Stephen Angle
Stephen C. Angle
Both Confucian and Islamic traditions stand in fraught and internally contested relationships with democracy and human rights. It can easily appear that the two traditions are in analogous positions with respect to the values associated with modernity, but a central contention of this essay is that Islam and Confucianism are not analogous in this way. Positions taken by advocates of the traditions are often similar, but the reasoning used to justify these positions differs in crucial ways. Whether one approaches these questions from an intra-traditional, cross-traditional, or multi-traditional perspective, the essay shows that there is great value in getting clear …
Confucian Leadership Meets Confucian Democracy, Stephen C. Angle
Dec 2015
Confucian Leadership Meets Confucian Democracy, Stephen C. Angle
Stephen C. Angle
Many famous images of the inspirational, almost magical character of Confucian leadership seem very distant from any idea of democracy. Some modern Confucian celebrate this distance, arguing that modern Confucian polities should be ruled by elites, and perhaps that these elites should be venerated in something like the traditional way.3 Confucian democrats, in contrast, hold that the roles of Confucian political leaders must be rethought, just as the modern Confucian polity must shift from a monarchy to a constitutional democracy. This does not mean that modern Confucians must turn their backs on traditional Confucian views of leadership: the key …
Building Bridges To Distant Shores, Stephen C. Angle
Dec 2015
Building Bridges To Distant Shores, Stephen C. Angle
Stephen C. Angle
Late in 1987, having graduated from college and headed to Taiwan to study more Chinese, I decided to attend an international conference on Confucianism. At lunchtime on the first day I was sitting by myself, intimidated by the luminaries all around, when a smiling scholar sat down across from me, introduced himself as Roger Ames, and immediately made me feel at home. (Although he did question the wisdom of my intention to attend a graduate school other than Hawaii.) 1987 also saw the publication of Thinking Through Confucius, Roger’s seminal collaboration with David Hall; shortly after I met Roger …
Building Bridges To Distant Shores, Stephen C. Angle
Dec 2015
Building Bridges To Distant Shores, Stephen C. Angle
Stephen C. Angle
Late in 1987, having graduated from college and headed to Taiwan to study more Chinese, I decided to attend an international conference on Confucianism. At lunchtime on the first day I was sitting by myself, intimidated by the luminaries all around, when a smiling scholar sat down across from me, introduced himself as Roger Ames, and immediately made me feel at home. (Although he did question the wisdom of my intention to attend a graduate school other than Hawaii.) 1987 also saw the publication of Thinking Through Confucius, Roger’s seminal collaboration with David Hall; shortly after I met Roger …
Confucian Leadership Meets Confucian Democracy, Stephen C. Angle
Dec 2015
Confucian Leadership Meets Confucian Democracy, Stephen C. Angle
Stephen C. Angle
Many famous images of the inspirational, almost magical character of Confucian leadership seem very distant from any idea of democracy. Some modern Confucian celebrate this distance, arguing that modern Confucian polities should be ruled by elites, and perhaps that these elites should be venerated in something like the traditional way.3 Confucian democrats, in contrast, hold that the roles of Confucian political leaders must be rethought, just as the modern Confucian polity must shift from a monarchy to a constitutional democracy. This does not mean that modern Confucians must turn their backs on traditional Confucian views of leadership: the key …
Comparative Philosophy: Reviewing The State Of The Art, Stephen C. Angle
Dec 2015
Comparative Philosophy: Reviewing The State Of The Art, Stephen C. Angle
Stephen C. Angle
Comparative Philosophy: Reviewing the State of the Art
Table of Contents
0. Introduction — Stephen C. Angle 1
Part 1: Pairs
1. Transcending Tradition through Virtue Ethics — Daniel J. Lemieux 7
A Review of Jiyuan Yu, The Ethics of Confucius and Aristotle: Mirrors of Virtue
2. Understanding a New Type of Religion — Gwendolyn R. Pastor 15
A Review of Ge Ling Shang, Liberation as Affirmation: The Religiosity of Zhuangzi and Nietzsche
3. Work Hard, Study Hard, Practice Hard — Jennie He 25
A Review of Aaron Stalnaker, Overcoming Our Evil: Human …