Opposites Attract: The Fusion Of Confucianism And The Qin Dynasty’S Legalism In The People’S Republic Of China Today, Elyse Tompkins
May 2011
Opposites Attract: The Fusion Of Confucianism And The Qin Dynasty’S Legalism In The People’S Republic Of China Today, Elyse Tompkins
Honors Theses
The aim of this research is to examine the seemingly opposite Legalist outlook of the Qin dynasty against the philosophy of Confucianism, and determine the extent to which they have impacted the government and society of the People’s Republic of China today. It is common in Eastern cultures to blend two seemingly opposite ideas, which is partially how this mixture of Legalism and Confucianism works in the current government. The Qin dynasty employed the legalist governmental philosophy, which allowed one ruler to effectively control all of China. This set up the principle of a concentrated government over the vast Chinese …
Reply To Justin Tiwald, Stephen C. Angle
Dec 2010
Reply To Justin Tiwald, Stephen C. Angle
Stephen C. Angle
Justin Tiwald and I have been debating the meaning of li 理 for several years now. At each step along the way I have learned from his comments and questions, and I have done my best to refine or revise my position as seemed necessary. I am grateful both to Justin and to the editor for the opportunity to continue that conversation here. Tiwald has very clearly articulated an understanding of li that he calls the “coherence-only” view and ascribes to me. He then points out that there are reasons to doubt that this “coherence-only” view can be correctly attributed …
Piecemeal Progress, Stephen C. Angle
Dec 2010
Piecemeal Progress, Stephen C. Angle
Stephen C. Angle
What relevance do alternative moral traditions, such as early Chinese ethical thinking, have for people in the contemporary world? For example, suppose that we can find in early Confucian ethics particular values that are distinctively different from Western notions. How important would such a finding be today? According to three influential accounts of comparative ethics, the presence (or absence) of any given concept is not, on its own, of much significance. Chad Hansen, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Thomas Metzger all emphasize the importance of holistic units of analysis like “traditions” and “discourses” rather than focusing on individual ideas; all would suggest …
Neither Morality Nor Law: Ritual Propriety As Confucian Civility, Stephen C. Angle
Dec 2010
Neither Morality Nor Law: Ritual Propriety As Confucian Civility, Stephen C. Angle
Stephen C. Angle
It is common for recent authors on the topic of “civility” to spend some time sketching
the history of their subject.1 One narrative goes like this: civility emerges in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and is part of a larger trend toward disciplining bodily appetites that enables a new kind of cooperation among individuals. Civility interweaves politeness and political respect; it undergirds modern notions of republicanism, civil society, and the public good. In more recent decades—some writers point to World War I as a turning point, but for others, it is the 1960s—civility has declined or at least changed …
Reply To Justin Tiwald, Stephen C. Angle
Dec 2010
Reply To Justin Tiwald, Stephen C. Angle
Stephen C. Angle
Justin Tiwald and I have been debating the meaning of li 理 for several years now. At each step along the way I have learned from his comments and questions, and I have done my best to refine or revise my position as seemed necessary. I am grateful both to Justin and to the editor for the opportunity to continue that conversation here. Tiwald has very clearly articulated an understanding of li that he calls the “coherence-only” view and ascribes to me. He then points out that there are reasons to doubt that this “coherence-only” view can be correctly attributed …
Neither Morality Nor Law: Ritual Propriety As Confucian Civility, Stephen C. Angle
Dec 2010
Neither Morality Nor Law: Ritual Propriety As Confucian Civility, Stephen C. Angle
Stephen C. Angle
It is common for recent authors on the topic of “civility” to spend some time sketching
the history of their subject.1 One narrative goes like this: civility emerges in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and is part of a larger trend toward disciplining bodily appetites that enables a new kind of cooperation among individuals. Civility interweaves politeness and political respect; it undergirds modern notions of republicanism, civil society, and the public good. In more recent decades—some writers point to World War I as a turning point, but for others, it is the 1960s—civility has declined or at least changed …
