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Articles 1 - 30 of 71
Full-Text Articles in Ethics and Political Philosophy
Jing (敬) And Respect, Wenyang Gao
Jing (敬) And Respect, Wenyang Gao
Comparative Philosophy
Jing (敬) is often translated as “respect”. Some scholars argue for a “perception of worth” reading, conceiving jing as a deontic normative attitude akin to “respect” in the Western tradition. Others propose a “directing attention” reading, holding that jing is a virtue. This article clarifies the meaning and normative structure of jing, arguing that it has three dimensions: (1) a state of mind characterized by seriousness, (2) an intentional, respectful feeling, and (3) respectful conduct aligned with ritual propriety (Li禮). While the “directing attention” reading correctly identifies jing as a virtue, insisting that jing does …
A Constructive Engagement With Confucian Gender Ethics: Reinterpreting The Three Obediences And Four Virtues In Contemporary Vietnam, Vo Van Dung
Comparative Philosophy
This paper examines the influence of the doctrines of the Three Obediences and Four Virtues on the moral thought of Vietnamese women in contemporary society. The study addresses the central question of whether and how these doctrines remain relevant within current social and cultural contexts. It traces the historical introduction and transformation of these doctrines in Vietnam. It analyses their dual impact on women’s moral values, highlighting both their enduring ethical contributions and their role in sustaining gendered constraints. The findings suggest that while certain elements of the Four Virtues have been reinterpreted and selectively integrated into modern ethical frameworks, …
Father Knows Best? Not Here: Metaphors Of Kinship And Kingship In Haudenosaunee, Aristotelian, And Confucian Political Thought, Ian Kalman
Comparative Philosophy
The notion that the organization of large-scale social structures are rooted in domestic ones has a longstanding history in both Chinese and Greek classical political philosophy. Aristotle and Confucius independently reasoned that a good family, one with a strong father, mapped onto a good state, one with a strong king - though they differed on the details. While there is a strong literature juxtaposing these two titans, less attention has been paid to how their ideas compare with other philosophical traditions. This article provides an anthropological intervention to the comparative study of Confucius and Aristotle – while both autonomously argued …
Moral And Ethical Nature In Confucian Liang-Zhi And Islamic Fitra: Comparative Perspectives On Innate Morality, Yanrong Shi
Moral And Ethical Nature In Confucian Liang-Zhi And Islamic Fitra: Comparative Perspectives On Innate Morality, Yanrong Shi
Comparative Philosophy
This article offers a comparative philosophical analysis of Confucian liang-zhi (innate moral knowledge) and Islamic fitra(primordial nature), focusing on their accounts of innate morality and moral epistemology. Drawing on classical Confucian sources—especially the praxis-oriented interpretation of Wang Yangming—and foundational Islamic texts and commentary, the study demonstrates that both traditions posit an inborn moral faculty grounding ethical universality and responsibility. Wang Yangming’s liang-zhi is conceived as an innate moral principle that, under the imperative of zhi (to actualize or extend), is continually activated through moral practice. In parallel, fitra is understood as a God-given orientation to truth, cultivated and safeguarded through …
Reassessing The Deontological Undercurrents In Mo Zi’S Ethical Thought, Nuno Miranda
Reassessing The Deontological Undercurrents In Mo Zi’S Ethical Thought, Nuno Miranda
Comparative Philosophy
This article reexamines Mo Zi’s ethical philosophy, challenging the dominant interpretation of Mohism as a purely consequentialist or proto-utilitarian system. While Mo Zi’s emphasis on social utility—such as material welfare, population growth, and aversion to warfare—aligns with outcome-oriented reasoning, I argue that his invocation of the will of Heaven introduces a deontological dimension. Heaven’s will serves not merely as a heuristic for maximizing benefits but as an absolute moral standard, demanding adherence to duties like universal love and non-aggression, irrespective of immediate practical gains. Through a close reading of the Mo-Zi corpus, this study reveals a hybrid ethical framework that …
Walking Through The Aristotelian Lane: Amartya Sen On Rational Choice, Barada Laxmi Panda
Walking Through The Aristotelian Lane: Amartya Sen On Rational Choice, Barada Laxmi Panda
Comparative Philosophy
The term ‘rational choice’ has great impact on the life of a rational agent. Rational choice helps the agent to understand her capability of making choice and the intentional involvement for working on a particular aspect considering certain circumstances. At the same time, this creates a lot of dilemmas in terms of understanding the freewill of the agent while being committed for a work. Following this, Amartya Sen’s discussion on this subject seems relevant where Sen very prominently reflects on the point that rational choice involves freedom, rationality, and normativity. These three features are coherent with each other and with …
Epicurus And The Buddha On Desire, Andrew Alwood
Epicurus And The Buddha On Desire, Andrew Alwood
Comparative Philosophy
The philosophies of Epicurus and the Buddha aim to free us from suffering by helping us to recognize how ignorance and delusion lead us to pursue harmful desires. Since the problem lies in our attitudes, the solution is to change our attitudes. Like doctors healing the sick, they offer therapeutic practical advice, to remove the groundless opinions and the unhealthy desires that cause suffering. Although various misconceptions may lead us to conceive of these two thinkers as quite different with respect to values and ethics, there are remarkable similarities. Indeed, their practical advice for how to live has the same …
A New Look At The Debate Between Confucian Soft-Power And Legalist Hard-Power Statecrafts And Its Contemporary Significance, Shirong Luo
Comparative Philosophy
In recent years, comparative scholars and commentators have attempted to find ways to best characterize the opposition between Confucianism and Legalism. For example, it has been argued that Confucianism exemplifies “idealism”, whereas Legalism is a version of “realism” and that their dispute can be construed as a clash between the broader philosophical frameworks of idealism and realism. While casting these opposing political philosophies as such can shed some light on the differences between the two schools of classical Chinese philosophy, these conceptual labels are too broad to capture their fundamental differences, which in my view are their different understandings of …
Confucianism Embodied: An “Interdisciplinary” Approach To Comparative Political Theory, Qi Jing
Confucianism Embodied: An “Interdisciplinary” Approach To Comparative Political Theory, Qi Jing
Comparative Philosophy
This article articulates and defends an “interdisciplinary” approach to Confucian political theory and presents Confucianism as a living, dynamic entity rather than merely a reservoir of ideas contained within a set of texts. It argues for a methodology that transcends traditional textual analysis, advocating for an intersectional approach that melds normative, emancipatory, and practical dimensions. This approach seeks to capture the evolving essence of Confucianism as influenced by cultural, institutional, and individual interactions. It also promotes a “distant reading” to examine not only texts and historical debates but also institutional changes, power dynamics, and guiding principles within Confucianized societies. The …
Righteousness Versus Yi: Two Senses Of Justice, Cuiting Chen
Righteousness Versus Yi: Two Senses Of Justice, Cuiting Chen
Comparative Philosophy
The narratives of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac in the Old Testament and Shun’s renunciation of the throne to save his father, who had committed a crime in Meng-Zi, have had a profound influence on Western and Chinese culture. The two stories are widely known and referenced due to their cultural significance, which is evident in various artistic, literary, religious, and philosophical forms. While the two narratives may be viewed as murder and corruption from a universal ethical standpoint, historical traditions interpret them differently. Abraham’s actions are revered as the epitome of righteousness, while Shun’s actions exemplify the most appropriate ( …
Book Review On Kyoto School Philosophy In Comparative Perspective: Ideology, Ontology, Modernity (By Bernard Stevens), Dennis Stromback
Book Review On Kyoto School Philosophy In Comparative Perspective: Ideology, Ontology, Modernity (By Bernard Stevens), Dennis Stromback
Comparative Philosophy
No abstract provided.
Xun Zi On Desiring To Be Good: Desire As The Necessary Condition For The Transformation Of Nature, Angel Ting
Xun Zi On Desiring To Be Good: Desire As The Necessary Condition For The Transformation Of Nature, Angel Ting
Comparative Philosophy
There are various discussions on the role of desires in the Xun-Zi and how the transformation of nature takes place. Some scholars hold that the heart-mind can override inborn human desires, a view that is analogous to externalism; others maintain the internalism view that desires are essentially motivating in the Xun-Zi. This paper aims to resolve this seeming conflict between externalism and internalism. By introducing David B. Wong's model of being an internalist about duty and an externalist about reason, I will show that desires in the Xun-Zi are necessarily motivating because of their direction of fit, and …
A Comparative Study Of Emotion In Indian And Western Philosophy, Prasasti Pandit, William Krieger
A Comparative Study Of Emotion In Indian And Western Philosophy, Prasasti Pandit, William Krieger
Comparative Philosophy
This paper aims to develop a comparative analysis of the place of emotion from Indian and Western philosophical perspectives. Both Eastern and Indian philosophy consider three mental states as being involved with the arousal of emotions, i.e., cognitive (epistemic), conative (desire), and affective. In Indian philosophy, there is no such single term or specific equivalent definition to the Western term ‘emotion.’ Further, there is no clear dichotomy (cognitive & non-cognitive) between reason and emotion in Indian culture. In Indian scriptures, there are various, at times intermingled conceptions of emotion. From a religious standpoint, emotion can be an expression of religious …
Golden Rule Ethics And Complementary Learning Process With The Other: From Confucius’ And Christian Approaches To Hatatas’ Approach, Fasil Merawi
Comparative Philosophy
Through the development of a comparative analysis that explores the conceptions of the Golden Rule that are expressed in the teachings of Confucius, Christianity and the Hatatas, the article shows that the combined insights that emerge from these three teachings have a contemporary significance in the attempt to develop a complementary learning process with the Other. Throughout its variations, the Golden Rule is grounded on the need to treat others as how we want to be treated. Such a moral vision occupies a central importance in Confucius’s ren, Christianity’s Gospel of Matthew and the commandments, and the Hatatas’ principle of …
Intersecting Perspectives: A Comparative Dialogue On Respect In Confucian And Western Philosophies, Chuan Chih Hsu, Antonio Calderón, Chia Shih Su
Intersecting Perspectives: A Comparative Dialogue On Respect In Confucian And Western Philosophies, Chuan Chih Hsu, Antonio Calderón, Chia Shih Su
Comparative Philosophy
Present study analyzes the concept of respect in both Confucius' and Western philosophical traditions. It reveals the differences in interpretation and practice of respect due to their distinctive cultural, historical, and philosophical contexts. Confucius' philosophy emphasizes respect towards authority, traditions, and the elderly through dedication and commitment, while Western philosophy, primarily Aristotle's perspective, emphasizes reciprocal respect and the inherent rights of individuals. Both systems of thought, although contrasting, seek to promote values fostering cooperation, understanding, and peaceful coexistence. Despite their varied conceptualizations of respect, the ultimate goal remains the same – to provide ethical and moral guidance for a harmonious …
Book Review On Creating A Shared Morality: The Feasibility Of Ethical Constructivism (By Heather Salazar), Karin Brown
Book Review On Creating A Shared Morality: The Feasibility Of Ethical Constructivism (By Heather Salazar), Karin Brown
Comparative Philosophy
No abstract provided.
Zhuang Zi And The “Greatest Joyousness”: Wang Fuzhi’S Approach, John R. Williams
Zhuang Zi And The “Greatest Joyousness”: Wang Fuzhi’S Approach, John R. Williams
Comparative Philosophy
The present article presents Wang Fuzhi 王夫之 (1619-1692 C.E.)’s reading of the eighteenth chapter of the Zhuang-Zi 莊子 (ZZ) by looking at his entry from Zhuang-Zi-Tong 莊子通 and other key glosses from Zhuang-Zi-Jie 莊子解. The philosophical upshot, I aim to show, is that Wang takes ZZ as presenting the consummation of “the greatest joyousness” (zhi-le 至樂) as requiring getting rid of joyousness as one’s desideratum. Using Derek Parfit’s work as a point of reference, I aim to show that this is not paradoxical or even inconsistent or even (directly or indirectly) self-defeating but is instead an interesting instance of …
Analyzing Nietzsche And Darwin In Search Of Origin Of Morality: The Evolving Perspective, Anirban Ghosh, Malabika Chakrabarti
Analyzing Nietzsche And Darwin In Search Of Origin Of Morality: The Evolving Perspective, Anirban Ghosh, Malabika Chakrabarti
Comparative Philosophy
It is generally believed that the greatest asset of human being is the moral values and according to theist such values have been infused in human by the creator. By accepting such view we simply get rid of any effort of searching the origin of morality or ethics and also transfer the responsibility of being ethical on the almighty. But when atheist denied God, the liability of being moral comes to human and also the significant question arose why we should be moral. Probably more important is the hunt for the origin of our morality. In this article we have …
Book Review On Sculpting The Self: Islam, Selfhood And Human Flourishing (By Muhammad Faruque), Mohammad Azadpur
Book Review On Sculpting The Self: Islam, Selfhood And Human Flourishing (By Muhammad Faruque), Mohammad Azadpur
Comparative Philosophy
No abstract provided.
The Best Confucian Hybrid Meritocracy-Democracy For Liberal Democracies, John J. Park
The Best Confucian Hybrid Meritocracy-Democracy For Liberal Democracies, John J. Park
Comparative Philosophy
Several contemporary Confucian philosophers have posited differing hybrid views fusing meritocracy to democracy. There is a good deal of interest in a meritocracy in contemporary Confucian thought, and such a view perhaps should receive more serious consideration in liberal democratic thought since it may make for a stronger form of government when appended to democracy. In this paper, four contemporary hybrid theorists who combine elements of a meritocracy with a democracy are critically analyzed concerning an ability for their views to be instantiated in liberal democracies for the legislative branch only. Finally, I provide a modified hybrid view for the …
Social Justice In India: A Comparative Study Of Rawls And Ambedkar, Abinash Darnal
Social Justice In India: A Comparative Study Of Rawls And Ambedkar, Abinash Darnal
Comparative Philosophy
Justice has always been central to political philosophy over a period of time. No doubt, throughout the ages, countless philosophers have understood justice in different ways. Nevertheless, they have consented that a good society is a just society. Moreover, justice is a distributive concept and is concerned with the distribution of wealth, leisure, liberty, friendship, love, etc. Twentieth century justice came to be discussed usually in relation to social life in general, and the distribution of material rewards in particular and usually came to be known as ‘Social Justice’. Social justice as such came to be accepted as the fair …
Mexica Monism And Daoist Ethics In The Philosophy Of Gloria Anzaldúa, Saraliza Anzaldúa
Mexica Monism And Daoist Ethics In The Philosophy Of Gloria Anzaldúa, Saraliza Anzaldúa
Comparative Philosophy
Critical scholarship regarding the philosophy of Gloria Anzaldúa has proliferated in recent decades, especially in the fields of feminist theory, phenomenology, and epistemology. However, there is little analysis of the metaphysics which undergird their work and make possible their views on identity, experience, and community politics. First, this article will explore the significance of Anzaldúa’s ‘nos/otras’ and its relation to Mexica (Aztec) monistic metaphysics. Such a concept resists an us/them construction of the world because it situates the other as us: the Spanish word for ‘we’ is ‘nosotros’ and holds the ‘other/otros’ as its …
Harmony And Complementarity: A Discussion With Bo Mou, Chenyang Li
Harmony And Complementarity: A Discussion With Bo Mou, Chenyang Li
Comparative Philosophy
No abstract provided.
The Malagasy Ideal Of Fihavanana And Western Ethics, Casey Woodling
The Malagasy Ideal Of Fihavanana And Western Ethics, Casey Woodling
Comparative Philosophy
This essay explores various ethical dimensions of the important concept of fihavanana and its role in Malagasy ethics. As a first pass, we can say that fihavanana is a state of peace or harmony that people can achieve with others within their communities; it is modeled on the peace, harmony, solidarity, love, and closeness that is often seen in family ties. Understanding the role that fihavanana plays in the traditional ethics of the people of Madagascar does not come close to providing a complete picture of Malagasy ethics, but fihavanana is arguably the most crucial ethical concept for Malagasy. After …
Doing Philosophy Comparatively In China: Constructive Engagement Between Marxist, Western, And Chinese Traditional Philosophy (2000-2022), Hongyin Zhou, Jiabin Ye
Doing Philosophy Comparatively In China: Constructive Engagement Between Marxist, Western, And Chinese Traditional Philosophy (2000-2022), Hongyin Zhou, Jiabin Ye
Comparative Philosophy
Marxist philosophy, Western philosophy, and Chinese traditional philosophy constitute three main forces of contemporary Chinese philosophy. In the past two decades, a great deal of in-depth and extensive constructive engagement has been carried out among the three. Previous studies on such constructive engagement have focused on the perspectives of Western or Chinese traditional philosophy, while the perspective of Marxist philosophy has been neglected to a large extent. Given the key position of Marxist philosophy in contemporary Chinese philosophy, it is undoubtedly regrettable that such a perspective is missing. This paper aims to fill this gap in the perspective of examination …
Creolizing Modern Buddhism: A Reply To Yarran Hominh & A. Minh Nguyen, Evan Thompson
Creolizing Modern Buddhism: A Reply To Yarran Hominh & A. Minh Nguyen, Evan Thompson
Comparative Philosophy
In reply to Hominh and Nguyen, I argue that “creolizing” methods in the study and practice of Buddhism should not be opposed to historicist and contextualist modes of investigation and understanding. Rather, historicism and contextualism can and should inform creolizing approaches.
Cosmopolitanism, Creolization, And Non-Exceptionalist Buddhist Modernisms: On Evan Thompson’S Why I Am Not A Buddhist, Yarran Hominh, A. Minh Nguyen
Cosmopolitanism, Creolization, And Non-Exceptionalist Buddhist Modernisms: On Evan Thompson’S Why I Am Not A Buddhist, Yarran Hominh, A. Minh Nguyen
Comparative Philosophy
In his recent book, Why I Am Not a Buddhist, Evan Thompson argues that inter-tradition or cross-cultural philosophical dialogue ought to be governed by cosmopolitan conversational norms that do not subsume any one tradition’s deep commitments under those of any other tradition, but rather bring those commitments into the discussion so that they can be challenged and defended. He argues on this basis for the application of a deeply contextualist and historicist interpretive methodology to Buddhist texts, concepts, and theories in dialogue with philosophy and contemporary cognitive sciences. Buddhist modernism, in eschewing that deeply contextualist and historicist methodology, falls …
Sameness, Difference And Environmental Concern In The Metaphysics And Ethics Of Spinoza And Chan Buddhism, Michael Hemmingsen
Sameness, Difference And Environmental Concern In The Metaphysics And Ethics Of Spinoza And Chan Buddhism, Michael Hemmingsen
Comparative Philosophy
In this paper I contrast the metaphysical philosophies of Benedict de Spinoza and the ‘sudden enlightenment’ tradition of Chan Buddhism. Spinoza’s expressivist philosophy, in which everything can be conceived via a lineage of finite causes terminating in substance as a metaphysical ground of all things, emphasises the relative sameness of all entities. By contrast, Chan’s philosophy of emptiness, which rests on the dependent co-origination of all entities, renders such comparison fundamentally meaningless. Having no source beyond dependent co-origination to generate a thing’s distinct nature leads to a metaphysics in which, rather than being relatively similar or different, all things …
Moral Virtue And Inclusive Happiness: From Ancient To Recent In Western And Confucian Traditions, Shirong Luo
Moral Virtue And Inclusive Happiness: From Ancient To Recent In Western And Confucian Traditions, Shirong Luo
Comparative Philosophy
What is the relationship between moral virtue and happiness? Does having moral virtues make their possessors happy? Can one be happy without them? Philosophers provide diverging answers to these questions due to their different understandings of the concept of happiness which has multifarious meanings and senses. In this essay, I compare the representative Western theories of happiness with what may be called “a classical Confucian view” informed by recent scholarship on classical Confucianism. I argue that for classical Confucian philosophers, especially Confucius and Mencius, there are two kinds of happiness: exclusive (or unshared) and inclusive (or shared) happiness. I conclude …
A Unifying Pluralist Account Of Truth And The Case Of Chinese Philosophy Examined From The Cross-Tradition Engaging Vantage Point: Reply To Chenyang Li, Bo Mou
Comparative Philosophy
No abstract provided.