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Copyright of Aufklärung: Revista de Filosofia is the property of Aufklarung: Revista de Filosofia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper investigates the strategies of governance in the language policy 'Chanting the Chinese Classics' (CCC) as deployed by State authorities, schools, and local communities. It highlights the strategy of 'viewing' as a nexus between language policy processes and traditional Chinese governing philosophy. To examine the connections between macro-level language policy and local educational and communicative processes, an ethnography of language policy was conducted at a weekend community school. We argue that language policy governance in Chinese language policy implementation mirrors Confucian philosophy. To further this strategy, State authorities organize nationally televised events at which school children compete in chanting competitions, which serve as exemplars for educators, parents, and students, who are encouraged to memorize vast quantities of classic Chinese literature. Results reveal that the appropriation of the CCC policy by teachers and parents encourages self-government and aligns with language policy ideology. While the CCC policy effectively encourages thousands of children to memorize Chinese Classics, it simultaneously promotes cultural confidence and nationalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that the Zhuangzi 《莊子》 represents a specific type of Daoist practical philosophy: It is medicinal or therapeutic and seeks to promote existential ease, often by means of humor. Part of its approach to practical philosophy consists in pointing out the impracticality of many early Chinese philosophical doctrines, and, especially, Confucian political and ethical teachings. To illustrate this understanding of the Zhuangzi , the narrative of Confucius' visit to the legendary Gangster Zhi (dao zhi 盜跖) is analyzed in some detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reconstructs the classical Confucian approach to sincerity (cheng 誠) as a political virtue of the governing and a civic virtue of the governed. For Confucian thinkers, sincerity thus understood shapes both the rulers and the ruled in terms of the common good, and guarantees the stability of a just political system. It is shown that for Confucius and the Zuo Commentary one of the key political and civic virtues was reliability (trustworthiness, xin), which later came to be viewed as rooted in an inner virtue of sincerity, described by Mencius as natural, inherently moral, and social. The relation between moral and civic/political sincerity was then examined in the Great Learning and the philosophy of Xunzi. Their ideas were complemented in the later imperial period in the Essentials of Governance with a discussion of the connection between political sincerity and the virtue of loyalty (zhong). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Truyền kỳ, which is a genre of fantasy short stories, was formed and developed in the historic period of medieval literature of Vietnam in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Despite being derived from a similar Chinese genre, the truyền kỳ of Vietnam was the work of the endogenous development of the national fantasy short story, which was closely associated with folk literature and historical prose. However, at the time of its inception, as well as at the glorious top of this genre, truyền kỳ had never been accepted as an official genre. It was rather a metaphor for unorthodox discourse in formal Confucian society. The reason is that truyền kỳ founded the first elements of folk narrative genres that were considered inferior and which Confucius advised Confucians to reject. Therefore, truyền kỳ deeply influenced Confucian doctrines, yet in this genre by itself, the deficiencies of Confucian philosophy related to the metaphysical world were exposed in competition with other non Confucian religions that had emerged, such as Buddhism, Taoism, and especially folklore. By analyzing ghost stories that represent the most typical case or expression of the complex relationship between Confucianism and folklore in the Vietnamese truyền kỳ genre, this article concludes that all the ontological crises of Confucianists that manifested in truyền kỳ derived from this tradition of folklore which created a minor discourse of a Confucian literatus who wrote on the periphery of official Confucianism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper advances the claim that skilful reflection is a master virtue in that skilful reflection shapes and corrects the other epistemic and intellectual virtues. We make the case that skilful reflection does this with both competence-based epistemic virtues and character-based intellectual virtues. In making the case that skilful reflection is a master virtue, we identify the roots of ideas central to our thesis in Confucian philosophy. In particular, we discuss the Confucian conception of reflection, as well as different levels of epistemic virtue. Next we set out the Dual Process Hypothesis of Reflection, which provides an explanation of the workings of reflection in relation to Type 1 and Type 2 cognitive processes. In particular, we flag how repetition of Type 2 processes may eventually shape Type 1 processes and produce what we call downstream reflection. We distinguish competence-based epistemic virtues from character-based intellectual virtues. We also explain how our metacognition account of reflection, drawing on a Confucian conception of reflection and the Dual Process Hypothesis of Reflection, explains skilful reflection as a master virtue. Finally we outline an application of our metacognition account of reflection to a current debate in epistemology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay offers a comparative analysis of the notion of trust in Hegel and Confucius. It shows that Hegel's two senses of trust (Zutrauen and Vertrauen) depend upon his theory of recognition and recognitive struggle. The competitive thrust of Hegel's account of trust, it argues, introduces a series of problems that cannot be adequately resolved within his theory, since it presupposes the kinds of trusting relations—self-, intersubjective- and world-trust—that it purports to explain. This essay then turns to the Confucian notions of xin 心 and li 理 to address the problems in the Hegelian account. It concludes by outlining the Confucian account's salience for critical social theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers the author's responses to Chenyang Li and Huaiyu Wang's comments on his book "Confucius: The Man and the Way of Gongfu." The author says that he did not deny the theoretical, intellectual and philosophical aspect of Confucius when he argued that Confucius' primary aim is gongfu. He also argues that the grasping the gongfu aim is the only way to understand the theory and its profundity.

As recorded in the Analects, Kongzi (Confucius) held that using punishment to influence ordinary citizens will do little to develop a sense of shame (chi 恥) in them. This term is usually taken to refer to a sense of shame described here as “autonomous,” understood as a predisposition to feel ashamed when one does something wrong because it seems wrong to oneself, and not because others regard it as wrong or shameful. Historically, Confucian philosophers have thought a great deal about the habits and character traits necessary for someone to have a sense of shame that is truly autonomous. The article looks at their views on this matter and shows how they help to articulate the hypothesis that coercive punishments undermine or work at cross-purposes with the cultivation of an autonomous sense of shame. It then uses this analysis to explicate Kongzi’s proposal that governing people by cultivating a sense of shame is to be preferred to governing by threat of punishment. It concludes by weighing its merits as a view about effective governance, observing that its strength and plausibility depends on whether we take the threat of punishment to be direct or indirect. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

"The Analects of Confucius" authentically keeps a record of the words and deeds of Confucius and his disciples. It's one of the four classical works of Confucian culture. By citing many exemplary texts from "Confucian Analects" and delineating and expounding on their connotational significance, the ethical and philosophical importance and values of "Confucian Analects" are emphatically manifested; meanwhile, their mirroring and guiding values on one's behaviour are further specifically illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first translation of Confucius's Analects into a European language was a Dutch book by Pieter van Hoorn. Printed in Batavia in 1675, it predated the better-known Latin translation, Confucius Sinarum Philosophus (1687). Whereas the introduction of Confucius in the West has often been regarded as a project of the Jesuit mission, an exploration of the Netherlandish situation points out that the 'manufacturing' of Confucianism was a variegated and multi-confessional affair. The process of transmitting, translating, publishing, explaining, and judging Confucius presented a challenge to Europeans from different backgrounds and allegiances, integrating not only Latin and vernacular scholarship but also Asian expertise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Analects reports Confucius describing ren differently to different students. This article presents an approach to reading ren through the lens of the particularities of each student in relation to how they discuss ren with Confucius. It argues for not viewing Confucius as a philosopher expounding a single universal virtue of ren that people can possess, but as a teacher guiding his students toward types of contextually appropriate conduct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The unsustainability of the Western paradigm points to the need for alternatives. Confucian philosophy suggests itself as a cultural resource for human evolution in the Anthropocene, because of its emphasis on good governance, information‐based policy, and fact‐based practices. However, patriarchy is a liability of Confucian philosophy, and the Analects in particular is sexist. Ecological wisdom, progressive thought, and feminism go hand in hand. How can the Analects be utilized for a future‐oriented reading? I suggest an interpretive pathway for a non‐patriarchic, ecological, and feminist appropriation of Confucius. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented which focuses on the concerns that involve the classical Confucianism. The authors presents the establishment of moral social order and self-cultivation, the concept of inward and outward turn in human goodness and self cultivation, and the concept of Confucian gentleman and personal virtue to achieve external goals. Also discussed is the similarity of the Chinese philosopher Mencius four sprouts of virtues and Confucius philosophy contained in the Analects.

In early China, views concerning human nature underwent significant development, with philosophers moving from seeing it as desire or instinct to seeing it as virtue or essence. Before Confucius's time, human beings' xing, or nature, was construed as desire and instinct, i.e., as a physical nature. The key problem faced by theorists of human nature at that time was how to manage nature with virtue, i.e., how to use virtue to both control and enrich nature. A later, wide-reaching development was the use of qi to explain human nature. Laozi began, taking de or virtue to be the internal essence of the human being; Confucius took de or virtue to be xing or nature. Following this development, the main current of the theory of human nature in the pre-Qin period divided into two branches. One, created by the later Confucius, inherited in part by Zisi, and developed by Mencius, took virtue as nature and insisted on the a priority of internal morality. The other branch, inherited in part by Zisi and developed by the author of Xing Zi Ming Chu and Xunzi, featured the development of the old tradition which took yu, or desire, as nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses John Dewey's experience in modem China. Our main purpose is an attempt to answer an important question: What motivated Dewey's Chinese students to introduce Dewey's educational thought to China? Part of an answer is derived by examining a more central question: How did Dewey's Chinese students find philosophical motivation from Confucianism in order to entertain Dewey's educational thought? By both privileging and utilizing Jane Roland Martin's (2011) educational theory of encounter, as a theoretical framework for addressing our question, we seek to illuminate the cross-cultural philosophical dynamic that took place between Dewey and his Chinese students. We borrow the concepts of "cultural stock" and "individual capacities" from Martin's theory to understand an encounter between Dewey's pragmatism and the elements of practicality in Confucianism during the early era of the Republic of China. Based on Martin's theory, this paper attempts to indicate that Dewey's Chinese students tried to adopt, transfer, and apply Dewey's pragmatism into Chinese culture, mostly because they were eager to find a "miraculous medicine" that would supposedly cure an ill Chinese society. In other words, Dewey's practical, utility-centered philosophical thoughts were very compatible with his Chinese students' cultural psychology stemming from traditional Confucianism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are marked similarities between Confucian ideas about the relationship between action, knowledge and learning, and contemporary educational thinking about action research. Examples can be seen in the relationship between action and research. First, Confucius emphasized the importance of ‘action’ which was different from ‘research’. The Confucian view of action implies that one should engage in a research process of deliberation in advance and then decide whether to take action or not. This kind of researched action is refined by the process of deliberation which could be called ‘research pre action’—the first stage of action research. Second, Confucius emphasized the importance of knowledge, and this reveals that Confucius emphasized the importance of knowledgeable action. This view of the relationship between knowledge and action inspires an insight into the relationship between knowledge, action, and action research. This competence to research and acquire new understanding in action could be called ‘research in action’—the second stage of action research. Third, Confucius emphasized the importance of learning to connect the relationship between knowledge and action. According to Confucius, learning is an important medium to accumulate knowledge, enable action, and improve the relationship between knowledge and action. And it might enable the possibility of a set of relations in which ‘action’ and ‘research’ might no longer be segregated in their traditional dichotomy. This relationship could be called ‘research on action’ in the third stage of action research. These observations of the Confucian view show a new direction in action research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article, I shall try to argue that some existing interpretations of the Analects cannot provide a satisfactory understanding of the concept of ren, on the one hand, and the relation between ren and li, on the other. Ren is not a thin concept such as right and wrong, good and bad, because it is not a non-substantive concept whose descriptive content has to be identified by a specific criterion which is not included in the concept itself. It is also not or not merely a thick concept such as courage, cruelty, truthfulness, and kindliness. In comparison with a thick concept, ren like courage, but unlike right, has substantive content. Nevertheless, unlike courage and other thick concepts, ren is not only about the ideal quality of a virtuous agent and the moral property of the agent's actions; it is also about the internal capacity of the agent and the principle believed by the agent for making moral actions. Since the meaning of the term is not only related to the external behavior but also related to the internal mind and the relevant principle, here, I call ren a 'heavy' concept. It is 'heavy' in the sense that it is not a concept of observable or substantive entity, but a theoretical construct which is used to explain the complicated relational property of morality, that is emerged from the internal realm and exhibited in the external realm of an agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Selcuk University Social Sciences Institute Journal is the property of Selcuk University Social Sciences Institute Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai, Philologia is the property of Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article presents and develops Zhu Xi's Neo- Confucian theory of heart-mind-will and human nature as the source and basis for the understanding of humanity. This article next shows how Kant and Confucius could be said to share the same vision of humanity in light of one particular historical connection between them. Finally, I have explored four forms of knowledge in light of a distinction between feeling and observation as well as their basic unity. This gives rise to our vision of humanity as world-rooted, and so indicates further how it can serve as a grounding for world-humanities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the question 'Is There, Can There Be, such an Activity as World Humanities?' My response takes issue with the phrase 'world humanity' that serves to legitimize a homogenizing process of globalization while simultaneously hiding from view the injustices and power imbalances that globalization creates. From my perspective as a Cree-Métis scholar, the world humanities are only valuable if they participate in the recuperation and protection of Indigenous stories-and by extension Indigenous languages and epistemes-that would require a reconsideration of the definition and obligations of what it means to be human. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the saying at Analects 7:1 is well-known and often mentioned in Confucian scholarship, there have been few focused discussions about what ‘transmitting’ means and in what sense it is contrasted to ‘innovating’. This article seeks to argue for the following points. (a) The ‘transmitting/innovating’ relationship should be understood in relation to the Confucian notion of filial piety. Analects 7: 1 is indeed Confucius's self-conception of what he is doing, that is, his way of philosophizing. (b) Traditionally, Confucius's transmitting has been thought to be related to his work on the ancient classics. This is not wrong, but is far from the whole story. Rather, it is primarily about the restoration of the dao. What Confucius transmits is the Dao, and it is for this goal that he worked on the ancient classics. (c) Moreover, since we learn about Confucius's philosophy mainly through the Analects rather than the classics he edited, an appropriate understanding of the ‘transmitting/innovating’ contrast must be related to the ideas in the Analects. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This essay presents an interpretation of ren … in the Analects that takes it to be a moral property primarily of communities, one that individuals can possess derivatively. Other interpretations of ren, li … , and moral agency in the Analects fail to account for the centrality of community in an adequate way, making it peripheral to the main theory, and thus struggling to make sense of the concentration on community in sections of the Analects such as book 4, and key passages such as Analects 4.1, 4.7, and 4.25, in which Confucius discusses the connection of ren to the particular community in which one lives, the groups one is a member of, and one's neighbors, respectively. First, a conception is outlined of shared communal disposition that helps us to understand ren in the Analects. Then, a textual argument centered in book 4 of the Analects is presented that ren is best understood as a communal property. Finally, an explanation is offered of communal disposition in general, and of how ren as a communal property is connected to the relevant communal dispositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay studies equality and inequality in Confucianism. By studying Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi, and other classic thinkers, I argue that Confucian equality is manifested in two forms. Numerical equality is founded in the Mencian belief that every person is born with the same moral potential and the Xunzian notion that all people have the same xing and the same potential for moral cultivation. It is also manifested in the form of role-based equality. Proportional equality, however, is the main notion of equality in Confucian philosophy. Proportional equality is realized in moral, economic, and political realms. On the basis of these notions of Confucian equality, I propose two Confucian political principles for contemporary society. The first is the inclusive principle of general election by citizenry, and the second is the exclusive principle of qualification for public offices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay analyzes how the zhengming 正名 theory of Confucius is linked to the problem of 'observances of form' in light of the methodology of Confucian aesthetics. This essay argues that the 'name-shape' combination in the zhengming paradigm is ultimately connected with the 'name-role' combination. The 'name-shape' paradigm continuously maintains and strengthens the 'name-role' paradigm. However, the 'name-shape' paradigm itself ultimately becomes more meaningful than the 'name-role' paradigm. This is because the aesthetic structure that appears peculiar in the Analects constitutes the 'name-shape' paradigm. In this aesthetic structure, what is ultimately important is 'form.' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers the author's discussion on the modern principle of liberalism in Chinese philosopher Mozi's writings. He provides an analysis of his equality photo-advocacy and expectation towards liberal conception of self-interested social order. He notes the cohesive civilization and political traditions of China which have been authoritarian frequently to an extreme degree. He also points out his counterpart Confucius and his philosophy which emphasized ritual and hierarchy as the keys in maintaining order in the country.

This essay calls attention to an aspect of Confucius's notion of ren that has often been overlooked or even denied in much recent discussion of the topic. While the egalitarian aspect of ren, i.e., the idea that every human being has the potential to become a ren person, is frequently asserted, the leadership dimension of ren has for the most part been given short shrift. I argue that for Confucius, ren is the leadership virtue. This conclusion is mainly based on a careful and systematic analysis of what may be called ‘the definitional ren passages’ and some ‘elucidative ren passages’ in the Analects. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Ren is the key concept of Confucius' philosophy. Thus, it dominates and guides all his teachings. Ren is a plurisignificative character. Etymologically, it refers to two people in a harmonious relationship. In the Ru Jia, there are at least five interrelated meanings of Ren, such as, 1) Ren can be taken as a particular virtue which is benevolence and it is to love others in a graded manner. 2) Ren can be taken as a general virtue and as such, it is universal and primary to which all particular virtues are connected. 3) Ren can be taken as an innate moral principle and in this light, an initial moral sensibility that has to be developed in the course of one's life. 4) Ren can be taken as an ethical ideal and this is Ren in its ultimate perfection with the complete transformation of the self from its disintegrative and selfish concerns towards the responsiveness of the profoundly relational person. 5) Finally, Ren can be taken as a general practice and they are Zhong and Shu. Zhong is positive, doing something for the self and then doing something for others. Shu is negative, thinking about what one should not do to others when one takes oneself as a measure for them. All these are the nuances of Ren and they will be exposed, analyzed and discussed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, the practitioner-academician makes comparisons and contrasts of soft power and hard power. The paper also seeks to examine, with reference to The Analects or Lun Yu, how leader can tap several sources of soft power and apply the various ways of soft power; and in doing so, persuade or appeal to their peoples. Confucius once said, ‘Make it your guiding principle to do your best for others and to be trustworthy in what you say.’ (The Analects, IX, verse 25). Interestingly, the leader’s virtues, example, trustworthiness and other Confucian applications and ways of using soft power are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses customer service and service excellence through the Confucian visor in various key concept of Confucianism that promotes service excellence which include being open and selfless, applying the principle of reciprocity, and applying good teamwork (Yi) and harmony (Her Ping). It states that Confucius is a Chinese philosopher, whose ideas and teachings influenced not just the thinking of his fellow countrymen, but also the thinking of the people worldwide. It mentions that putting good teamwork and harmony into practice is needed in order to provide excellent customer service. Furthermore, it says that being empathetic is needed in handling customers, since it recognizes the feelings of others.

The article discusses Confucius' Analects where he classified men into two categories, the gentlemen (junzi) and the petty men (xiao ren). It says that there are two sets of standards which Confucius uses to make judgments, one is based on virtue and the other is based on intelligence. It mentions that Confucius grouped women with the ranks of petty men and according to scholars, what Confucius said damaged his image resulting in his beliefs to be treated as an obstacle and thus removed.

The article focuses on the 13 individuals who were once students of Confucius and are considered to be the most important characters in the Confucian Analects. It says that the 13 individuals were distinguished in four disciplines which were virtue (dexing), speech (yanyu), administration (zhengshi) and literature (wenxue). It mentions that the 10 individuals who were mentioned under each discipline were called the "10 Wise Men," and were believed to be the ones who Confucius was most proud of.

This paper addresses the current revival of Confucianism in China. It analyzes its political issues and outcomes, underlines the possible defects in Confucianism as a theory of politics, i.e., as a science and art of government and a public ethics. It looks back to the dialectical relationship between Confucius and Mencius and shows how the presence of Confucianist elements in 20th-century politics contributed to shape the public and political sphere in contemporary China. The strains between revolutionary and reformist orientations through the last century are still at work in current social movements and reflected in political debates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reprints the annual George Ernest Morrison Lecture on Chinese-Ethnology given by attorney William Ah Ket titled "Eastern Thought, with special reference to Confucius," delivered at the Australian Institute of Anatomy in Canberra, Australia on May 3, 1933. Some of the subjects he considers include how the thinking of Asians differs from Westerners, details about the life of Chinese philosopher Confucius (551 BC-479 BC), and why the moral and ethical teachings of Confucius are compatible with various religions.

The article makes an attempt to imagine and construct Chinese Christian identity through musing with Confucius on the basis of the Analects, and Paul, as he appears in his letter to the Galatians. It contends that both Confucius and Paul used their ancestral resources to meet the needs of their societies. It looks on the rule of virtue taught by Confucius that can still be a guide to Chinese identities. It highlights the contributions of Chinese-Christian theology to the universal church.

Argues on the views of Aristotle and Confucius which stress that paradigmatic persons exhibit the nature and content of ethical standards. Limitations of Aristotle's individualistic metaphysics; Discrepancies on the principles of the Confucian self; Impact of the two philosophies on the truth about the moral life.

Discusses the philosophically inclined passages of the 'Analects,' the most reliable record of the sayings of Confucius. Interpretations of passages dealing with concepts and terms considered essential to an understanding of the Confucian world view; Types of ambiguity that are deeply rooted in Confucius' distinctive concept of language and the epistemological perspectives that informed it.

Discusses the beliefs on music based on the teachings of Chinese philosopher Confucius. Role of music in the education scholars and future rulers in ancient China; Comparison between the beliefs of the Greeks and the Chinese regarding the moral power of music; Importance of understanding the links between Eastern and Western musical philosophies to American music teachers and their Asian-American students.

The author discusses the Confucian philosophy as regarded to be a way of being, a way of life and a way to transform the self among the ancient schools of thought of China. She mentions that to integrate the Confucian self into the self's culture after postmodernism and to incorporate the Confucian philosophy with twenty-first century science to make a practical program tends to stress the whole body, spirit and mind.