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The article focuses on an intercultural dialogue between Chinese and Western philosophies, exploring the notions of transcendence and ethics and their cultural implications. Topics include similarities between Levinasian ethical transcendence and Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism, the differences based on their distinct cultural presuppositions, and promote an intercultural and pluralistic approach to philosophical concepts.

The article focuses on the concept of civic or political friendship and its potential to address the decline of community and public-spiritedness in liberal democracies. Topics include comparing civic friendship in Confucianism and Aristotle's thought, exploring the role of Confucian virtue of ren in civic friendship, and discussing how Confucian insights can contribute to modern political issues in liberal democratic societies.

The article focuses on the relationship between beauty and intellect in ancient Chinese and Jewish texts, particularly in Confucian and rabbinic traditions. The article seeks to compare and explore shared themes in these civilizations and highlight their resistance to singular interpretations or consistent outlooks on beauty and intellect.

This essay investigates the Confucian cosmopolitan aspiration. First, it examines the nature of cosmopolitanism and its distinction from universalism. It demonstrates that cosmopolitanism is a philosophical doctrine that consists of two core tenets: (1) the tenet that humankind in whole is a social-political community under the rule of law; each person has global duty and obligation; (2) the tenet that a cosmopolitan world society is one of peoples of diverse cultures that are constellated into a community under the rule of law. Secondly, it explores Confucian cosmopolitanism consisting of five tenets: (1) the vision of humankind in whole as a community; (2) the concept of one's cosmopolitan belonging; (3) the concept of equal moral worthiness of all human beings and inviolability of human dignity; (4) the concept of cultural diversity of humanity; and (5) the aspiration to a world society of permanent peace. Thirdly, it discusses why we must have a cosmopolitan reading, not a universalistic reading, of Confucianism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mengzi maintained that both benevolence (ren 仁) and rightness (yi 義) are naturally-given in human nature. This view has occupied a dominant place in Confucian intellectual history. In Mencius 6A, Mengzi's interlocutor, Gaozi, contests this view, arguing that rightness is determined by (doing what is fitting, in line with) external circumstances. I discuss here some passages from the excavated Guodian texts, which lend weight to Gaozi's view. The texts reveal nuanced considerations of relational proximity and its limits, setting up requirements for moral action in scenarios where relational ties do not play a motivational role. I set out yi 's complexity in these discussions, highlighting its implications for (i) the nei-wai debate; (ii) the notion of yi as "rightness," or doing the right thing; and (iii) how we can understand the connection between virtue and right action in these early Confucian debates. This material from the excavated texts not only provides new perspectives on a longstanding investigation of human nature and morality, it also challenges prevailing views on Warring States Confucian intellectual history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Neo-Confucian Epistemology and Chinese Philosophy: Practical Postulates for Actioning Psychology as a Human Science, Professor Liu offers a critique of the Cartesian underpinnings of psychology as a natural science. Drawing on Chinese cultural postulates, Professor Liu offers a vision for a global psychology more orientated towards the morally centered person and which developed a culturally-informed ethics. This commentary explores the implications of this rethinking of psychology for indigenous and applied social psychologies in Aotearoa/New Zealand. [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]

I address the question of the relationship between Eastern ecoaesthetics and Western environmental aesthetics by considering the role given to ecological knowledge in aesthetic appreciation of environments by traditional and contemporary Western environmental aesthetics, drawing parallels to the central role granted to ecological knowledge in aesthetic experience of environments by current Chinese ecoaesthetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Saṃnyāsa Upanis.ads characterize the life of the saṃnyāsin (renunciate) as devoid of earthly pleasures. A person who forsakes every earthly pleasure, however, seems to forsake the good life. The most convincing reply to this objection insists that the advanced saṃnyāsin does indeed enjoy earthly things, since he is able to enjoy earthly things without desiring them and, hence, without prolonging the painful cycle of rebirth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article asks whether “Confucian Management” may be seen as the dominant influence in contemporary China. The philosophical legacy of Confucius on modern management theory and practice has received a good deal of attention in recent times, and here I attempt to assess its possible continuity. In order to carry out this task, I apply a bibliometric analysis called the “Culturomics” approach, looking at the literature on “Chinese Management” published in Mandarin in the last century, from 1900 onwards. After the presentation of the empirical data, the discussion section is set out, followed by the article’s conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A commentary on the study of comparative philosophy by Richard Rorty, as well as the discussion of comparative philosophy by Alasdair MacIntyre is presented. Topics covered include Rorty's dismissal of comparative philosophy with his proposal to make comparisons sans philosophy, comparing incommensurable theories such as Confucian comparisons of Confucianism and Aristotelianism according to MacIntyre and the need for comparative philosophy to cultivate irony, especially an insider's irony.

Y i Hwang 李滉 (1501-1570), also known as Y i T'oegye 李退溪, was a prominent Korean scholar of Confucian philosophy during the Chosŏn 朝鮮 dynasty. He reinterpreted the Z hu Xi 朱熹 (1130-1200) school of neo-Confucianism, taking reverent seriousness ( kyŏng 敬) as the core principle of his philosophy. He studied various symptoms observed in the human mind and suggested the notion of reverent seriousness as a primary therapeutic method. His theory of kyŏng proposed the stages of philosophical therapy, which are uniquely found in Eastern philosophy and are clearly distinct from Western theories of philosophical therapy. As the methodology for such a therapy, he examined the study of 'not-yet-aroused and already-aroused' ( weifa yifa 未發已發) while seeking unification with the Way of Heaven. The study of quiet-sitting ( jingzuo 靜坐) and reading ( dushu 讀書), which he applied to his therapy, is included in the general category of holistic therapy based on 'abiding by kyŏng' ( kŏkyŏng 居敬), translating into wide-ranging therapeutic effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that Mencius’ education is ‘holistic education’ that aims at igniting the ‘silent revolution’ from within one’s inner mind-heart to be unfolded in society, state, and the world. Mencius’ educational philosophy is based on his theory of human nature and his theory of self-cultivation. Mencius affirms the totality of human life because he insists that the ‘personal,’ the ‘socio-political,’ and the ‘cosmic’ form a continuum. On the basis of ‘totality’ of one’s life, Mencius regards the educational process as the prompting of the overall awakening of the learner’s subjectivity. Moreover, Mencius considers that the human mind-heart is the creator of values and that human life is endowed with innate capacity to make moral judgments. Mencius holds that the most effective educational methodology is a sort of cultivation of the mind-heart through internal self-reflection. Moreover, Mencius insists that the principles of teaching are to be according to the student’s talent and that the teacher has to make oneself as a paradigm. In conclusion, Mencius’ educational philosophy reminds us of the importance of ‘emic’ approach of education and the true goal of education in this age of increased quantification, standardization, and commercialization. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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]

This paper aims at looking at the interconnection between public service motivation (PSM) and Confucian political philosophy. Confucian political philosophy outlines how those in public offices, whether as a ruler or as an official, should act. We will analyze the Western definition of PSM with reference to the meaning of the word “public” and attempt to show that Confucian administrative ethics is highly pertinent to the discussion of PSM. Perry’s (1996) definition of PSM has four different dimensions—namely, attraction to public policy making, commitment to the public interest, compassion, and self-sacrifice. The first dimension of PSM is incongruent with Confucian philosophy, while the other three dimensions match well with Confucianism. However, this is an ideal rather than a reality of “Confucianism in practice” in Confucian societies. In fact, Confucianism is linked to PSM in a prescriptive, rather than a descriptive, way. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Several reports published within the issue on the Chinese philosophy are presented.

Many scholars note that the Analects, and Confucian philosophy more generally, hold a conception of knowing that more closely approximates ‘knowing-how’ than ‘knowing-that’. However, I argue that this description is not sufficiently sensitive to the concerns of the early Confucians and their focus on self-cultivation. I propose that a particular conception of knowing—knowing to act in the moment—is better suited to capturing the Analects’ emphasis on exemplary lives in actual contexts. These investigations might also contribute to discussions on know-how in epistemology in western philosophy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Zhong ... is a very important philosophical concept in early Confucianism. Both the received ancient Confucian classics and the newly discovered ancient bamboo manuscripts tell us that adhering to the principle of zhong was an important charge that had been transmitted and inherited by early ancient Chinese political leaders from generation to generation. Confucius and his followers adopted the concept of zhong and further developed it into a sophisticated doctrine, which is usually called zhongdao ... (the Way of zhong) or zhongyong .... Being a polysemous word, zhong has several different but philosophically related meanings. However, for a long time, people usually understood zhong in the sense of only one of its meanings, and zhongdao or zhongyong has been commonly interpreted as "the doctrine of the mean." My argument in this paper is that a synthetic interpretation, which includes all the semantic meanings of zhong is necessary in order to acquire a deep and well-rounded comprehension of the philosophical significance of the Way of zhong. The Way of zhong features a dialectal view of the relationship between heaven and human beings, mind and materials, subjective desire and the available objective conditions, self and others, centrality and diversity, and so on. The Way of zhong has become a widely applied philosophical methodology in Confucianism, as well as a political principle and a kind of personal moral merit in early Confucian doctrines. Today, it still has relevance in contemporary Chinese social and cultural contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through demarcating science and philosophy, knowledge and morality as well as the humanities and natural sciences, ZHANG Jun-mai criticizes the notion of generalizing science from scientism, especially, the utilitarian view of science. However, he also admits practical and spiritual values that science has, and even emphasizes that Confucianism focusing on morality is not incompatible with modern western culture concerning science, actually both of them can benefit each other. Clearly, it is reasonable to some extent that ZHANG Jun-mai and New Confucianists speculate on the value and status that science has in our culture in humanistic perspective. Nevertheless, because they insist on the position that Confucianism is superior to western culture so that they still argue morality is superior to knowledge without removing the traditional influence from Confucianism centralizing on morality completely. As a result, the conflictions between science and philosophy, knowledge and morality, Confucianism and science haven't been solved properly in the end by them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses how his personal philosophy led him to the study of theology. He refers to the Confucian philosophical tradition through which he incorporated his questions and perspectives in his theology. He presents Judith Butler's works as a model on how the personal and the political may function in theological discourse. He cites his political philosophy as one where society is made up of individuals that equally make up a community and where one's capacity for compassion and forgiveness exceeds a capacity for suffering.

The article underscores the philosophy of the arrival of things in ancient Chinese thought. It states that ancient Chinese line of thinking focused primarily into how the achievement of things is potential, rather than into what a thing as a thing is. It posited that man should take part in the achievement or generation of things in order to realize his self-achievement. Moreover, a thing is understood as an event and because all things and man are interconnected, it is potential for man to enter into things by feeling and tasting rather than by trusting on the sense of sight.

This article focuses on the confrontation whether philosophy nor religion was had been adopted in Japan from Western world during the period of Meiji in 1868 to 1912. It discusses the author's objective to categorize the existence of both, as influence to the Japanese culture and likewise depicted its analysis in determining either Buddhism or Confucianism will fall under religion or philosophy. The author's view on Meiji-era philosophy and its connection to religion and ways of thinking is also presented.

The article argues that Confucian ethics is based on the roles that make an agent the person he or she is. It further argues that in Confucianism the question of what it is that a person ought to do cannot be separated from the question of what it is to be a person and the latter is answered in terms of the roles that arise from the network of social relationships in which a person stands. This does not mean that Confucian ethics is unlike anything found in Western philosophy. It shows that many Western thinkers have advanced a view of ethics similar to the Confucian ethics.

Achieving talented performance (TP) is a crucial concern at every level of education. In retrospect, while examining the Western cultural tradition of education and learning to as far back as the ancient Greeks, it is not difficult to find that nature vs. nurture, or innate ability vs. acquired ability have been long-term controversial issues. Perhaps due to the influence of Plato, who held a form of rationalism that maintained that all real knowledge was innate, and Aristotle, who held that the defining characteristics of things reflected something essential about them — their essence — views proclaiming the importance of innate ability have been significantly popular in the West for many years, and are still prevalent in most Western countries and societies (Wu, 2005). The literature on this point in China, however, both traditionally and currently, seems to be far more sympathetic to the importance of nurture rather than nature, which might reasonably be attributed to the profound influence of Confucian philosophy on theories of learning and achieving. This paper presents a reflective review of this philosophy, examines its influence in China and some other Asian countries, and discusses some of its implications for the education of gifted and talented children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the significance of Confucian paradoxical presentation of sagehood to human practice. Consideration of textual ambiguities as keys to Confucian reasoning and understanding of life; Characteristics of the linguistic space of sagehood; Methodological cues in understanding one's inability to replace certain expressions.

Discusses the causes of traditional Chinese attitude toward humor. Ancient Chinese conceptions of appearance; Description of the denotation and connotation of a classical Chinese term for appearance; Assumptions about Confucian politicization of appearance.

Reflects on the necessity of Sino-Western dialogue for the development of a prospective polymorphous global philosophy. Insights on the issue that can be gained from Umberto Bresciani's book "Reinventing Confucianism: The New Confucian Movement" and "Contemporary Chinese Philosophy," edited by Chung-ying Cheng; Possibility of closer collaboration between Neo-Confucian philosophers and Western philosophers.

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.