Summary Achievements of Chinese Philosophy
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A balanced form of humanism.
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The Cosmic Triad of Heaven, Earth, and human beings.
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They are equiprimordial
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Evil is not an agent nor a thing (body/matter
Yin and Yang
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Relational-Social Self
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Relational, social self.
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Reason is not essence of human nature.
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Ren (jen) is Ren* (jen)
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Ren*
is variously translated as
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Tu Weiming: “The more one penetrates into one’s inner self, the more one
will be capable of realizing the true nature of one’s human-relatedness. . . .
The profound person does not practice self-watchfulness for the intrinsic value
of being alone. In fact, he sees little significance in solitariness, unless it
is totally integrated into the structure of social relations.”
The “Somatic” Self
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No dualism of mind/spirit and body (soma).
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Chinese have a somatic soul--psycho-physical unity.
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This means that the body
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“The human body is the best picture of the human soul” (Wittgenstein,
Philosophical Investigations, p. 178e).
Summary Achievements (cont.)
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Religion and philosophy are fused.
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Theory and practice are also fused.
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Pin Yin vs. Wade-Giles:
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Some are the same: li=li
Virility and Virtue
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Ren* as “manhood-at-its-best” (trans. James Ware).
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Self-mastery through reason plays no role in Confucian ethics.
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“Virile courage” (AMA 19th Cent. Policies).
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Male reason/female passions
Confucian Heart-Mind (xin)
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Reason and the passions are united in xin
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xin
translated as
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The heart-mind is coextensive with the body--a thoroughly somatic
soul.
•The
heart-mind is coextensive with the body
•Reason and
the passions are united in xin
The Dance of Li
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Learning li is essentially a “discipline of the body”
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The learning of li begins with physical exercises.
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The choreography of virtue:
The Concept of Yi
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The virtuous person “does not have things that he invariably does or does
not do, but rather is committed to yi” (Analects 4.10).
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Yi is a personal appropriation of li.
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Ren + yi + li = ren*
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Self-creation within li
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A Confucian aesthetics of virtue
The importance of “sayings”
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We ought to pay as much attention to the sayings and opinions,
undemonstrated though they are, of wise and experienced older people as we do to
demonstrated truths. For experience has given such people an eye (nous)
with which they can see correctly.
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–Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1143b9-13 (Ostwald trans.)
The “single thread” of ren*
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shu—
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Shu is other regarding.
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zhong (chung)—
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These two are “the single thread” (4:15) of Confucian thought and
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Is Confucius a sage?
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He denies it at
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Seems to claim junzi in
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Three levels of human perfection:
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Sheng ren = sage.
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junzi =
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Person of ren*.
The Silver Rule
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The negative form of the Golden Rule. See
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John Topel: "The positive formulation of the Golden Rule (“Do good)”
encompasses a great deal more actions than does the Silver Rule (Do no harm)."
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Are there ways in which the Silver Rule is superior to the Golden Rule?
Humanism and Human Nature
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Do theses passages support natural goodness innate in all human beings?
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Chan on 6:17: “Man is born with uprightness. . . .”
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15:28: “It is the person who is able to extend the Dao. The Dao does not
extend the person.” (Roger Ames).
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Mencius: “Heaven sees as my people see; Heaven hears as my people hear”
(5a5).
Tian vs. Di
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Tian (T'ien)
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Di (Ti), an early personal God from the Shang Dynasty.
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Confucius never refers to Di, but he does sometimes refer to Tian in a
very personalized way.
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Put spiritual things at a distance.
Confucian feudalism?
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ren vs. min (common people)
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Medieval European:
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The Analects rarely refer to this feudalistic distinction.
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See 12:5
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See 7:7 and 15:38
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Anyone can become a junzi (chun-tzu), lit. “son of the
ruler”?
Repaying hatred (14:36)
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Daoists would repay hatred with virtue (de).
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Jesus: we should love our enemies, turn the other cheek, and forgive
70x70.
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Confucius: “How then shall we repay virtue?”
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“Repay hatred with uprighness (zhi) and repay virtue with virtue.”
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Retribution theory: repay like for like.