•  1322
    The dao of kongzi
    Asian Philosophy 12 (3). 2002.
    This paper introduces the Analects of Kongzi (better known to English-speakers as 'Confucius') to non-specialist readers, and discusses two major lines of interpretation. According to one group of interpretations, the key to understanding the Analects is passage 4.15, in which a disciple says that 'loyalty' and 'reciprocity' together make up the 'one thread' of the Master's teachings. More recently, some interpreters have emphasised passage 13.3, which discusses 'correcting names': bringing word…Read more
  •  1056
    Mengzi and Virtue Ethics
    Journal of Ecumenical Studies 40 (1-2): 120-36. 2003.
    I want first to present an overview of what I take to be Mengzi's own systematic ethics, which I shall approach as a version of "virtue ethics," and second to examine some of the standard arguments against Mengzi's position.
  •  645
    Competing interpretations of the inner chapters of the "zhuangzi"
    Philosophy East and West 46 (2): 247-268. 1996.
    In the Inner Chapters, arguments for a variety of different philosophical positions are present, including skepticism, relativism, particularism, and objectivism. Given that these are not all mutually consistent, we are left with the problem of reconciling the tensions among them. The various positions are described and passages from the Inner Chapters are presented illustrating each. A detailed commentary is offered on the opening of the Inner Chapters, arguing that it is best understood in an …Read more
  •  604
  •  557
  •  496
    Principles, Virtues, or Detachment? Some Appreciative Reflections on Karen Stohr’s On Manners
    Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 15 (2): 227-239. 2016.
    Karen Stohr’s book On Manners argues persuasively that rules of etiquette, though conventional, play an essential moral role, because they “serve as vehicles through which we express important moral values like respect and consideration for the needs, ideas, and opinions of others”. Stohr frequently invokes Kantian concepts and principles in order to make her point. In Part 2 of this essay, I shall argue that the significance of etiquette is better understood using a virtue ethics framework, lik…Read more
  •  409
    Sim, may, remastering morals with Aristotle and confucius (review)
    Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 8 (1): 109-111. 2009.
  •  312
  •  272
    Olberding, Amy, ed., Dao Companion to the Analects: New York: Springer, 2014, vi + 369 pages (review)
    Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 13 (4): 605-608. 2014.
  •  226
    Kelleher, M. Theresa, trans., The Journal of Wu Yubi: The Path to Sagehood (review)
    Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 14 (3): 459-462. 2015.
  •  198
    Anthropocentric Realism about Values
    In Chenyang Li & Peimin Ni (eds.), Moral Cultivation and Confucian Character, State University of New York Press. pp. 65-96. 2014.
    31 The choice of human goals cannot be completely subjective, because 32 there are some (even ones that motivate many humans) that are simply 33 unintelligible as ultimate goals. For example, wealth is rational as an 34 intermediate goal, a means to achieving some further end, but it is simply 35 unintelligible to suggest that wealth is an ultimate goal in itself. Second, 36 we have seen that some things are reasonable to pursue as aspects of 37 our ultimate goals (like prestige and pleasure), b…Read more
  •  192
    Mencius on Courage
    with Bryan W. Norden
    Midwest Studies in Philosophy 21 (1): 237-256. 1997.
  •  166
    An exceptional contribution to the teaching and study of Chinese thought, this anthology provides fifty-eight selections arranged chronologically in five main sections: Han Thought, Chinese Buddhism, Neo-Confucianism, Late Imperial Confucianism, and the early Twentieth Century. The editors have selected writings that have been influential, that are philosophically engaging, and that can be understood as elements of an ongoing dialogue, particularly on issues regarding ethical cultivation, human …Read more
  •  165
    Hansen on Hsün-Tzu
    with Bryan Van Norden
    Journal of Chinese Philosophy 20 (3): 365-382. 1993.
  •  162
    Review of Ivanhoe, Confucian Moral Self Cultivation (review)
    Journal of Asian Studies 55 (4): 983-84. 1996.
    Self-cultivation is a topic that has been largely ignored by Western moral philosophers. In contrast, it is a central concern of philosophers in the Confucian tradition. In this brief and highly readable book, Ivanhoe introduces the theories of self-cultivation of some of the most important figures in the Confucian tradition. (See the table of contents, below.) Although Confucianism is sometimes presented as a monolithic movement, Ivanhoe stresses the diversity within the Confucian tradition ove…Read more
  •  159
    Ethics in the Confucian Tradition: The Thought of Mencius and Wang Yangming
    with Philip J. Ivanhoe, David S. Nivison, R. P. Peerenboom, and Henry Rosemont
    Journal of Religious Ethics 28 (3): 449-470. 2000.
    Scholars of early Chinese philosophy frequently point to the nontranscendent, organismic conception of the cosmos in early China as the source of China's unique perspective and distinctive values. One would expect recent works in Confucian ethics to capitalize on this idea. Reviewing recent works in Confucian ethics by P. J. Ivanhoe, David Nivison, R. P. Peerenboom, Henry Rosemont, and Tu Wei-Ming, the author analyzes these new studies in terms of the extent to which their representation of Conf…Read more
  •  159
    Confucius and the Analects: New Essays (edited book)
    Oxford University Press USA. 2001.
    Confucius is one of the most influential figures--as historical individual and as symbol--in world history; and the Analects, the sayings attributed to Confucius and his disciples, is a classic of world literature. Nonetheless, how to understand both figure and text is constantly under dispute. Surprisingly, this volume is the first and only anthology on these topics in English. Here, contributors apply a variety of different methodologies (including philosophical, philological, and religious) …Read more
  •  144
    An Open Letter to the APA
    Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association 70 (2): 161-163. 1996.
    I am writing because I am disturbed by the apparent policy of many mainstream philosophy journals toward Chinese and comparative philosophy. The assumption seems to be that such work should be confined to the handful of specialist journals. I believe that this is an antiquated and counterproductive policy. Philosophers have recognized for a long time that any well-educated ethicist needs to know something about Aristotle, Kant, and the secondary work published on them. Because of changes in our …Read more
  •  111
    In this book, Bryan W. Van Norden examines early Confucianism as a form of virtue ethics and Mohism, an anti-Confucian movement, as a version of consequentialism. The philosophical methodology is analytic, in that the emphasis is on clear exegesis of the texts and a critical examination of the philosophical arguments proposed by each side. Van Norden shows that Confucianism, while similar to Aristotelianism in being a form of virtue ethics, offers different conceptions of “the good life,” the vi…Read more
  •  104
    Mengzi and Xunzi
    International Philosophical Quarterly 32 (2): 161-184. 1992.
  •  81
    Mengzi and Xunzi
    International Philosophical Quarterly 32 (2): 161-184. 1992.
  •  78
    Zhuangzi’s Ironic Detachment and Political Commitment
    Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 15 (1): 1-17. 2016.
    Paul Gewirtz has suggested that contemporary Chinese society lacks a shared framework. A Rortian might describe this by saying that China lacks a “final vocabulary” of “thick terms” with which to resolve ethical disagreements. I briefly examine the strengths and weaknesses of Confucianism and Legalism as potential sources of such a final vocabulary, but most of this essay focuses on Zhuangzian Daoism. Zhuangzi 莊子 provides many stories and metaphors that can inspire advocates of political plurali…Read more
  •  77
    ■ ■ 1 the historical context I am not of their age or time and so have not personally heard their voices or seen their faces, but I know this by what is ...
  •  63
    This new edition offers expanded selections from the works of Kongzi, Mengzi, Zhuangzi, and Xunzi ; two new works, the dialogues _Robber Zhi_ and _White Horse_; a concise general introduction; brief introductions to, and selective bibliographies for, each work; and four appendices that shed light on important figures, periods, texts, and terms in Chinese thought.
  •  40