16. To Become or Not to Become: the Confucians on Our Moral Natures

Posted on

Morality is what makes us humans, for the Confucians: but does morality come from inside us, outside us, or both?

download-icon
.

Themes:

Further Reading

• S. Chan, “Daoist Nature or Confucian Nurture: Moral Development in the Yucong 語叢 (Thicket of Sayings),” in S. Chan (ed.) Dao Companion to the Excavated Guodian Bamboo Manuscripts (Cham: 2019), 259-83.

• S. Cook, The Bamboo Texts of Guodian: a Study and Complete Translation, 2 vols (Ithaca: 2012).

• A.C. Graham, “The Background of the Mencian Theory of Human Nature,” in X.S. Liu (ed.) Essays on the Moral Philosophy of Mengzi (Indianapolis: 1967, reprint 2002), 1-63.

• E.L.Hutton, “Xunzi on Moral Psychology,” in E.L. Hutton (ed), Dao Companion to the Philosophy of Xunzi (Dordrecht: 2016), 201-27.

• K. Lai, “Emotional Attachment and Its Limits: Mengzi, Gaozi and the Guodian Discussions,” Frontiers of Philosophy in China 14 (2019), 132-51.

• K.-L. Shun, Mencius and Early Chinese Thought (Stanford: 1997).

• A. Stalnaker, “The Mencius-Xunzi Debate in Early Confucian Ethics,” in J.L. Richey (ed.), Teaching Confucianism (New York: 2008), 85-106. 

Comments

Donald on 11 January 2025

Accumulation

Hi Peter,

Would it be possible to have the Chinese character for 'accumulation' please? 

Many thanks,

Donald 

In reply to by Donald

Peter Adamson on 12 January 2025

Accumulation

Fortunately Karyn had that in the script, it's  

In reply to by Peter Adamson

Donald on 12 January 2025

Thank you

Thank you :)

Add new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.