Virtue Ethics and Consequentialism in Early Chinese Philosophy

428 Pages·2007·2.92 MB·English

by  Bryan Van Norden

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VirtueEthicsandConsequentialisminEarlyChinesePhilosophy
Inthisbook,BryanW.VanNordenexaminesearlyConfucianismasaformof
virtueethicsandMohism,ananti-Confucianmovement,asaversionofcon-
sequentialism.Thephilosophicalmethodologyisanalytic,withanemphasis
onclearexegesisofthetextsandcriticalexaminationofthephilosophical
arguments proposed by each side. Van Norden shows that Confucianism,
thoughsimilartoAristotelianisminbeingaformofvirtueethics,offersdif-
ferentconceptionsof“thegoodlife,”thevirtues,humannature,andethical
cultivation. Similarly, Mohism is akin to Western utilitarianism in being a
form of consequentialism, but it is distinctive in its conception of the rel-
evant consequences and in the specific arguments that it gives on its own
behalf. The author makes use of the best current research on Chinese his-
tory, archaeology,and philology. His text is accessible to philosophers with
nopreviousknowledgeofChinesecultureandtoSinologistswithnoback-
groundinphilosophy.
BryanW.VanNordenisanassociateprofessorinboththephilosophyand
Chinese and Japanese departments at Vassar College. He has edited and
contributedtoConfuciusandtheAnalects:NewEssaysandco-editedReadings
inClassicalChinesePhilosophy.AFulbrightFellow,hehasalsoreceivedgrants
fromtheNationalEndowmentfortheHumanities,theChiangChing–kuo
Foundation,andtheAndrewW.MellonFoundation.
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Virtue Ethics and Consequentialism
in Early Chinese Philosophy
bryan w. van norden
VassarCollege
CAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITYPRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB28RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521867351
© Bryan W. Van Norden 2007
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of
relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place
without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2007
ISBN-13 978-0-511-28944-6 eBook (EBL)
ISBN-10 0-511-28944-8 eBook (EBL)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-86735-1 hardback
ISBN-10 0-521-86735-5 hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls
for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not
guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
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ToBecky
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Thensheopenedupabookofpoems
Andhandedittome
WrittenbyanItalianpoet
Fromthethirteenthcentury.
Andeveryoneofthemwordsrangtrue
Andglowedlikeburnin’coal
Pourin’offofeverypage
Likeitwaswritteninmysoul
Frommetoyou....
–BobDylan
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Contents
Preface page ix
Acknowledgments xi
Usage xiii
1. Introduction 1
2. KongziandRuism 65
3. MoziandEarlyMohism 139
4. Mengzi 199
5. PluralisticRuism 315
Appendix:SomeAlternativeViews 361
Bibliography 381
IndexofNamesandSubjects 401
IndexLocorum 410
vii
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