Ren, empathy and the agent-relative approach in Confucian ethics

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

Asian Philosophy: An International Journal of the Philosophical Traditions of the East

Publication Date

5-1-2012

Volume

22

Issue

2

First Page

133

Last Page

141

Publisher

Routledge

Abstract

The recent debate on whether Confucian Ethics should be viewed as a type of virtue ethics inevitably touches on the issue of the meaning of virtues such as ren 仁, yi 義, and li 禮. However, the argument would be over-simplified to claim that since Confucianism puts significant weight on virtues then it is virtue ethics. The conclusion would mainly depend on how we understand the key concepts such as ren, yi and the roles they play in the ethical life of humans. Some scholars interpret ren as benevolence, yet others interpret it as empathy. In this paper, I will make a scrutiny of these concepts and their implications. My primary aim is to discern the characteristics of Confucian ethics, rather than to classify it into some categories that are largely constructs of contemporary philosophy.

DOI

10.1080/09552367.2012.692537

Print ISSN

09552367

E-ISSN

14692961

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2012 Taylor & Francis

Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Wong, W. Y. (2012). Ren, empathy and the agent-relative approach in Confucian ethics. Asian Philosophy: An International Journal of the Philosophical Traditions of the East, 22(2), 133-141. doi: 10.1080/09552367.2012.692537

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