Virtue Ethics and Consequentialism in Early Chinese Philosophy
Virtue Ethics and Consequentialism in Early Chinese Philosophy
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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 virtues, human nature, and ethical cultivation.
- Straddles the methodological divide between Sinologists and philosophers
- Contains the best contemporary research on ancient Chinese language, history, archaeology, and philology
- The most systematic and sympathetic exposition of the classic debate between Confucians and the Mohists
Reviews & endorsements
"...Bryan Van Norden has made a remarkable and thought provoking contribution to a still ongoing dispute about the dao... strongly recommend the book to anyone with an interest in Chinese philosophy and comparative philosophy."
--Loy Hui-Chieh, Department of Philosophy, National University of Singapore, Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy
"Bryan Van Norden's Virtue Ethics and Consequentialism in Early Chinese Philosophy is a major contribution to the philosophical study of early Chinese thought.... It is a work of enormous scope that attempts to understand three key figures in the early Chinese philosophical tradition: Kongzi, Mozi, and Mengzi.... this book helps advance the debate on the questions of Ruism as a virtue ethics, the place of truth and argumentation in classical Chinese thought, and the relevance of Ruism to contemporary ethics. Van Norden's book is a highly important work, and one I suspect scholars in the field will be engaging with for years to come."
--Alexus McLeod, University of Dayton, Philosophy East & West
Product details
- Published: June 2007
- Format: Hardback
- ISBN: 9780521867351
- Length: 430 pages
- Dimensions: 235 × 160 × 31 mm
- Weight: 0.712kg
- Availability: Available
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Kongzi and Ruism
- 3. Mozi and early Mohism
- 4. Mengzi
- 5. Pluralistic Ruism.
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