Humanity redefined: Insights from Chinese philosophy and culture

Syed Ali Shah; Muhammad Zeeshan Naseer; Amir Ullah

Authors

Syed Ali Shah Author
Muhammad Zeeshan Naseer Author
Amir Ullah Author

Keywords:

Confucianism, Daoism (Taoism), Buddhism, Ren, Wu Wei (无为), Yin-Yang (阴阳), Compassion, Great Ultimate (Tai Ji 太极), Cultural Identity, Environmental Ethics, Social Responsibility, Ethical Frameworks, Human Rights

Abstract

The paper, will discuss how Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism can provide the alternative concept of the meaning of being human in the perspectives of relational ethics, natural harmony, and compassion. In fact, Chinese school of philosophical traditions expound further on a perception of humankind elicited through ethics, natural harmony and compassionate interdependence. Confucianism is the school of thought founded by Confucius which proudly underlines the idea of *Ren ( 仁 ) or benevolence, thus, trying its utmost to focus on morality and positive relations as the ways of achieving true human beings. The philosophy of Daoism, established by Laozi and Zhuangzi, supports an elusive ideal of Laozi, the way of no, known as, the state of inaction, which is named as the way to be in conformity with Dao (道). It is an opposition to Confucianism which demands active morality training and the opposite image that the world is disease free nature with limited interruptions. Having a profound impact on Chinese thinking, Buddhism views the human being differently, wherein the significance of humanity is reevaluated in the view of compassion and interrelatedness.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Chen, K. K. S. (1968). Buddhism in China: A Historical Survey. Princeton University Press. Fung, Y. L. (1948). A History of Chinese Philosophy (D. Bodde, Trans.). Princeton University Press.

Lai, K. L. (2016). Confucianism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press.

Laozi. (1993). Tao Te Ching (D. C. Lau, Trans.). Penguin Books.

Miller, J. (2003). Daoism and Nature: Cosmology, Ethics, and Practice. Cambridge University

Press.

Nisbett, R. E. (2003). The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently...and Why. Free Press.

Wang, Z. (2020). Reviving Confucianism in Contemporary China: The Reconstruction of Tradition. Springer.

Chan, W. (1963). A source book in Chinese philosophy. Princeton University Press.

Chen, L. (2021). Confucianism and its impact on modern ethical practices. Journal of East Asian Studies, 19(2), 123-145. https://doi.org/10.1017/eas.2021.012

Cheng, C. (2019). Daoism and environmental sustainability: Reinterpreting Wu Wei in contemporary context. Environmental Ethics, 41(3), 275-290. https://doi.org/10.5840/enviroethics201941325

Fung, Y. (1952). A history of Chinese philosophy (Vols. 1-2). Princeton University Press.

Laozi. (2000). Tao Te Ching (G. Chen, Trans.). Oxford University Press. (Original work published ca. 6th century BCE)

Li, X. (2020). Buddhist compassion and human rights: Bridging philosophy and practice. Buddhist Studies Review, 37(1), 89-105. https://doi.org/10.1017/bsr.2020.007

Liu, H. (2017). Neo-Confucianism and its relevance in contemporary philosophical discourse. International Journal of Asian Philosophy, 22(4), 341-358. https://doi.org/10.1007/ijap.2017.020

Miller, R. (2018). Confucian ethics and the modern world: The ongoing relevance of Ren. Philosophical Inquiry, 44(2), 212-230. https://doi.org/10.1080/phi.2018.005

Shin, J. (2022). Intercultural dialogues: The influence of Chinese philosophy on Western thought. Cross-Cultural Philosophy, 10(1), 45-67. https://doi.org/10.1093/ccp/2022.009

Wang, J. (2023). The role of Chinese philosophy in shaping cultural identity. Cultural Studies Review, 29(1), 55-72. https://doi.org/10.1080/csr.2023.015

Yao, X. (2000). An introduction to Confucianism. Cambridge University Press.

Zhang, L. (2016). Yin-Yang and environmental ethics: A Daoist perspective. Journal of Environmental Philosophy, 14(2), 98-113. https://doi.org/10.1080/jep.2016.014

Ames, R. T., & Hall, D. L. (2001). Dao De Jing: A philosophical translation. Ballantine Books.

Ching, J. (1993). Chinese philosophy: A selected bibliography. Asian Philosophy, 3(2), 163-189. https://doi.org/10.1080/09552369308574183

Graham, A. C. (1989). Disputers of the Tao: Philosophical argument in ancient China. Open Court.

Hsu, C. Y. (2018). Confucian virtue and modern ethics: Bridging past and present. Ethics & Social Philosophy, 11(4), 45-62. https://doi.org/10.1093/esp/11.4.45

Kaptchuk, T. C. (2000). The web that has no weaver: Understanding Chinese medicine. Congdon & Weed.

Lai, K. (2019). The influence of Confucianism on modern East Asian societies. Asian Studies Review, 43(3), 287-302. https://doi.org/10.1080/10357823.2019.1627649

Liu, J. (2021). Revisiting Daoist environmental ethics: Modern implications. Journal of Environmental Studies, 34(2), 121-137. https://doi.org/10.1080/envstud.2021.0157

Mencius. (2006). Mencius (D. C. Lau, Trans.). Penguin Classics. (Original work published ca. 4th century BCE)

Mo, C. (2022). Buddhist principles in contemporary human rights discourse. Journal of Human Rights Practice, 14(1), 89-105. https://doi.org/10.1093/jhuman/14.1.89

Nisbett, R. E. (2003). The geography of thought: How Asians and Westerners think differently...and why. Free Press.

Peng, S. (2020). The role of Yin-Yang in Daoist thought and practice. Daoist Studies, 29(1), 34-47. https://doi.org/10.1080/daoiststudies2020.014

Pu, T. (2018). Confucianism and its influence on East Asian education systems. Education & Philosophy, 33(2), 113-129. https://doi.org/10.1007/eduphil.2018.013

Raphals, L. (1992). Logic and truth in Daoist thought. Journal of Chinese Philosophy, 19(3), 217-233. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9418.1992.tb00089.x

Schilling, A. (2009). The legacy of Confucianism in modern Chinese political philosophy. Asian Political Science Review, 22(4), 245-262. https://doi.org/10.1080/apsr.2009.021

Slingerland, E. (2003). Effortless action: Wu-wei as conceptual metaphor and spiritual ideal. Oxford University Press.

Tang, J. (2021). Buddhism and social justice: A comparative study. Journal of Comparative Philosophy, 18(1), 91-108. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2042-0036.2021.0087

van Norden, B. W. (2007). Confucius and the analects: New perspectives. Columbia University Press.

Wei, S. (2022). Daoist metaphysics and contemporary environmental issues. Philosophy and the Environment, 27(1), 79-92. https://doi.org/10.1080/philenviron.2022.017