THE STRUCTURE OF THE CHINESE ETHICAL ARCHETYPE-Liyouzheng website

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword

Acknowledgements .................................. xxiii

Prologue...................................................................................................... xxiv

1. Ethical Situation and Ethics.............................................................................. xxv

2. The Chinese Ethical Situation and Chinese Ethical Thought...........................................xxv

3. Present-day Insight into Ethical Study................................................................... xxvi

4. The Main Points of the Present Study of Ancient Chinese Ethical Thought and Culture.. xxviii

5. Outline of the Present Study.............................................................................. xxx

6. The Hermeneutico-Semiotic Approach................................................................... xxxi

Section One: Confucius’ Ethical System ........................... 3

Introduction: The Aesthetics of Ethical Choice.............................................................. 5

1. The Signiﬁcance of Confucian Ethical Thought and Obstruction in

Ethical Dialogue.................................................................................................. 5

2. The Semiotic Attitude to our Object: The Structure of the Text........................................ 7

3. The Historical Constitution of the Ethical Text and the Related

Disciplines for our Analysis...................................................................................... 8

4. The Dialogical Barries Resulting from Two Different Disciplinary Compositions in Chinese and Western Academic Histories........................................................................................................... 9

5. The Scope of Basic Ethical Problems......................................................................... 12

6. The Theoretical Relevance of Confucian Ethics............................................................. 14

7. Unsystematic Formulation and Coherent Thought: Textual

Autonomy........................................................................................................... 16

8. The Special Value of the Confucian Ethical System......................................................... 18

9. Subjective Ethics in the Confucian Text......................................................................23

Part One: The Background and Foundation of Confucian Ethical

Rationality.......................................................................................................... 26

(1) The Hermeneutic Use of Historical Materials............................................................. 26

1. Historiographical Authenticity and Historical Figures..................................................... 26

1) The Historiographical Uncertainty of Historical Documents and

the Hermeneutic Acceptability of Historical Texts....................................................... 26

2) The Identity of Confucius as a Figure in Ethical Discourse and

the Historical Authenticity of Records about Confucius.................................................27

2. The Narrative Background of Confucius.....................................................................28

3. The Function of Narrative in Confucius’ Ethics...........................................................31

4. The Relevant Part of the Text for a Pertinent Reading....................................................35

1) The Authenticity of the Text..............................................................................35

2) The Effective or Relevant Criterion: The Ideational Consistency

of the Text.....................................................................................................36

3) The Priority of Logical Personality before Historical

Personality..................................................................................................... 37

(2) Confucian Political Ethics .............................. 40

1. The Political Ideal and Morality Signiﬁed by the Historically Remote Utopia.............................40

2. The Weaker Political Dimension in Confucian Political Ethics..............................................42

3. The Political System as a Social Nature...................................................................... 44

1) li as Rite rather than Institution.......................................................................... 45

2) The Politico-ethical rather than the Ethico-political....................................................47

3) The Ruler as the Part of the Institutional Nature....................................................... 48

(3) The Symbolic Function of the Ritual System (li) as Social Order ..............50

1. The Content of “li”............................................................................................. 51

2. Attitudinal Training in li Performance: The “ching” (“Respect”)

Mentality............................................................................................................. 52

3. The Correspondence of the Nominal Order and the li-Order:

The Essence of the Interpersonal Hierarchy......................................................................55

1) The Principle of the Name-Rectiﬁcation .................................................................55

2) The Content of the Principle of the Rectiﬁcation of Names........................................... 57

3) Ritual Symbolism in the Doctrine of Rectiﬁcation of Names.......................................... 59

4. The Ethical Spirit of li.......................................................................................... 60

(4) The Ethical Reading of the Confucian li-Symbolism .................. 62

1. The Importance of Ritual Instruments in Confucian li-Symbolism......................................... 63

2. The Constitution of Ritual Ceremonies and the Pragmatics of

the li-Doctrine.......................................................................................................65

3. Practical Ethical Technique in the li-Doctrine: A Semiotic of Ritual

Instruments..........................................................................................................66

1) The Pragmatic Coherence of Ritual Aspects............................................................ 66

2) The Semiotic Function of Ritual Symbols............................................................... 68

3) The Ultimate Referent of Ritual Signiﬁcation: the Mental State......................................70

4. The Convergence of the Cognitional and Stimulative Functions of

the li-System: Family and Filial Piety............................................................................. 72

1) The Relational Model of Ethical Practice in li.............................................................72

2) The System of Filial Piety (hsiao)..........................................................................73

Part Two: The Pragmatic Aesthetics of Ethical Choice ..................... 79

(5) The Pragmatically Epistemological Bounds of Confucian

Ethical Valuation.....................................................................................................79

1. The Natural Bounds in Ethical Reasoning: Spirits and Humanity. The Lack of a Religious Substratum 81

1) The Humanitarian Attitude towards the Ritual for Spirits............................................. 81

2) The Exclusive Concerns about the World.................................................................82

2. The Empiricist Bounds: Heaven-Fatalism and Self-decision.

The Lack of a Metaphysical Substratum........................................................................84

1) Heaven as the Index of the Bounds of Human Possibility........................................... 84

2) Heaven’s Role outside the Ethical Decision..........................................................85

3) Heaven’s Role in Maintaining Ethical Empiricism...................................................86

3. The Societal Bounds: Commitment and Withdrawl.......................................................... 87

1) The Basic Contrast between Nature and Society.........................................................88

2) The Marginal Role of the Image of the Primitive Hermit.............................................. 89

3) The A-logical Source of Ethical Choice................................................................... 90

4. The Cultural Bounds: The Civilized and the Barbarian...................................................... 91

5. The Anthropologic Bounds of Humanism: Distinction between

the Human and the Non-human...................................................................................92

6. The Minimization of Ethical Restrictions: Silence about

Race and Sex.......................................................................................................93

1) The Relevanct Aspect: The Cultural rather than the Racial.......................................... 93

2) Sex: The Ethically Irrelevant.............................................................................94

3) Confucian Ethics: The Persuasive System in the Original Text................................... 95

(6) The Structure of the Subject of Choice and the Inwardly DirectedFeatures of Confucian Ethics. Theoretical Digression I ....................................................... 97

1. The Heuristic Stratiﬁcation of the Subject in Choosing.................................................... 99

2. The Three Layers of the Choosing Subject: The Confucian “I”..........................................101

3. The Practicability of the Heuristic Model of the Confucian Internal Process..............................104

4. Attitudinal Mechanism: Relations, Directedness, Intention, Motivation and Pragmatic Formalism—The Basic Features of Confucian Subjective Ethics ....................................................................... 107

1) The Attitudinal Feature.....................................................................................108

2) The Motivational Feature...................................................................................108

3) The Feature of Attentional Directedness.................................................................110

4) The Formalist Feature.......................................................................................110

(7) The Schema and Strategy of Ethical Choice in the Confucian Text. Theoretical Digression II 112

1. The Procedural Art of Dichotomous Choice............................................................... 112

1) Choice as Performed within a Limited Scope......................................................... 113

2) The Logic of Binary Choice at the Axiological

and Procedural Levels.......................................................................................114

2. Objects and Aspects of the Situation and Process of Ethical Choice.................................... 115

3. The Different Modes of the Objects Involved in the Situation and Process of Ethical Choice ..........116

4. The Framework of Ethically Choosing......................................................................... 118

1) Three Areas of Ethical Values...............................................................................119

2) The Process of Ethical Practice............................................................................ 120

3) Operational Aspects......................................................................................... 120

4) The Measure of the Effect and Energy of the Will........................................................121

5. Ethical Situations and Operational Poles...................................................................... 121

6. The Systematic Contrast of Oppositional Elements...........................................................122

(8) The Typology of the Patterns of Ethical Choice (I) ................. 124

1. Establishing Ethical Devotion and Orientation (A) ........................................................... 127

a) The basic orientation of ethical choice....................................................................127

b) Establishing of the ethical will.............................................................................. 128

c) Discrimination between the genuine and the specious....................................................132

d) The styles of jen-personality.................................................................................138

2. The Self-Cultivation of the Capability to Pursue Ethical

Practice (B)........................................................................................................... 143

a) The goals and direction of learning........................................................................ 145

b) Practical ways of Confucian learning.......................................................................149

(9) The Typology of Patterns of Choice (II) ....................... 154

1. The Self in Contact with Others: External Practice (C) .....................................................154

a) Aims in contact with others............................................................................... 154

b) Ways of contacting others................................................................................. 156

c) The appropriate attitude in relation to others.......................................................... 161

2. The Ethical Aesthetics of Adversity (D) ...................................................................... 162

a) The strength of the will in adversity...................................................................... 164

b) Being without position and power in society............................................................. 165

c) Poverty....................................................................................................... 165

d) Social inferiority............................................................................................. 167

e) Fatigue and toil................................................................................................ 169

f) Political danger...............................................................................................170

Part Three: Rhetorical Features in Confucius’ Text

(10) The Semantics of Ancient Chineses Characters. A Linguistic Digression ....................................................................................................... 173

1. The Double System of Signiﬁeds.......................................................................... 173

2. The Stroke Structure of Chinese Characters.............................................................. 174

3. The Independent Function of the Signiﬁcation of the Character........................................ 177

4. The Symbolic Features of Axiological and Psychological Verbal Characters ........................... 179

(11) The Structure and Manipulation of the Virtuous Elements ........... 182

1. The Word Functions as the Sentence or Set of Sentences............................................... 182

2. The Constitution, Reservoir and Combination of the Verbal

Elements of Virtue (Words)..............................................................................

1) The Deﬁnition of the Verbal Elements of Virtue................................................... 184

2) The Sets of Words of Virtue......................................................................... 188

3) The Three Sections of the Reservoir of Virtuous Elements:

chih (Wisdom), jen (Benevolence) and yung (Bravery)............................................... 190

(12) The Symbolization of the Central Virtue-Character: jen ................... 193

1. The Semantic Constitution of Abstract Single-Character Words......................................194

2. The Concept “jen”........................................................................................................ 195

1) The Synthetically Semantic Function of the Sign jen.............................................. 196

2) The Relevant Semes of the Confucian Concept of jen..............................................197

3) jen as the Psychological Signiﬁed.................................................................... 197

4) jen as an Abstract Entity.............................................................................. 198

5) jen as External Manifestation and Behavior.......................................................... 198

6) jen as a Man Practising the jen-goal.................................................................. 198

7) The Sign jen as a Unity of Abstract and Concrete Semes........................................... 199

3. The Function of jen............................................................................................200

(13) The Symbolic Modes of Heroic Narrative in the Confucian Text ........203

1. The Hermeneutic Criterion for the Chosen Narrative.................................................... 203

2. The Master Confucius........................................................................................ 205

3. The Spiritually Deﬁant Group............................................................................... 208

4. Two Opposite Styles of Ethical Practice and the Ideal Medium......................................... 209

1) The Image of the Outwardly Energetic Hero..........................................................209

2) The Image of the Inwardly Energetic Hero........................................................... 210

3) The Confucian Tension in Personality between Progress and

Escape in Socio-political Practice........................................................................ 211

5. The Escapist from Political Reality......................................................................... 212

6. Failure and the Decree of Heaven in Confucius’ Narrative.......................................... 214

1) Fortune and Heaven................................................................................... 214

2) More Pragmatically Functional than Theoretically Logical.......................................... 215

3) The Utility and Symbolic Value of the Term “Heaven”............................................ 216

7. The Ethical Meaning of the Special Relation between Confucius and

his Favorite Disciple Yan Hui................................................................................... 217

1) The Ethical Love between Master and Disciple........................................................ 218

2) The Functional Meaning of Yan’s Image................................................................ 219

Part Four: Confucian Ethical Philosophy

(14) Operative Structural Strategy.............................................................................. 222

1. Operative Rationality.......................................................................................... 222

1) The Operative Scheme.................................................................................... 222

2) The Inward Delimitation of Ethical Operationality..................................................... 223

2. The Holistic-Structural Strategy.............................................................................. 224

1) The Structural Arrangement within a Limited Field................................................... 225

2) Binary Oppositions and Dichotomous Choices......................................................... 225

3) The Holistic-Structural Prescription..................................................................... 226

3. Methodological Conclusion.................................................................................... 228

(15) Ethical Individualism ................. 229

1. The Individualist Identity of Confucian Ethics.............................................................. 229

2. Individualist Freedom in Ethical Choice..................................................................... 230

3. Individuality as the Pre-Institutionalized Person........................................................... 231

4. Ethics with a Focus on the Evils of One’s Self: The Object and

Objective of Ethical Practice.................................................................................... 232

5. The Confrontation between the Ethical Individual and Social

Power: The Ethical Will to Cope with Obstacles............................................................... 233

1) A Permanent Model of the Conﬂict between the Free

Individual and Dominant Power............................................................................. 234

2) Individualism Expressed through Physical Suffering.................................................. 235

3) Confucian Individual Subjectivity vs. the Over-Determination

of Objective Force: The Social, Supernatural and Metaphysical........................................ 235

Section Two: The Development of Confucian Ethics. The Mencian Philosophy of the Politico-ethical Will.. ................................................................................................. 238

Introduction: The Political Turn of Mencian-Confucian Ethics against

Taoist Nihilism and Legalist Philosophy of Power............................................................. 239

1. The Intellectual Challenge to the Original Confucian Ethics:

Taosim as the Main Challenge of Confucian Ethics........................................................... 240

2. The Strategical Challenge to Confucian Ethical Politics................................................... 241

3. The Re-Focusing of Confucian Doctrine on the Strengthening of the Ethical Will..................... 242

Part One: The Epistemological Challenge to Confucian Ethics: Taoism and Legalism

(1) The Original Dialogical Situation of Confucian Ethics.................................................. 246

1. The Formation of the Post-Confucian Dialogical Situation............................................ 247

2. The Principle of the Composition of Confucian Dialogical Space..................................... 248

3. Reactions to Confucian Thought in the Warring-States Period........................................ 249

4. The Historical Background.................................................................................. 251

5. The Period of Debate among the “Hundred Schools”.................................................... 252

6. The Confucian-Centered Dialogical Situations Organized in the Present Essay ................................................................................................................... 255

(2) Taoist Ethical Nihilism ........................... 258

1. The Taoist School or Taoism.............................................................................. 258

2. Philosophical Taoism....................................................................................... 260

3. The Content of the General Term “Tao”................................................................ 262

4. Philosophical Inclinations of Taoism..................................................................... 264

1) Nature vs. Society..................................................................................... 265

2) The Ontological Principle: Non-Being................................................................ 266

3) Natural Non-Ethics vs. Social Ethics: Death and Life............................................... 267

(3) The Taoist Challenge to Epistemology of Confucian Ethics ................ 269

1. Axiological Negation: Anti-Confucian Value (jen)...................................................... 270

1) Negation of the Binary Differentiation between Good and Evil

or between Right and Wrong............................................................................ 270

2) The Object of Practice: Self-Love vs. Love of Others............................................. 272

2. Pragmatic Negation: No-Action or Anti-Valor (yung).................................................... 274

1) Objective Nature vs. Subjective Ego................................................................ 275

2) No-Action and Non-Action............................................................................. 275

3) The Suppression of the Spontaneity of the Ethical Will............................................ 277

3. Intellectual Negation: Anti-Wisdom (chih)............................................................... 278

4. The Relevance and Irrelevance of the Taoist Challenge to

Confucian Ethics ...................... 280

1) The Relevant Comparison.............................................................................. 281

2) Taoist Semantic and Logical Confusion............................................................... 282

3) The Pragmatic Taoist Character....................................................................... 283

(4) Legalist Philosophy of Power in Contrast with Confucian Political Ethics .......... 285

1. The Identity of the Legalist Trend.......................................................................... 286

2. Analysis of the Legalist Texts............................................................................... 290

1) Politico-Philosophical Outlook........................................................................... 290

2) The Strict and Fair Regulations of Penal Law and Rewards.......................................... 291

3) Psychological Tactics in Power Games.................................................................. 292

4) Ruler-Centrism in Political Philosophy................................................................... 292

3. Legalist Throught and Political Methods..................................................................... 292

4. The Compositional Diversity of Legalism.................................................................... 295

(5) The Legalist Strategical Challenge to Confuican Political Ethics ................. 298

1. Legalist Power-centrism in Confrontation with Confucian Political Ethics................................ 299

1) The Political Contrast: The Confucian “Ancient and Moralist”

Model vs. the Legalist “Modern and Utilitarian” Model................................................... 299

2) Desirable Statecraft Based on the Strict Principle of Strict

Punishment and Fair Reward vs. that Based on the li-System........................................... 300

3) Utilitarian Policy in Favor of the Ruling Few vs. Material and

Moral Beneﬁts in Favor of the Ruled Majority.............................................................. 301

4) The Coercive Control of the Ruler over the Ruled vs. the

Moral Loyalty of the Ruled to the Ruler...................................................................... 301

2. The Historical Interpretation of the Two Trends of Political

Philosophy .......................................................................................................... 302

1) The Identity of the Pre-Ch’in Political School........................................................... 302

2) Constitutional Heterogeneity: Textual and Historical Materials...................................... 303

3) Divergence of Political Values............................................................................. 305

4) The Contrast of the Basic Elements in the Two Schools................................................ 306

5) Operative Aspects of Legalism............................................................................ 307

3. The Prototype of Totalitarianism and the Technical Existence of Absolute Power

............................................................................................................ 308

Part Two: The Ethical Pragmatics of the Mencian Political Will

(6) The Ethico-political Turn of Confucian Doctrine: The Mencian

Philosophy of Politico-ethical Will................................................................................ 312

1. The Hermeneutic Reading of the Mencian Text............................................................. 312

1) Mencius’ Reorganization of Ethical Operations in the Face of Strengthened

Legalist Pressure .........................................................................................312

2) The Hermeneutic Reading of Rhetorical Exaggeration

in the Mencian Text......................................................................................... 314

2. Mencius and His Book............................................................................................ 315

3. Mencius’ Position in Pre-Ch’in Dialogical Situations......................................................... 318

4. The Pragamtic Focus on Confucian Political Ethics........................................................... 321

1) Weakness in Political Methods and Tactics............................................................... 322

2) The First Princple of Politics: To Love and to Beneﬁt People.......................................... 323

3) The Distinction between the Principle of Interest and the

Principle of Righteousness.................................................................................. 325

4) The Dichotomy of the Benevolent Principle (wang-Tao) and the

Hegenomical Principle (pa-Tao) in Politics................................................................ 328

5) The Separation of Wishes and Means:

Mencius’ Political Rhetoric.................................................................................. 330

5. The Mencius’ Theory about the Origin of the Moral Mind................................................... 331

1) The Origin of the jen-Principle: Heaven................................................................. 331

2) Human Nature as the Origin of the Human jen-Intention............................................. 332

3) Three Different Doctrines of Human Nature............................................................. 334

4) The Wrong Motives of Political Agents................................................................... 338

5) The Epistemological Implication of Mencian Filial Piety............................................... 341

6. The Pragmatic Rhetoric of Mencian Doctrine................................................................ 343

(7) The Mencius’ Doctrine of the Establishment of Politico-ethical Will .............................. 346

1. The Inquiry into the Theoretical Foundation of Confucian Ethical

Faith and Will.................................................................................................. 346

1) The Logical Necessity of Moral Inwardness............................................................ 347

2) The Symbolic Role of Heaven’s Immanence: The Relationship

of jen to Heaven......................................................................................... 347

3) The Original Metaphysical Turn: The Borderline between

Naturalist and Metaphysical Discourses.............................................................. 350

2. The Utility of ch’i (Passion-Nature, Spirit, Breath or Air) as the

Material Energy of Ethical Actions. Three Types of Valor............................................... 351

1) chi as the Energetic Source of Ethical Will........................................................... 351

2) yung as the Total Manifestation of Ethical Will. The Stylistics of Valor: Three Types. 352

3) The Cultivation of Ethical Energy: The ch’i-Element............................................... 353

4) The Pragmatic Metaphysics of ch’i................................................................... 355

3. The Deﬁant Critic of Power: The Conﬂicting Constitution of the Dialogical Situation

......................................................................... 357

1) Moral Conscience vs. Political Power................................................................. 358

2) Critical Attitude vs. Obedient Attitude.............................................................. 359

3) The Independent Individual vs. the Powerful Collective........................................... 360

4) The Permanent Standard of Political Justice Hidden in the

Traditional Political System Taken as Political Nature............................................. 361

4. The Transformation of the Ethics of Love into the Ethics of Evil

as the Object of Political Ethics.......................................................................... 362

1) The Power-Holder: The Source of Evil and Object of Ethics...................................... 363

2) The Relation of the Ethical Critic to the Power-Holder............................................. 365

5. The Dichotomy of Moral Criticism and Political Power.................................................. 366

1) The Basic Confrontation between the Ethical Critic and the Power-Holder

.............................................................. 366

2) The Role of the Ethical Critic: The Anti-Legalist Line.............................................. 367

(8) The Mencian Pragmatic Rhetoric of Politico-ethical Will ................... 369

1. The Mencian Technique of Ethical Will: chih............................................................. 369

1) Individual Valor......................................................................................... 369

2) The Establishment of chih (Will, Direction)......................................................... 370

2. The Agent of chih: The shih-Type and His Binary Choice.............................................. 371

3. Mencian Pragmatic and Rhetorical Logic or the Art of Ethical

Inspiration: The Network of Binary Patterns............................................................ 379

1) The Positive Division between the Position of Power and other

Qualities of the Power-holder. The Attitudinal Division between

the Knowledge of the Objective Power-holder and the Valuation

of his Morality............................................................................................ 380

2) The Division between Internal Inspiration and External

Stimulation................................................................................................ 382

3) The General Division of Binary Morality............................................................ 386

4. The Abiding Signiﬁcance of Confucian-Mencian Political Ethics...................................... 387

1) The Pragmatic Ethical Merits of the Original Historical Texts.................................... 387

2) The Timeless Elements of Humanist Ethics......................................................... 388

3) Operational Pragmatism in Establishing the Politico-ethical Will

.............................................................................................................. 391

(9) The Energetic Formalism of the Ethical Will: ch’eng ................ 393

1. The Three Zones of Cardinal Virtues..................................................................... 394

2. The Source of the Energetics of the Ethical Will: ch’eng as the Sign of Will and Virtue

.............................................................................................. 395

3. The Volitional Aesthetics of ch’eng ..................................................................... 396

1) The Attributes of ch’eng............................................................................. 397

2) The Operation of ch’eng............................................................................. 398

3) The Identity of ch’eng............................................................................... 399

4. The Aesthetics of ch’eng................................................................................. 400

Bibliography .............................................................................................. 415

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