Zhou Dunyi moreover associates this idea with a vital and well integrated model of human mind and spirit, self-cultivation, and cosmos. Cultivation of reverence, originally a religious virtue associated with ancestor worship and ceremonial rites, as described in the classics and taught by Confucius — BCE , serves to purify the mind, attune one to the promptings of the original good nature, and set one to act with appropriateness yi.
Moreover, by grasping the defining patterns li of relationship and intercourse that constitute the world, society, people, and proper conduct, one gains the master key to acting with utmost propriety zhongyong. The mind that is imbued with reverence and comprehends these patterns will develop into a good will zhuzai dedicated to acting appropriately and with utmost propriety.
In later life, Zhu started to regard this twofold approach to cultivation and realization as too complicated, gradual, and difficult to carry out in practice. Like Confucius before him and anticipating Wang Yangming after him, Zhu Xi came to accept that the sincere Confucian adept must, on embarking on his or her project of ethical self-cultivation, first strive to establish his or her sincere determination lizhi to realize the cardinal Confucian virtues and become an exemplary person junzi , that is to say, a master of appropriateness in interpersonal conduct and human affairs generally.
Zhu advocated this methodology to stress the need for people, as prospective moral agents, to notice the fine details, the distinguishing features of particular situations and to fashion on that basis the most discerning, appropriate response.
These distinguishing features can suggest alternative moral considerations to be weighed Pincoffs Throughout his career, Zhu Xi focused on the twin problems of 1 determining the conditions of moral agency, and 2 setting forth a viable program of moral self-cultivation on that basis. On this view, self-cultivation that is aimed at nurturing self-mastery must include forming a concentrated, reverential mind-set jing and a discerning sense of appropriateness.
Early on, Zhu had emphasized the need to attain a working knowledge of the constitutive patterning li of reality and society in the light of which the norms and ritual action li prescribed for proper interpersonal relationships and intercourse are devised.
Moreover, while still maintaining the importance of the norms and ritual action for character-building and the social order, Zhu began to emphasize the need to build up a sympathetic but realistic grasp of the warp and woof of real daily human life viewed in the perspective of such broad Confucian ethical ideals as humaneness ren and fairness gong.
He understood that, although the norms and ritual action are broadly applicable and reliable, many situations call for specifically tailored responses. Consequently, against the moral intuitionism prevalent at the time in Neo-Confucianism, as espoused by his teacher Li Tong — , his intellectual rival Lu Jiuyuan — , and others, Zhu argued that intuitionism is inadequate for dealing effectively with the complex human affairs that people are apt to encounter in their lives.
Again, Zhu Xi conceived the world as a patterned li totality made up of a cosmic vapor qi that under various conditions condenses and solidifies into countless permutations, from the purest transparent yuanqi primordial qi , to the Yin-Yang poles modulated by the primal taiji supreme polarity pattern, to the wuxing five phases , each of which bears an identifying inner pattern and set of propensities xing that involve interconvertability and recombination with the other four phases, and finally to the phenomenal world: Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things tiandi wanwu.
For Zhu Xi, the world presents a vital tapestry of relationships, cycles, processes, events, and things that are spontaneously arrayed in aesthetic order. In the nexus of these arrays, li are manifested three dimensionally and present different faces from different angles Graham a: ; Qian Mu Li are inherently perspectival. Moreover, li are never presented in their putative optimal pure form. They always appear conditioned by the degree of purity of the qi through which they are manifested and of the environing conditions Wade Li also structure the human mind, thought, and language, such that human beings are predisposed to grasp and attempt to respond appropriately to the things and situations they encounter.
For Zhu Xi, while li structure the mind, thought, and language, this is not just at the cognitive level: li also structure the inner patterning xing and basic impulses that predispose us to have characteristically human emotions qing , relationships, and responses ganying under various sets of conditions Graham a: —; Qian Mu II.
Self-cultivation and moral reflection are the means by which one actively conditions and fine-tunes these predispositions of sensitivity and response. They thus function as indispensable software for cultivating personhood. The standard ethical norms work well in standard situations, normal families, good communities, and ordinary social circumstances.
But, Zhu also understood that people are richly complicated and that human affairs often become complex, get out of hand, and go awry. Life is just not that ideal, not that simple. We sometimes encounter ethically anomalous situations to which the standard sets of feelings and responses as prescribed by the received norms and ritual actions simply do not fit.
In many instances, standing on the norm and being moralistic simply would make matters worse. Zhu himself said that one must have ample experience and self-cultivation so that,. If, by chance, an anomalous affair should come up, one could comprehend it. One wants to be in a position to grasp such affairs thoroughly in order to understand their unfamiliar aspects.
YL: ch. Zhu Xi considered how to tailor responses appropriate in problematic situations under the rubric of quan weighing things up, discretion, expedient means. Situations of the first kind include those that call for a disruption of the given human order, for example the removal of an evil authority figure, such as a psychotic parent or a sociopathic tyrant. For situations of the second kind, Zhu had in mind emergencies when one would have to violate a norm in order to perform an emergency action, such as grasping the hand of a drowning sister-in-law, or shoving an old lady out of the path of a runaway oxcart.
Clearly, such considerations lead us into unmapped ethical terrain. How far can one justifiably take such sidestepping of the received applicable norms and ritual actions? What qualifications and restrictions might apply?
For his part, Zhu Xi mentioned at least two qualifications: a weak qualification that the expedient adopted not be otherwise ethically objectionable, and a stronger qualification stipulating that the expedient adopted be in compliance with the Way, i.
Humaneness is the core moral value that was invoked most often in such cases, but there are a number of others: filial piety, fraternity, fidelity, empathy, compassion, appropriateness, etc. Nonetheless, ever cognizant of temptation and moral weakness, Zhu insisted on the well established probity and integrity of anyone who would venture to use discretion and exercise expedient means. He stated:. As Cheng Yi — said: Be reverent in order to straighten oneself within; practice appropriateness in order to square situations without.
Zhu knew that this ethical knowledge is as much a matter of practical experience as of book learning. At times, he told his occasionally priggish students that well-disposed people, even if morally untutored, can be more discerning and have better discretion than are some academicians! While Zhu stressed making careful observations in situations in order to tailor the most fitting responses in context, at the same time he envisioned a cultivation process whereby one discerns ever more fundamental and yet far-reaching patterns li that shape nature and moral value.
That is, Zhu sometimes construed the project of investigating things to extend knowledge as an ascendant movement whereby the learner finally arrives at the pinnacle— taiji supreme polarity that embraces and subsumes all derived patterns. To Zhu, grasping taiji in this sense was tantamount to grasping the master key, for it represented to him the apex of being and value, and bestowed realization and sagehood on those who sincerely and authentically comprehended and embraced it.
How, too, to square this broad vision of probing inquiry and deep understanding with the potentially constrictive Confucian moral psychology constructed tightly round the virtues of humaneness, appropriateness, ritual propriety, and wisdom, and their attendant emotions? Zhu Xi likely realized that these virtues functioned as thematic foci for cultivation as one establishes ones moral orientation and bearings and a balanced interpersonal stance.
Subsequently, the more ethical human phenomena one observes and considers in advanced level learning and cultivation, the more one feels a broad sympathy for others that transcends the narrowly-graded love, the so-called love with distinctions that is attributed to the notion of ren humaneness in Confucianism see Mencius , 1A.
The more one observes the nuances of human affairs and the springs of human action, the more one will express deference and respect in ways that do not necessarily coincide exactly with the general prescriptions of the norms and ritual actions. Zhu could rightfully claim Confucius as a prime model for this view. Neuroscientist and gerontologist Daniel J. Levitin writes concerning intelligence and wisdom,. However, Levitin is describing the optimal learning strategies of people who remain sensitive, alert, discerning, and responsive throughout mature life, traits that some people nurture going forward and that others ought to make efforts to cultivate themselves in order to be more vital, understanding, and effective human actors and lead more fulfilling lives.
First, one is to be well-versed in the received norms and rituals that circumscribe interpersonal relationships and prescribe proper behavior in family and society. Second, one is to have made ample observations and responses in real life situations. Third, one is to have examined and reflected on ways in which others act and respond in situations, for reference. Fourth, through extensive observation and experience, one is to be cognizant of the range of considerations that come into play in real life situations: moral principle, utility, fairness, sympathy, compassion, and so forth.
According to this view, while observing the ethical norms and rules of thumb in his or her community, the moral adept possesses a store of personal ethical sensitivity, responsiveness, and resourcefulness, by which to fashion the most fitting responses to situations. In his watershed essay, A Treatise on Humanity Renshuo , Zhu Xi discourses on the classical Confucian teaching of humanity ren in a unified cosmic and human perspective. In concluding, he criticizes alternative accounts of humanity, i.
By extension, this impulse yields the cycle of seasons and the pervasive fecundity of nature. Advocates of this doctrine had found confirmation in the rich, productive Chinese soil and temperate climate, which supported their assumption that nature was generally fertile and afforded the right conditions for human flourishing. Zhu Xi thus portrays the fully cultivated person as at once a complement to heaven and earth, a vital participant in cosmic creativity, and a catalyst for the flourishing and self-realization of others.
The virtue of humaneness thus grounds the disposition of mind as commiserative and describes the core of moral self-realization as love for others other-directed concern , to be appropriately manifested. If one could but truly practice love and maintain it italics added , one would possess the well-spring of all virtues and the root of all good deeds.
But, how is one to sustain and manifest this humanity consistently in attitude and practice? Zhu Xi does not appeal to philosophic reflection but recommends mindful jing daily cultivation and practice, i. While Shao Yong and Cheng Yi in the Northern Song had introduced and sketched out the idea of observation in terms of guanwu observing things , fanguan reflective perception , and gewu investigating things , Zhu Xi not only discussed the idea of observation but offered a multitude of actual observations of celestial and terrestrial phenomena.
In addition, his penchant for hierarchy and systemization led modern commentators in the twentieth century to draw comparisons with Plato, Aristotle, and even Thomas Aquinas. Needham a: Since then, many have discussed Zhu as a process thinker, but little has been written to consider the extent to which his system could accommodate a scientific worldview, and the extent to which his method of inquiry was consistent with a scientific approach.
Yung Sik Kim offers an in-depth inquiry into the extent to which Zhu Xi anticipated genuine scientific methods of observation and conceptualization in The Natural Philosophy of Chu Hsi Zhu from childhood displayed a genuine interest in natural phenomena and in raising speculative questions.
Later he tended to rein in this interest, for example by relating features of observed natural phenomena to human analogues for didactic purposes and by refraining from pressing his speculations very far, i. He sought to wed the objective and subjective trends of the earlier movement into a practical synthesis in which objective inquiry played a key role in subjective cultivation. Subsequently, however, as his disciples refined his thought into a scholastic doctrine, subjective cultivation began to prevail over objective inquiry, which was increasingly redirected into the narrow limits of reading and interpersonal conduct.
Buddhism in Philosophy of Religion. Moral Motivation in Meta-Ethics. Pang-White also takes a close Surprisingly,Zhu exhibited a level of flexibility, though still limited, on these subjects. At one place, he used it to illustrate gender equity; at another place, he defended female subordination.
Neo-Confucianism, Misc in Asian Philosophy. Persons in Metaphysics. Yin Yang Confucianism in Asian Philosophy. This chapter explains how Xunzi's text and views helped shape the thought of the Neo-Confucian philosophers, noting and explicating some areas of influence long overlooked in modern scholarship. Zhu Xi, the twelfth-century architect of the neo-Confucian canon, declared Zhou Dunyi to be the first true sage since Mencius. Why was Zhou Dunyi accorded such importance?
Joseph A. This book revives Zhu Xi as a religious thinker, challenging longstanding characterizations of him. Zhou Dunyi in Asian Philosophy. It is well known that the Neo-Confucian thinker Zhu Xi particularly emphasizes the role of emotions in human life. I also analyse two important passages from the Mencius and examine how Zhu Xi, in his exegetical glosses, defines the conditions of virtuous agency as based on the moral emotions.
Finally, I explain the reasons why Neo-Confucians like Zhu Xi have sometimes been described as Kantian thinkers avant la lettre. Remove from this list Direct download 3 more. Here I suggest that the better way to phrase his point is to say that prudence drops out or becomes an ethically incoherent concept, which is something quite different from rejecting or collapsing the distinction between prudence and morality.
Virtue Ethics and Eudaimonia in Normative Ethics. I then examine the signification of Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucian numinous root as embodied in the luminous moral potentiality, investigate from this perspective each one of the four inner stages of the Great Learning, and point out the I conclude with a portrait of the person for whom this method of practice was intended.
Remove from this list Direct download 6 more. Remove from this list Translate. Yanping and then to his critical awareness of the Chan School, developed in his association with Wang Yingchen, set the entire course of his relationship with Confucianism and Buddhism.
It fostered his antagonistic attitude towards the Chan School, which lasted his entire life. Zhu approached the Chan School mainly as an objective social and cultural phenomenon; his discrimination between Confucianism and Buddhism was from an epistemological point of view; and his refutation of the Chan School was mainly from the point of view of language and methodology, an antagonistic attitude of how to face learning.
Therefore, his opposition to the Chan School not only directly fostered an awareness of the Confucians of the Ming dynasty against Buddhism, who simply viewed the latter as an external and objective existence, but to a certain extent resulted in the disappearance of the transcendence of the School of Principles, and caused a total change in academic direction during the Ming and Qing dynasties and the formation of the Qianjia Hanxue. Chinese Zen Buddhism in Asian Philosophy.
Remove from this list Direct download 5 more. Chinese Philosophy: Ethics in Asian Philosophy. Classical Confucianism in Asian Philosophy.
Classical Confucianism, Misc in Asian Philosophy. Moral Emotion in Normative Ethics. Dreams were a topic of study even in ancient times, and they are a special spiritual phenomenon. Generations of literati have defined the meaning of dreams in their own way, while Zhu Xi was perhaps the most outstanding one among them. As virtue ethics has developed into maturity, it has also met with a number of objections. This essay focuses on the self-centeredness objection: since virtue ethics recommends that we be concerned with our own virtues or virtuous characters, it is self-centered.
While such Philosophy of Religion. The existence of multiple philosophical thoughts and their new synthesis lead to internal contradictions in Li Xue and Xin Xue also overlapped one another. The transition from the doctrine of tiandao to that of xinxing was a long journey.
It was begun by Zhu Xi in his later years, and was finally completed by Wang Yangming. Unveiling the complexity and special characteristics of Song-Ming philosophy is a task for scholars on the history of Chinese philosophy. Chinese Philosophy in Asian Philosophy. Classical Chinese Philosophy in Asian Philosophy. Mind was the oneness of form and function. Form was both the form of the spirit of the mind and of the substantiality of nature not the same as substantial realities in substantialism ; it was the integration In contrast, function meant both feelings and perceiving action.
It was infeasible to interpret function without reference to form; likewise, it was impractical to talk about perception without mentioning nature. Without trying to be pretentious or intentional, his written characters are well-balanced, natural and unconventional. As he was a patriarch of Confucianism philosophy, it is understandable that his learning permeated in all his writings with due respect for traditional standards.
He maintained that while rules had to be observed for each word, there should be room for tolerance, multiplicity and naturalness. In other words, calligraphy had to observe rules and at the same time not be bound by them so as to express the quality of naturalness.
Accessible original Chinese language editions are listed, as well as principal English translations. Subsequent Confucian scholars in China all came to understand Zhu in light of this text. Zhu is a comprehensive compilation of his in-depth dialogues with students and peers, topically arranged on philosophical and ethical concepts, Confucian texts, Confucian masters, Chinese history, and Daoism and Buddhism.
This book is deemed an essential primer on the Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism. It is a landmark effort. Adler, Joseph. Corrected version. San Francisco: Academia. The book is straightforward and clearly written. Bruce, J. Percy, trans.
London: Probsthain, Many of its interpretations and explanations are dated and a product of their times, making this edition of historical interest in its own right. Chan, Wing-tsit, trans. New York: Columbia University Press, Influential English translation of this topical collection of writings of the formative Northern Song Neo-Confucian masters. The translator provides a clear introduction and many keys to understanding the text.
Gardner, Daniel, ed. Learning to be a Sage.
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