Abstract
This essay argues that if Confucian familism, which has been blamed as the single greatest obstacle to achieving a civil society, is creatively repossessed, the potential looks very promising for constructing a Confucian civil society that is qualitatively different from a liberal civil society predicated on moral individualism, and for underpinning its unique mode of civility ("sociability") and citizenship ("strangership"). This essay first shows that the intrinsic value of the Confucian family consists in "filial and fraternal responsibility" (xiaodi), then contends that a Confucian self-cultivation (xiushen) that involves a double transformation of individuality and relationality (due to the very nature of the Confucian self being a relational self) engenders a responsible moral agent that is at once filial and civil. It concludes by proposing "relational strangership" as the backbone of a Confucian civil society.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 476-498 |
| Number of pages | 23 |
| Journal | Philosophy East and West |
| Volume | 60 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2010 Oct 1 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Philosophy
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Beyond liberal civil society : Confucian familism and relational strangership. / Kim, Sungmoon.
In: Philosophy East and West, Vol. 60, No. 4, 01.10.2010, p. 476-498.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Beyond liberal civil society
T2 - Confucian familism and relational strangership
AU - Kim, Sungmoon
PY - 2010/10/1
Y1 - 2010/10/1
N2 - This essay argues that if Confucian familism, which has been blamed as the single greatest obstacle to achieving a civil society, is creatively repossessed, the potential looks very promising for constructing a Confucian civil society that is qualitatively different from a liberal civil society predicated on moral individualism, and for underpinning its unique mode of civility ("sociability") and citizenship ("strangership"). This essay first shows that the intrinsic value of the Confucian family consists in "filial and fraternal responsibility" (xiaodi), then contends that a Confucian self-cultivation (xiushen) that involves a double transformation of individuality and relationality (due to the very nature of the Confucian self being a relational self) engenders a responsible moral agent that is at once filial and civil. It concludes by proposing "relational strangership" as the backbone of a Confucian civil society.
AB - This essay argues that if Confucian familism, which has been blamed as the single greatest obstacle to achieving a civil society, is creatively repossessed, the potential looks very promising for constructing a Confucian civil society that is qualitatively different from a liberal civil society predicated on moral individualism, and for underpinning its unique mode of civility ("sociability") and citizenship ("strangership"). This essay first shows that the intrinsic value of the Confucian family consists in "filial and fraternal responsibility" (xiaodi), then contends that a Confucian self-cultivation (xiushen) that involves a double transformation of individuality and relationality (due to the very nature of the Confucian self being a relational self) engenders a responsible moral agent that is at once filial and civil. It concludes by proposing "relational strangership" as the backbone of a Confucian civil society.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78649258585&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=78649258585&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1353/pew.2010.0013
DO - 10.1353/pew.2010.0013
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:78649258585
VL - 60
SP - 476
EP - 498
JO - Philosophy East and West
JF - Philosophy East and West
SN - 0031-8221
IS - 4
ER -