Early Confucianism and the Question of Individual Rights

유형규

doi:10.16874/jslckc.2012..30.019

@article{ART001707815},
author={유형규},
title={Early Confucianism and the Question of Individual Rights},
journal={The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China},
issn={1738-0502},
year={2012},
number={30},
pages={457-469},
doi={10.16874/jslckc.2012..30.019}

TY - JOUR
AU - 유형규
TI - Early Confucianism and the Question of Individual Rights
JO - The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China
PY - 2012
VL - null
IS - 30
PB - Korean Society of Study on Chinese Languge and Culture
SP - 457
EP - 469
SN - 1738-0502
AB - This essay explores ways in which early Confucianism may help address theoretical challenges faced in moral philosophical discourse dominated by the liberalist idea that the concept of individual rights is central in understanding human dignity. The liberalist perspective conceptualizes the existence of individual rights as something to be ascertained through the individual who makes a claim when his rights are infringed. Consequently, freedom becomes a central, indispensible value with respect to human dignity. The theoretical challenge arises from the obvious incompatibility between freedom and other values significant for conceptualizing human rights, such as justice. Responses from scholars of Chinese philosophy to calls for comparative ethical inquiries, the initial question of which was always if Chinese philosophy developed the concept of individual rights, was two-fold. They acknowledged that the concept of individual rights as defined in liberalist moral philosophy was absent in Chinese intellectual tradition, but argued that human dignity could be articulated without it. They further argued that Chinese culture could offer a model of “duty-centered” and “community-centered” moral conduct. This essay argues that such a response, while bearing some measure of truth, shows insufficient understanding of early Confucian teachings. It proposes that the Dao as a metaphor inspires the idea of conduct that is “process-centered” than “goal-centered.” It also argues that the “self” can be both the subject and the object of the cultivation and control, and that can lead to a new, different function of the individual in the course of cultivating moral conduct.
KW - individual rights;human rights;human dignity;liberalist moral philosophy;early Confucianism;the 2008 Charter;communitarianism;comparative ethics;Dao
DO - 10.16874/jslckc.2012..30.019
ER -

유형규. (2012). Early Confucianism and the Question of Individual Rights. The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China, 30, 457-469.

유형규. 2012, "Early Confucianism and the Question of Individual Rights", The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China, no.30, pp.457-469. Available from: doi:10.16874/jslckc.2012..30.019

유형규 "Early Confucianism and the Question of Individual Rights" The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China 30 pp.457-469 (2012) : 457.

유형규. Early Confucianism and the Question of Individual Rights. 2012; 30 : 457-469. Available from: doi:10.16874/jslckc.2012..30.019

유형규. "Early Confucianism and the Question of Individual Rights" The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China no.30(2012) : 457-469.doi: 10.16874/jslckc.2012..30.019

유형규. Early Confucianism and the Question of Individual Rights. The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China, 30, 457-469. doi: 10.16874/jslckc.2012..30.019

유형규. Early Confucianism and the Question of Individual Rights. The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China. 2012; 30 457-469. doi: 10.16874/jslckc.2012..30.019

유형규. Early Confucianism and the Question of Individual Rights. 2012; 30 : 457-469. Available from: doi:10.16874/jslckc.2012..30.019

유형규. "Early Confucianism and the Question of Individual Rights" The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China no.30(2012) : 457-469.doi: 10.16874/jslckc.2012..30.019

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