During the past decade, Si Xiao, Xianglong Zhang, Xiangcheng Sun and others have proposed a Confucian Philosophy of Family movement as a response to issues in contemporary China. These issues...

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Classical Confucians, contemporary feminists, and comparative philosophers have argued that roles and relationships constitute our agency and autonomy. These philosophers argue that who we are, including our desires, intentions, and values, can be explained by our relationships—e.g. to family, peers, or friends—and roles—e.g. as teacher or daughter. However, some argue relational views fail to robustly explain autonomy in a way that captures the harms of oppression. I argue that Classical Confucian understandings of relational agency, which endorse a weak source normativity (...) and emphasize the importance of normative ‘checks’ on relationships and roles, can help answer this worry. Rituals, relationships, and roles help to shape, direct, and express natural attitudes and affects in accordance with normatively primary understandings of relational human nature and harmony. Classical Confucianism can thus shed light on the construction of relational agency and offer insight into how oppressed subjects may undermine oppression. (shrink)

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ABSTRACTThis article highlights the salient educational insights concerning the roles and identities of women from four Confucian classics known as the Four Books for Women. Written by w...

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ABSTRACT The received view is that Yunjidang’s feminist philosophy focuses on female sagehood, drawing on the theory of the equal human nature of women and men. I argue that there is much more to it than that, and that her views are anchored in and a development of Mengzi’s philosophy. She creatively interpreted and extended his philosophy, adopting the neo-Confucian metaphysics of the One and the Many. She argued not just for the potential but for the actual gender equality of (...) women and men. In addition, she laid the groundwork for a gender inclusive virtue ethics. Showing as much requires understanding the historical place of Yunjidang in Joseon dynasty, the neo-Confucian metaphysics that informs her arguments, and her views on gender essentialism and virtue ethics. This article exposes and explains Yunjidang’s comprehensive feminist philosophy and her bold theses: the actual gender equality of embodied women and men and a gender inclusive virtue ethics. (shrink)

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