Dr. Josh Brown on Confucianism

Confucian wisdom, with Catholic theologian Dr. Josh Brown.

Episode 4 of great books discussions with great @MSMU professorshttps://t.co/Xk1QGyEH79

— Josh Hochschild (@JoshHochschild) July 5, 2021

Joshua Brown, In Light of Early Confucianism

ChinaSource | A Book about Balthasar and Why You Should Read It https://t.co/Siak6bgYS7 pic.twitter.com/heKtQ2zbkA

— ChinaSource (@ChinaSourceOrg) March 3, 2021

This is a great interview with my friend and @MSMU colleague Joshua Brown about his monograph Balthasar in Light of Early Confucianism and his interest in the relation between Catholic theology and Chinese thought. https://t.co/a7jo5PNTmE

— Josh Hochschild (@JoshHochschild) March 20, 2021

A Reminder: Confucianism Is Allied to Statism

in practice, if not in spirit, and "imperial Confucianism" is not such a distortion of Confucianism as some modern proponents of contemporary Confucianism make it out to be.

How does the American administrative state look from across the Pacific? In the new @AmericanAffrs, Daniel Bell (@DanielB89913888) puts @Vermeullarmine & @CassSunstein’s Law & Leviathan in dialogue with Han Feizi as well as Confucian political thought 👇 https://t.co/e6d25hj8vO

— Gladden Pappin (@gjpappin) February 22, 2021

Overstating the Case

The Case for Confucianism in America: How an Ancient Chinese Philosophical Tradition Could Save Our Fraying Democracy by Alexander Zubatov

Was Confucianism sufficient by itself to prevent the Chinese imperial government from turning it into a state ideology and using it to support the imperial system? Or, for that matter, is it preventing the Chinese Communists from attempting to do the same? Confucianism does not address the origin of political authority, nor the nature of the relationship between ruler and ruled, and whether equality between the two is possible. Confucianism, as it currently exists in the classics and whatever tradition of commentary, simply does not have the resources to support republicanism. Perhaps someone can develop the tradition in that direction, though it will be the case that such novelties will be contested by some as not being part of the original tradition, even if the additional premises can be shown to be in harmony with the principles found in the classical texts.

Breitbart: World View: University of N. Florida and Pentagon Cut Ties with China’s Confucius Institutes

More Photos of the Chinese Sacrificial Hat

CWR Dispatch: The East, the West, and Simon Leys by Gerald J. Russello

A new biography and a new collection of essays provide details into the fascinating life and wide-ranging thought of author Simon Leys, who may have been the last great Catholic man of letters.

Chinese Philosophy Lifts Off in America by Carlin Romano

(via Warp, Weft, and Way)

Tu Weiming

Website.
Philosophy Now interview.

He is no longer director of the Harvard-Yenching Institute. I see that he was giving some public lectures last year at Stanford. I missed out... but some vidoes are available below.





Confucian Humanism as Spiritual Exercise
Confucian Humanism as Scholarly Inquiry

Marek Jeziorek has some more videos of Professor Tu.

In a documentary by Bill Moyers -

Parts 2 and 3.

Homi Bhabha hosts Tu Weiming (杜维明) on 2010-04-07 at Harvard Humanities Center

Tu Wei-Ming's blog.



Parts 2 and 3.

old bio
"Is there an innate sense of morality?"

Francesco Sisci, A new battle for Confucius

A new battle for Confucius By Francesco Sisci (via the Western Confucian)

A new translation of Mozi's corpus has been made available by the Chinese University Press:
The Mozi: A Complete Translation by Ian Johnston (Translator). The Chinese University Press (December 15, 2009). ISBN-10: 9629962705. Price US$85, 1,032 pages.

It looks like the same translation is being published by Columbia University Press here in the States. Too bad it's not bilingual.

Mr. Sisci writes:

Furthermore, Mozi's doctrine of "universal love" sounded like the idea of Christian love propagated in the 17th century, as well as like the drive to egalitarianism by the communists in the 20th century.

The Confucianis criticized the Mohists for obliterating social relations -- if this charge is accurate (I haven't read the complete Mohist corpus, only selections), then Mozi and his followers are more like liberals than Christians. The Christian tradition has a doctrine of universal love (which is not identical with Confucian ren, given that the object of charity is primarily God), but it also recognizes that there is an order in charity. Moreover, we have different duties to people, according to their relation to us, or what they have done for us. Hence, the allied virtues to justice. I do not recall what the Mohist account of justice is, and whether they recognize these duties. It's something I'll have to research, if I obtain a copy of the complete corpus.

He also contrasts Mozi with Sunzi:

Importantly, the book provides a basis to reconsider an important aspect of Chinese traditional thinking - military strategy. Johnston is the first person to provide both a credible Chinese textual reconstruction and a translation of Mozi's military chapters. Mozi theorized about defensive wars and his followers, the Mohists, were renowned tacticians who helped organize the defense of small states being attacked by larger ones.

This was at a time when small states were being gobbled up by large ones competing for dominance in the Chinese central plain. The aggressive theories of famous strategist Sunzi helped conceive those and many other future wars of attack, whereas Mozi argued against aggressive wars.

It is very likely that, as popularly described in the unsuccessful 2006 Chinese-Japanese movie production Mo Gong, in the Third century BC Mohist militants aided small states to withstand attacks and then tried to apply radical political and social reforms that went against the interests of the local elites.

Johnston's translation of Mozi could cast new light on Sunzi's theories and Chinese strategic thinking. It's possible that gong, a word commonly understood as aggressive war, at the time meant more precisely war by a large force against a small one, as Lu Xiang, a modern student of Sunzi argues in a forthcoming essay. This kind of war is what Sunzi preferred and Mozi opposed.

Sunzi does not appear to be in favor of unjust wars of aggression, as he does discuss the moral component of victory. Teachers of maneuver warfare and 3GW claim Sunzi as one of their own; numbers may be important if one is one the attack, so it is not clear to me that this is a justification of conquest of smaller polities by larger polities. Did Mozi advocate a purely reactive form of warfare? If so, he would seem to be a bit too idealistic, to the point of causing defeat for anyone who followed his teachings. I remember reading one issue of Lone Wolf and Cub in which the protagonist tells a dying samurai who was disgraced because he did not stay with his lord's palaquin but chose instead to go on the offensive against assassins that attack and defense are the same, since they have the same object.

(How deep is Mr. Sisci's understanding of contemporary Chinese society and classical Chinese culture? He seems to be an apologist for the present government and the Patriotic Associations.)

I'd like to read up on Mohist logic. (Indian logic too.)

Related links:
墨子
Mozi - Chinese Text Project
SEP
Mozi and Confucianism

The Succession of Masters

American graduate programs are disinclined to accept applicants who attended the same university for their undergraduate education. The same sort of mentality exists when it comes to hiring faculty -- American universities are reluctant to hire graduates. The alumnus candidate must be truly exceptional to be admitted or hired. The reason? It looks bad on the quality of the program or school if they accept or hire too many of their own. It is expected that a university will admit students from other instutions and regions, as this sort of diversity is supposed to reflect well upon the school or program. Most schools or programs want to avoid the appearance of not being good enough to attract students or teachers from elsewhere (in particular other schools with a reputation for excellence). Of course, such thinking encourages rootlessness and mobility.

From an East Asian perspective (or what I imagine it would be)... such admission policies go against the stability of the master-student relationship. It resembles a purely commercial relationship more than anything else. A teacher might permit his student to find another teacher if he knows he is not qualified or he cannot teach him any more, but this is not what American professors believe about themselves.

As to the selection of new faculty members, for a faculty to not consider one of its own graduates for a position may not mean a lack of confidence in his ability to teach their students, but it may give that impression. Let us suppose that the choice is between a graduate and a non-graduate. If everything else is equal and the non-graduate is hired solely because he is not a graduate of the program, then doesn't appearance take precedence over loyalty? It is more important for a school to base its reputation on its ability to attract faculty from diverse educational backgrounds (from institutions within a certain range of quality, with the proper recommendations -- the right pedigree) than it is to be loyal towards one's own.

There seems to be an excessive concern with appearances and the opinion of others guiding the decision-making for both processes. What is the criteria for judging the quality of a school or program? The quality of the faculty is primary, but this is evaluated through the opinion of others, their peers or reputed experts in that field, and surveys, and perhaps by what is produced by the faculty. Given the avoidance of most important truths, the modern university or college can consider only minor truths as objective evidence of someone's qualifications for an academic position -- whether they are good scholars and exegetes, if they can make a "good" argument regarding a text and provide sufficient evidence to back up their judgment. There is no expectation of or requirement for that scholarship to be in service of some higher truth.

An East Asian scholar would ask what other confirmation of his ability or honor can there be than for a student to succeed his master? Similarly, what teacher does not want want one of his students to replace him? He may naturally also wish to see his students given [important] positions elsewhere, or starting their own schools. But why would he want an outsider to replace him, rather than one of his own? This is especially important when one is passing on some sort of tradition, and not just generic skills of scholarship. Confucians, Taoists, Buddists at least agree that they are cultivating wisdom and pursuing truth, even if they disagree on the particulars. (Some Buddhists may dispute that there is truth, but they are being contradictory for the sake of appearing wise.) How many teachers today aspire to be the bearers of some intellectual tradition, as opposed to being "impartial" scholars who can dissect texts and give a proper exegesis?

The smaller, younger Catholic schools look for who is most qualified and who best fits the purpose of the college; they don't have to worry about the opinions of members of larger institutions. (Especially since few analytic philosophers consider medieval philosophy to be philosophy and so on.) As a consequence, they do not have any problems with hiring alumni, and as a result they have a stronger communal identity.

I should look into how appointments were made in the medieval universities, and what sort of criteria were used to judge candidates. The practices of religious houses of study, such as those operated by the Dominicans, appear to be somewhat similar to the East Asian ideal as I briefly lay it out here, in so far as the religious orders developed their own intellectual traditions which they passed on to each generation, and they raised members of their own orders to be teachers within their houses of study. Is the same true of the universities? (I'll have to confirm what I just wrote about the Dominican houses of study; I should read "First the Bow is Bent in Study": Dominican Education Before 1350.)

I had started this post last Thursday (1/28/10), while I was thinking about the dismal state of American universities. With Dr. McInerny's passing on Friday, it seemed appropriate to write a few words about one of the giants of his generation, and a master who taught and influenced so many. (His funeral Mass was this past Monday, at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. A ND press release was given on Monday.) May his students be his legacy.

The Big Mac

(source)

I referred to Dr. Ralph McInerny as the "Big Mac" when I talked about him with my sister KK because his son Daniel McInerny was also at Notre Dame, as associate director of the Center for Ethics and Culture. (The Little Mac got a position at Baylor last year.) Dr. McInerny's wife died several years ago and the Big Mac had been in semi-retirement, still offering some sort of class every now and then. I believe he also helped out with the (Thomistic) reading group. I believe Dr. McInerny was a Third Order Dominican, which would not be surprising since he took St. Thomas Aquinas to be his master.

I didn't really study Aquinas until I was at OLGS, and even then I did not read his works. I can't say that I read Dr. McInerny's books right away, but he quickly became one of my early favorites. (His brother Dr. Dennis Q. McInerny still teaches at OLGS.) I became more and more aligned with Dr. McInerny, as opposed to the existential Thomists like Etienne Gilson and Jacques Maritain.

It was through Dr. McInerny (and one of his students who was a professor at Christendom) that I learned of the Laval School and Dr. Charles De Koninck. After I entered graduate school, I had the honor to make his acuqintance and the opportunity to be near him when he permitted me to spend part of a summer at the Maritain Center going over the papers of Dr. De Koninck. Towards the end of my stay, I had the opportunity to talk with him in his office for a bit, and he was quite helpful. He also told me of his studies at Laval. (I have a photo of him with me from that Summer, taken shortly after I first asked him to sign his books. I should look for it and upload it onto FB.)

While I am not competent to judge his personal sanctity, I can attest to his helpfulness and his display of the virtues proper to a gentleman and a scholar. Generous with his time and resources, he was always welcoming and friendly when I would see him at the Center for Ethics and Culture Fall conferences. And he was always happy to sign his books for me whenever I asked him. His humor, smile and gentle laugh were easily noticeable, as well as his humility and friendliness. I admire him greatly, and though I do not consider myself to be one of his students, except in so far as I have learned from his books, I pride myself as being a "fan" or a "follower." If I were to construct an intellectual lineage (or "family tree") as East Asians did in the past, I would definitely reserve a place for him on it.

One might not think of Thomism as a tradition by its own tenents concerning logic and the intellectual virtues. But the passing on of these habits from one generation to the next is a form of tradition. Beliefs are said to be "handed down" metaphorically, and this can also be said of scientiae and artes. The Laval School of Thomism* can also be distinguished from other contemporary schools of Thomism (analytic, existential, transcendental, platonic, etc.) by certain characteristic positions or teachings held in common by its members. Dr. McInerny was editing the collected works of Dr. De Koninck for UND Press. The first two volumes have already been published, and I think Dr. McInerny was working on a third. I don't know if that has been completed, or if someone else will now be taking up the work.

Dr. McInerny was a great bearer of this tradition and he will be missed; may we be as devoted as he to the service of Christ and truth and to the study of Aristotle and St. Thomas and strive to follow his example in teaching others. May he rest in peace.

*The two prominent schools of Aristotelian-Thomism in North America were the Laval School and the Dominican River Forest School. I do not know much of Aristotelian-Thomism as it existed in Europe, though Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P., while he has been called a "Thomist of Strict Observance," was also an Aristotelian-Thomist with respect to philosophy. I suspect that Aristotelian-Thomism was strong in some of the Dominican houses (Toulouse, for example, and maybe in Spain as well), but not so in others. What of its existence at Louvain? How quickly did it disappear after Dr. De Koninck completed his studies there? Did it disappear before Vatican II or afterwards?

From 1/30/02.
Zenit: Ralph McInerny Dies at Age 80
Inside Catholic: Ralph McInerny passed away this morning
I suspect some sort of notice will be published for The Catholic Thing.

2/2/02
Ralph McInerny (1929-2010)
By Robert Royal, Michael Novak, Bruce Fingerhut, and John O’Callaghan

Zenit: Funeral Held for Ralph McInerny

*Cross-posted at The New Beginning.

Confucianism a vital string in China's bow
By Jian Junbo

But some ideas in Confucianism are helpful in maintaining social order and harmony, such as respect for elders and teachers and not harming others. The CCP certainly wants a revival of such values to help it maintain social stability. Many parents, too, would like their children to learn from Confucius' teachings.

However, local governments' respect for Confucius is centered on economic interests. By holding memorial ceremonies, tourists are attracted to a region and local products are promoted. For local officials, there is less culture on their minds than local gross domestic product growth - a sure ticket to promotion. Some intellectuals also make fortunes by "popularizing" Confucian ideas with paid lectures and by publishing books.

All this is embodied in a popular propaganda slogan, "Culture provides the stage for the economy to perform". That is, culture is just a means of fueling economic growth.

In short, in the early 21st century, Confucianism is an assistant to the Chinese god of wealth (and a representative of Chinese diplomacy) but not a tutor for Chinese souls.

Thus, if Confucianism cannot be officially endorsed as a core of Chinese traditional culture but only pragmatically regarded as a pawn to help the economy, it can hardly be promoted worldwide as a pillar of Chinese soft power.

Culture is one of the basic resources of soft power, according to Joseph Nye, who was the first to introduce this concept in 1990 to analyze international affairs. According to this United States politician-scholar, soft power is the ability to obtain what one wants through co-option and attraction, as opposed to hard power, which is the use of coercion and payment. By this definition, culture is not soft power itself, but a very important potential resource of it.

Besides the government's reluctance, there are internal problems that make it hard to modernize Confucianism. Confucianism emerged 2,500 years ago and was enriched throughout the country's dynastic history to become an ideology in justifying and safeguarding the hierarchical structure of political and social systems.

As such, many of its ideas are outdated, such as being loyal to authority, non-violation of the hierarchical order of families and society and anti-individualism. These values are in conflict with modernity and cannot be converted into acceptable concepts to people today.

Modernity? Liberalism? How is loyalty to authority being defined? Obedience? What is being advocated? Anarchy? Or absolute disobedience? Or critical obedience? Confucianism is rather loosely defined here, and while there may be a contrast between Confucianism and liberalism, it is not clear what the author means by "modernity" either, except modern Western liberalism and rational autonomy.

The article links to this website: Confucius Institute Online. It doesn't strike me as a particularly Confucian website, with the prominent place taken by articles and news about mass culture.

Confucianism and the Zhou classics

Reminder: see if primary sources are available in translation and in the original language.

Confucius as an expositor or bearer of a tradition versus Confucius as an innovator or creator.

How much of traditional Chinese ethics goes back further than Confucius? How much of it is explainable by sociological/anthropological models? (or by an appeal to Natural Law?)

Ethics of Shang, Zhou and the Classics by Sanderson Beck
Chinese Literature - Confucian classics (www.chinaknowledge.de)
Confucianism
Confucianism - Han Confucianism
Confucius [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]
Before Confucius: Studies in the Creation of ...
Confucius and the Analects: New Essays - Google Books Result
xinhua article

Chun-Fang Yu, Some Ming Buddhist Responses to Neo-Confucianism

SOME MING BUDDHIST RESPONSES TO NEO-CONFUCIANISM

Chun-Fang Yu