Moral metaphysics as philosophy of culture in Tu Weiming’s Boston Сonfucianism

Authors

  • Victoria V. Sukhomlinova

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu17.2023.106

Abstract

New Confucianism is a philosophical movement which seeks to combine Confucian tradition with Western philosophical thoughts. The idea appeared to some extent due to ideological motives. For instance, New Confucian Mou Zongsan formulated the concept of moral metaphysics, which was supposed to compete with Kantian transcendentalism. Moral metaphysics is further developed by Mou Zongsan’s follower Tu Weiming, who belongs to Boston school of New Confucianism. His moral metaphysics is essentially different from that of Mou Zongsan. It is based on the notion of “self-enlightenment” (cheng). It presents an idea that in some cases interpretation can serve as a research method and be more precise than analysis. The focus of investigation is not the way how something first emerged and developed, but how it was examined and interpreted afterwards. In other words, the key to understanding is the “second birth” of things which happens during the interpretation. But to interpret correctly, we should possess the full knowledge of “ourselves”. However, “oneself ” also turns out to be not a separate body subject to analysis, but an aggregation of interpretations offered by others. The drawn conclusion is that everything exists only when it has an opportunity to interpret oneself during interaction. And in this sense “self-enlightenment”, according to Tu Weiming, is a “certain form of metaphysics”. This article, however, suggests narrowing this conclusion to cultural existence. Unlike Mou Zongsan, Tu Weiming does not intend to prove that the Chinese philosophical thinking is better than the Western one. We can view his moral metaphysics as a certain type of philosophy of culture. It does not offer a precise analytical approach, but it does present a certain pattern of thought, which deals with embracing the form of one’s cultural existence.

Keywords:

Chinese philosophy, Boston Confucianism, Tu Weiming, New Confucianism, philosophy of culture, moral metaphysics, interpretation

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
 

References

Литература

Neville, R.C. (2000), Boston Confucianism: Portable Tradition in the Late-Modern World, Albany: State University of New-York Press.

Møllgaard, E. (2007), Is Tu Wei-ming Confucian?, Dao, no. 6, pp. 397–411.

牟宗三. 智的直觉与中国哲学. 台北：台湾商务印书馆 [Моу Цзунсань (1963), Интеллектуальная интуиция и китайская философия, Тайбэй: Тайвань Шанъу Иньшугуань].

Angle, S. (2012), Contemporary Confucian Political Philosophy, Cambridge: Polity.

Tu, W. (1989), Centrality and Commonality: An Essay on Confucian Religiousness, Albany: SUNY.

Мамардашвили, М.К. (1990), Проблема сознания и философское призвание, в: Мамардашвили, М.К., Как я понимаю философию, М.: Прогресс, c. 27–40.

Доброхотов, А.Л. (2008), Избранное, М.: Территория будущего.

Roetz, H. (2008), Confucianism between Tradition and Modernity, Religion, and Secularization: Questions to Tu Weiming, Dao, no. 7, pp. 367–380.

Кобзев, А.И. (2002), Философия китайского неоконфуцианства, М.: Восточная литература РАН.

Следование середине (2003), пер. и примеч. Лукьянов, А.Е., в: Конфуцианский трактат «Чжун юн»: Переводы и исследования, М.: Восточная литература РАН, с. 48–69.

Катречко, С.Л. (2011), Как возможна метафизика (в свете трансцендентальной перспективы)?, Метафизика, № 1 (1), с. 31–54.

Lin, C. (2008), Dwelling in the Nearness of Gods: The Hermeneutical Turn from Mou Zongsan to Tu Weiming, Dao, no. 7, pp. 381–392.

Tsai, Y. (2008), Selfhood and Fiduciary Community: A Smithian Reading of TU Weiming’s Confucian Humanism, Dao, no. 7, pp. 349–365.

Wan, S. (2008), The Viability of Confucian Transcendence: Grappling with TU Weiming’s Interpretation of the Zhongyong, Dao, no. 7, pp. 407–421.

Гирц, К. (2004), Интерпретация культур, М.: РОССПЭН.


References

Neville, R.C. (2000), Boston Confucianism: Portable Tradition in the Late-Modern World, Albany: State University of New-York Press.

Møllgaard, E. (2007), Is Tu Wei-ming Confucian?, Dao, no. 6, pp. 397–411.

Mou Zongsan (1971), Intellectual Intuition and Chinese Philosophy, Taipei, Taiwan Shangwu Yinshuguan. (In Chinese)

Angle, S. (2012), Contemporary Confucian Political Philosophy, Cambridge: Polity.

Tu, W. (1989), Centrality and Commonality: An Essay on Confucian Religiousness, Albany: SUNY.

Mamardashvili, M.K. (1990), The problem of consciousness and a philosopher’s mission, in: Mamardashvili M. K., The way I understand philosophy, Moscow: Progress Publ., pp. 27–40. (In Russian)

Dobrokhotov, A.L. (2008), Chosen works, Moscow: Territoriia budushchego Publ. (In Russian)

Roetz, H. (2008), Confucianism between Tradition and Modernity, Religion, and Secularization: Questions to Tu Weiming, Dao, no. 7, pp. 367–380.

Kobzev, A.I. (2002), Philosophy of Chinese Neo-Confucianism, Moscow: Vostochnaia literatura RAN Publ. (In Russian)

The Doctrine of the Mean (2003), transl. by Luk’yanov, A.E., in: The Confucian Book of “Zhong yong”: translations and analyses, Moscow: Vostochnaia literatura RAN Publ., pp. 48–69. (In Russian)

Katrechko, S.L. (2011), How is metaphysics possible (in the light of a transcendental perspective)?, Metafizika, no. 1 (1), pp. 31–54. (In Russian)

Lin, C. (2008) Dwelling in the Nearness of Gods: The Hermeneutical Turn from Mou Zongsan to Tu Weiming, Dao, no. 7, pp. 381–392.

Tsai, Y. (2008), Selfhood and Fiduciary Community: A Smithian Reading of TU Weiming’s Confucian Humanism, Dao, no. 7, pp. 349–365.

Wan, S. (2008), The Viability of Confucian Transcendence: Grappling with TU Weiming’s Interpretation of the Zhongyong, Dao, no. 7, pp. 407–421.

Geertz, K. (2004), The Interpretation of Cultures, Moscow: ROSSPEN Publ. (In Russian)

Вестник Санкт-Петербургского университета. Философия и конфликтология. 2023. Т. 39. Вып. 1

Downloads

Published

2023-04-20

How to Cite

Sukhomlinova, V. V. (2023). Moral metaphysics as philosophy of culture in Tu Weiming’s Boston Сonfucianism. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Philosophy and Conflict Studies, 39(1), 68–80. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu17.2023.106

Issue

Vol. 39 No. 1 (2023): Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Philosophy and Conflict Studies

Section

Philosophy

License

Articles of "Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Philosophy and Conflict Studies" are open access distributed under the terms of the License Agreement with Saint Petersburg State University, which permits to the authors unrestricted distribution and self-archiving free of charge.