Being in the World: Dialogue and Cosmopolis

Appendix B: Cosmopolitan Confucianism? Chinese Traditions and Dialogue

203 Appendix B Cosmopolitan Confucianism? Chinese Traditions and Dialogue I greatly appreciate this opportunity to participate in this second “Nishan Forum on World Civilizations,” a forum that seeks to underscore and strengthen the idea of the “harmony of cultures with diversity.”1 This is indeed an important idea and one that has been dear to my heart for some time. I greatly welcomed the motto of a “dialogue among civilizations” launched by the president of Iran, Mohammad Khatami, at the end of last century, a motto picked up by the United Nations General Assembly when it decided to designate 2001 as the “Year of Dialogue among Civilizations.” A year later, in 2002, I published a book titled Dialogue among Civilizations: Some Exemplary Voices. About the same time, I joined a global nongovernmental organization that is called “World Public Forum—Dialogue of Civilizations .” I have been active in that organization since that time and presently serve as its executive cochair. I am very happy to see that the idea of civilizational dialogue has also found a home in China, more particularly in the Nishan Forum, whose inaugural meeting in 2011 coincided with the tenth anniversary of the UN “Year of Dialogue.” I am even more happy noting the location of the Nishan Forum near the birthplace of Confucius. No better place could have been found for a forum on world civilizations, because Confucius, in my mind, embodies perfectly what it means to be civilized. Here I have to confess to you my long-standing fascination with, and attraction to, the sage of Qufu. It is now roughly two decades ago, in 1991, that I first visited China. The occasion was an international conference held at the University of Nanjing on the top- 204 Appendix B. Cosmopolitan Confucianism? ic “Traditional Chinese Thought and Culture and the Twenty-First Century.” The central focus of the conference was the relevance and viability of indigenous Chinese traditions in the face of the relentless modernization and Westernization of the globe. Among Chinese traditions, Confucianism clearly occupied the limelight of attention. The University of Nanjing was kind enough to provide me with a guide who, after the conference, took me to Qufu and also the sacred mountain of Taishan. So, my roots in the Confucian tradition are deep (although I am not, and do not claim to be, a professional Sinologist). The issue I want to address today is the relation between world civilizations, and especially the dialogue among civilizations, and Confucianism . The issue needs to be explored on two levels. First, I want to profile more clearly the meaning of a dialogue among civilizations; and for this purpose I need to differentiate such dialogue from other possible—and historically recorded—relations between cultures or civilizations. Next, I want to examine how Confucianism fits into these relations among cultures and what role it can play there. Finally, I ask: Is Confucianism a suitable partner in the dialogue among civilizations today? Relations between Civilizations Relations between cultures—we know well—are not always friendly, welcoming, or dialogical. A main example of abstention from dialogue is the limit case of deliberate nonrelation, that is, the avoidance of cultural contact. For a variety of motivations—which may range from fearful apprehension to haughty arrogance—a culture may choose to shun outside contacts and to concentrate entirely on the cultivation of indigenous legacies or traditions. In common parlance, this practice of avoidance is called “isolationism.” Avoided outsiders are not necessarily demeaned (although there is a strong tendency to do so); they may also be considered simply irrelevant or insignificant. They are in any case not recognized as equal members of the human family. Epithets designating outsiders may range from the neutral expression “foreigners” to such clearly pejorative labels as “infidels,” “savages,” or “barbarians.” There are advantages and disadvantages associated with isolationism . From the perspective of the avoiding culture, a main advantage Chinese Traditions and Dialogue 205 is the exclusion of harmful or destructive influences, especially influences seen as debilitating for indigenous ways of life. Such protectionism is particularly important (and even sensible) in the case of weak or fledging societies in danger of being overrun by external products and practices. The disadvantage of isolationist policies is the danger of cultural stagnation or ossification, of the progressive routinization of social conduct, stifling all impulses of innovation or cultural reform. Isolationism of this kind was practiced to a large extent during...