Preface
Preface The first part of this volume consists of a selection of eight papers written over twenty-seven years (1976–2002) on various aspects of Xunzi ’s moral philosophy, including the problematic character of original human nature; the moral, aesthetic, and religious dimensions of li (ritual ); ethical uses of history; ethical knowledge; and the ethical significance of the distinction between honor and shame. Discussion of other key aspects of Xunzi’s moral philosophy, especially those that pertain to the nature of ethical discourse, moral justification, and diagnosis of erroneous ethical beliefs are given in my Ethical Argumentation: A Study in Hsün Tzu’s [Xunzi’s] Moral Epistemology (1985). Notably, a number of my Confucian papers that appeared in my Moral Vision and Tradition: Essays in Chinese Ethics (1998) embodied insights derived from my studies of Xunzi’s moral philosophy, for example, reasonable action and Confucian argumentation, morality and human nature, self-deception, the role of paradigmatic individuals in moral education, the possibility of a Confucian theory of rhetoric, and the attempt to formulate a Confucian theory of virtues. The second part of this volume consists of papers that deal with various aspects of Chinese philosophy—the idea of ganying as that of practical as distinct from theoretical causation, the relevance of the Confucian conception of the unity and harmony of humanity and nature (tianren heyi) to ecological ethics, Confucian vision of ren as an ideal of extensive affection and concern for the well-being of human community , the problem of interpreting li* (principle, pattern, reason) in Chinese philosophy, and the emergence of the history of Chinese philosophy as a transformation of the history of Chinese thought—and studies of Mencius and Thomé H. Fang. Within each part, the essays appear in the order in which they were written. Essay 12 is a revision of a paper presented at the 1987 Conference on Fang Dongmei’s Philosophy held in Taipei, and was not previously published in an English philosophy journal. Essay 10 appears here for the first time. Except for minor revisions that improve the style and ix clarity of presentation, and replacement of Wade-Giles by pinyin romanizations , no substantive changes have been made in any of the previously published papers. In most of the essays, however, I have included references to later writings enclosed in brackets or in new footnotes. For fuller details, see the Acknowledgments. I am grateful to Dean Kurt Pritzl and former Dean Jude P. Dougherty for encouragement and support of my projects all through the years before my retirement as Professor Emeritus in the School of Philosophy at The Catholic University of America. Nearer home, again I am much indebted to my wife, Shoke-Hwee Khaw, and my daughter, Athene, for their affectionate concern and support. For more than forty years, Shoke-Hwee also has been a helpful discussant of most of my Confucian works in progress. I dedicate this work to her as an expression of my gratitude and affection. notes on citation from the ‘xunzi’ In this volume, parenthetical citations of the Xunzi [Hsün Tzu] refer to the following: Li Disheng, Xunzi jishi (Taipei: Xuesheng, 1979), which was based on the standard Wang Xianqian’s Xunzi jijie; H. H. Dubs, trans., The Works of Hsüntze (Taipei: Chengwen, 1966); Burton Watson, trans., Hsün Tzu: Basic Writings (New York: Columbia University Press, 1963); John Knoblock, Xunzi: A Translation and Study of the Complete Works, 3 vols. (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1988-94); and Wing-tsit Chan, A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1963). The references are abbreviated, with “L,” “D,” “W,” “K,” and “C” indicating the works of Li, Dubs, Watson, Knoblock, and Chan, respectively, and numerals indicating their page numbers. All parenthetical citations include, first, the passage in Li, and second, the translation adopted. Additional references are given only for comparative purposes. Where only Li is cited, the translation is my own. For the convenience of readers who have other editions, all references are preceded by the titles of the essays. Asterisks indicate emendations . Transcriptions of Chinese characters with asterisks within an essay indicate homophones. x preface ...
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