
Formulating a Minimalist Morality for a New Planetary Order
Alternative Cultural Perspectives
University of Hawai'i Press
Published on 28. February 2025
Book
Hardback
277 pages
978-0-8248-9890-8 (ISBN)
Description
The Westphalian model of international relations has given us a zero-sum game of winners and losers that has proven to be ineffective in addressing the pressing issues of our times. Philosopher Zhao Tingyang has argued that by conceptualizing international relations from the planetary perspective of tianxia, we can develop a sense of "worldness" that at once acknowledges the plurality of moral ideals defining of the world's cultures and seeks practical ways to formulate a shared morality for the solidarity needed to bring the world's people together. In this spirit, political theorist Michael Walzer, in his Thick and Thin: Moral Argument at Home and Abroad, wants "to endorse the politics of difference and, at the same time, to describe and defend a certain sort of universalism." For Walzer "thin" morality does not mean minor or emotionally shallow morality; on the contrary, thin and intensity come together as "morality close to the bone."
Turning to alternative philosophies, the contributors to this volume seek to move beyond liberal thinking on a minimalist ethic to include other cultural values-those of the Confucian, Buddhist, Indian, Islamic, Ubuntu, Japanese, European, and Jewish traditions. In order to reconceive of the world as a world, these scholars seek to formulate an answer to the contemporary challenge of a fragmented and failing Westphalian "internationality," and in so doing, to offer possible conceptions of a shared and practicable morality sorely needed at a planetary scale.
Turning to alternative philosophies, the contributors to this volume seek to move beyond liberal thinking on a minimalist ethic to include other cultural values-those of the Confucian, Buddhist, Indian, Islamic, Ubuntu, Japanese, European, and Jewish traditions. In order to reconceive of the world as a world, these scholars seek to formulate an answer to the contemporary challenge of a fragmented and failing Westphalian "internationality," and in so doing, to offer possible conceptions of a shared and practicable morality sorely needed at a planetary scale.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Honolulu, HI
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
1 b&w illustration
Dimensions
Height: 231 mm
Width: 155 mm
Thickness: 33 mm
Weight
640 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8248-9890-8 (9780824898908)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Roger T. Ames is Humanities Chair Professor at Peking University, cochair of the Academic Advisory Committee at Peking University Berggruen Research Center, and professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Hawai'i.
Jin Young Lim is a doctoral candidate in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Steven Y. H. Yang is Tianxia Project Consultant at the Berggruen China Center.
Jin Young Lim is a doctoral candidate in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Steven Y. H. Yang is Tianxia Project Consultant at the Berggruen China Center.
Editor
Contributions
Series Editor