
Moral Partiality
Yong Li(Author)
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 29. July 2022
Book
Hardback
134 pages
978-1-032-30446-5 (ISBN)
Description
Situated within the framework of Confucian family-oriented ethics, this book explores the issue of familial partiality and specifically discusses whether it is morally praiseworthy to love one's family partially.
In reviewing the tension between familial partiality and egalitarian impartiality from different perspectives while also drawing on binary metrics to understand the issue - that is, the weak and strong sense of familial partiality in Confucian moral theory - the author carefully discusses the efficacy of three major arguments to justify moral partiality. It is concluded that the tree argument fails to justify moral partiality in Confucianism, the evolutionary argument only justifies moral partiality in the weak sense that we should devote more resources to our family, and the care argument fails to justify moral partiality in the strong sense that family takes priority in any case even at the expense of the principle of justice. Seeking to address the quandary, the author advances an alternative argument based on Thomas Aquinas' theory of love to interpret Confucian view of partial relationships, holding that partial treatment is assumed in partial relationships.
The title will appeal to scholars and students interested in Confucianism, Chinese philosophy, moral philosophy, and comparative philosophy.
In reviewing the tension between familial partiality and egalitarian impartiality from different perspectives while also drawing on binary metrics to understand the issue - that is, the weak and strong sense of familial partiality in Confucian moral theory - the author carefully discusses the efficacy of three major arguments to justify moral partiality. It is concluded that the tree argument fails to justify moral partiality in Confucianism, the evolutionary argument only justifies moral partiality in the weak sense that we should devote more resources to our family, and the care argument fails to justify moral partiality in the strong sense that family takes priority in any case even at the expense of the principle of justice. Seeking to address the quandary, the author advances an alternative argument based on Thomas Aquinas' theory of love to interpret Confucian view of partial relationships, holding that partial treatment is assumed in partial relationships.
The title will appeal to scholars and students interested in Confucianism, Chinese philosophy, moral philosophy, and comparative philosophy.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Academic, Postgraduate, Undergraduate Advanced, and Undergraduate Core
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
391 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-032-30446-5 (9781032304465)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
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Person
Yong Li is Professor of Philosophy and Associate Dean of School of Philosophy at Wuhan University, China. He works primarily in ethics and political philosophy with focuses on Confucian ethics and comparative political philosophy. He serves as the co-editor for the book series "Routledge Studies in Contemporary Chinese Philosophy."
Content
1. Introduction, 2. The Confucian Puzzle, 3. Evolutionary Arguments for Partiality, 4. Evolutionary Explanation of Partiality, 5. Care and Partiality, 6. Love and Partiality