Abstract

This article seeks to answer such questions as: what is chinese ethics? what is kant's position regarding chinese ethics? why did kant fail to appreciate chinese ethics? after an exploratory discussion of the early schools of chinese ethics according to kant's criteria of autonomy and heteronomy (basically: the schools of mo-Tzu, Lao-Tzu and confucius), The writer points out how kant's preference for formalism in ethics prevents him from properly appreciating chinese ethics, And how his basic position is still shared by many western philosophers