Character Consequentialism: Confucianism, Buddhism and Mill

Journal of Indian Philosophy and Religion 16:138-153 (2011)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

When discussing Eastern philosophy there is often a difficulty since characteristically Eastern ways of thinking do not map well onto Western philosophic categories. Yet, P. J. Ivanhoe suggests that a careful reading of Confucianism can illuminate and expand Western approaches to ethics. Ivanhoe maintains that the best way to understand Confucian ethics is as a hybrid of virtue ethics and consequentialism, a view he calls character consequentialism (CC). The paper will progress in the following way. First, I present Ivanhoe’s conception of character consequentialism. Second, I discuss how CC, particularly as it is developed by Charles Goodman as a way to interpret Mahayana Buddhist ethics, relates to aspects of Mill’s utilitarianism. This suggests that there is nothing especially new about CC. However, the similarities actually underscore the ways that Eastern and Western ethical theories can illuminate each other. Finally, I respond to Damien Keown’s concern that CC is hopeless confused.

Other Versions

No versions found

Links

PhilArchive

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Confucianism, Buddhism, and Virtue Ethics.Bradford Cokelet - 2016 - European Journal for the Philosophy of Religion 8 (1):187-214.
Karma, Character, and Consequentialism.Damien Keown - 1996 - Journal of Religious Ethics 24 (2):329-350.
Buddhist Ethics and Western Moral Philosophy.William Edelglass - 2013 - In Steven M. Emmanuel (ed.), A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 476–490.
Virtue Ethics, Kantian Ethics, and Consequentialism.Jane Singleton - 2002 - Journal of Philosophical Research 27:537-551.
Moral Character and Consequentialism.David Elliot - 1993 - Dissertation, University of Toronto (Canada)
The Cultivation of Virtue in Buddhist Ethics.Charles K. Fink - 2013 - Journal of Buddhist Ethics 20:667-701.
Buddhist Moral Teachings is not Virtue Ethics: A Critical Response to Damien Keown’s View.Ali Sharaf - 2024 - Journal of the Indian Council of Philosophical Research 41 (2):211-224.

Analytics

Added to PP
2012-07-19

Downloads
250 (#106,877)

6 months
4 (#1,279,871)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Joshua Anderson
Virginia State University

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

No references found.

Add more references