Abstract

Confucius lived in a society he found morally wanting. The rituals were distorted, the government was corrupt, and the rulers lacked a Heavenly mandate. Our limited historical knowledge makes it difficult today to imagine Confucius' situation in all its rich context and detail; however, we may be able to imagine something like it, at least something like it in certain ways. We can probably imagine living in a state led by officials of questionable integrity, and many of us may feel that we in fact do live in a society that suffers some kind of serious moral deficiency.What should a person do when she finds herself in a morally compromised society? Should she try to avoid moral contamination by withdrawing into ..