Is mencius' doctrine of 'extending affection' tenable?

Asian Philosophy 14 (1):79 – 90 (2004)
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Abstract

In his doctrine of 'extending affection' (tui en), Mencius holds that one can transform particular consanguineous affection into universal humane love by the way of 'taking this heart here and applying it to what is over there'. Through a critical analysis of the text of the Mencius, it is attempted to argue that although this doctrine can combine the two mainstays of Confucian thought, i.e., filiality and humaneness, into an integrated unity, it is not tenable within the Confucian framework in the light of the fundamental spirit of Confucianism, especially in the light of the principle of 'love with distinctions' advocated by Mencius himself, which definitely gives consanguineous affection the supreme position in human life.

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References found in this work

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The world of thought in ancient China.Benjamin Isadore Schwartz - 1985 - Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
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Mencius.Earle J. Coleman - 1972 - Philosophy East and West 22 (1):113-114.
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