Confucianism and the idea of equality

Asian Philosophy 11 (2):61 – 71 (2001)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

It is often supposed that Confucianism is opposed to the idea of equality insofar as the key ideals to which it is committed, such as meritocracy and li , are incompatible with equality. Sympathetic commentators typically defend Confucianism by saying that (a) the Confucian person is not a free-standing individual but a social being embedded in a social structure with different and unequal roles, and (b) social inequality has to be traded in for other values. This paper argues that in advocating meritocracy, Confucianism does not abandon the idea of equality. Indeed, invoking Aristotle's account of equality in the Nicomachean Ethics , it can be argued that the unequal distribution of rights and benefits reflects one aspect of equality, namely the vertical aspect, or the unequal treatment of unequals.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 86,213

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

Forget about equality.Madison Powers - 1996 - Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal 6 (2):129-144.
The source of the idea of equality in Confucian thought.Ruiquan Gao - 2010 - Frontiers of Philosophy in China 5 (4):486-505.
Confucianism and the idea of citizenship.A. T. Nuyen - 2002 - Asian Philosophy 12 (2):127 – 139.
Confucian Democracy and Equality.Ranjoo Seodu Herr - 2010 - Asian Philosophy 20 (3):261-282.
An explanation of the confucian idea of difference.Xiangjun Li - 2007 - Frontiers of Philosophy in China 2 (4):488-502.
The twilight of the republic?Jean-Fabien Spitz - 2003 - Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 6 (1):54-71.
Basic equality.Jeremy Waldron - 2008 - Nyu School of Law, Public Law and Legal Theory Research Paper Series Working Paper 8 (61).

Analytics

Added to PP
2009-01-28

Downloads
109 (#138,128)

6 months
5 (#191,006)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Citations of this work

Equality and Inequality in Confucianism.Chenyang Li - 2012 - Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 11 (3):295-313.
Confucianism, globalisation and the idea of universalism.A. T. Nuyen - 2003 - Asian Philosophy 13 (2 & 3):75 – 86.
Filiality, compassion, and confucian democracy.Sungmoon Kim - 2008 - Asian Philosophy 18 (3):279 – 298.
Confucianism and the idea of citizenship.A. T. Nuyen - 2002 - Asian Philosophy 12 (2):127 – 139.

Add more citations