The Unity Of Rule And Virtue: A Critique of a Supposed Parallel Between Confucian Ethics and Virute Ethics

In the past few decades, philosophical and theological writings reveal a marked revival of interest in virtue ethics. Against the background of the revival of virtue ethics in the West, some philosophers argue that throughout its long history, Confucian ethics have stressed character formation or personal cultivation of virtues. Thus, it seems appropriate to characterise Confucian ethics as ethics of virtue. However, although Confucian ethics share some similarities with virtue ethics, it is not correct to label Confucian ethics as virtue ethics in the strict sense. In this book, the author attempts to critique the apparent similarity and show, on the contrary, that Confucian ethics are better conceived of as a unique kind of ethics, in which rule-based morality and virtues are united. Through a unique analysis of Confucian ethics and comparison between Confucian ethics and some Western ethical theories, the author also hopes to generate suggestions and ideas on how to integrate or unify rule and virtue in one moral theory. READERSHIP: Academics, university students and those interested in the study of philosophy and ethical systems.