Confucianism and Human Rights [Hardcover]

Wm. Theodore de de Bary (Editor), Tu Weiming (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 1998

Is the Confucian tradition compatible with the Western understanding of human rights? Are there fundamental human values, regardless of cultural differences, common to all peoples of all nations? At this critical point in Communist China's history, eighteen distinguished scholars address the role of Confucianism in dealing with questions of universal human rights.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An ambitious book, dealing with human nature, according to classical Confucian philosophers, analogies between rights and rites, and Confucian influences in 20th-century China.

(Stefan B. Polter Asian Affairs XXXVI/1 2004)

This rich volume, a feast for the mind, a joy to the soul, is so wise in seeing that the human rights discourse is not the singular fruit of a peculiar liberal individualistic Western tradition, not the unique genetic child of Jews or Christians or Greeks.

(Edward Friedman Asian Thought and Society )

It reduces the lack of clarity that has characterized discussions of this subject to date.

(Lynn Struve China Quarterly )

The essays explore such vital subjects as the normative foundation of human rights claims, the relationship of the individual to the nation-state, rites as rights, due process, harmony versus freedom of thought, constitutionalism, and the rule of law.... each one does stand on its own as a solid piece of scholarship.

(Choice )

This engaging book is propaedeutic to a study of how Confucianism might contribute to decisions respecting rights.

(Dale Maurice Riepe International Studies in Philosophy )

Review

A serious, energetic, and deeply informed discussion.

(Charles Horner, Washington and Lee University )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 408 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (January 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231109369
• ISBN-13: 978-0231109369
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,170,252 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Epic, November 2, 2010

By 

Nan Chen "cineaste" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Confucianism and Human Rights (Paperback)

This is an anthology by leading comparative philosophers on Confucianism and its relationship to human rights. The media in the west and even some academics have often assumed in the discourse on human rights and China that Chinese institutions and traditions (especially Confucian institutions and traditions) are some how antithetical to "western liberal" conceptions of human rights. But these superficial judgments are almost always by those who are not familiar with the historical literature on both Confucian and western conceptions of human rights. Many have not read a single word of any Confucian text or related commentary or any modern treatment specifically dealing with the relationship between human rights and Confucianism (and there have been plenty). Thus, there is an unfounded, naive prejudice that clouds the contemporary discourse at least in the west outside of comparative philosophy, which ignores the reality both past and present, East and West. In fact, as argued by several authors in the book, certain strains in Confucian thought may actually be quite conducive and natural to the development of a human rights framework.

Notions that underly much of our own western conceptions of human rights including reciprocity, dignity, respect for human sanctity, and respect for moral development and the development of our natural abilities have a very long history and independent analogues within Chinese philosophical discourse. Some of the articles contained are not only a positive treatment of how a Confucian human rights framework may look like but takes on polemical stances against certain preconceived notions against the possibility of such frameworks. It gives a nuanced and diverse look at the different kinds of Confucianism and does justice to this important contemporary topic.

2 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Attention, QC!, March 9, 2000

By 

Keith Ammann (Freeport, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Confucianism and Human Rights (Hardcover)

Great material, but MY GOD, this book needed to be gone over by a copy editor! What are publishing houses spending all their money on?