Engaging Confucian Ethics as Philosophy
Abstract
This paper looks at the relationships among Japanese Confucianism, Confucian ethics and Confucianism as philosophy. It examines this relationship from three different angles: first, by examining the transformation of Japanese Confucianism into “Chinese philosophy”, which helped facilitate the Japanese national morality and imperial way discourses; second, by examining an alternative view of the Edo period Japanese Confucianism as having achieved the development of universal Confucian ethics even before the advent of European philosophy in East Asia; and finally, by examining the relationship between Confucian philosophy versus Confucian ritual as highlighted by the development of Japanese Confucianism. Building upon the understanding that Japanese Confucians were also working towards resolving the tensions of the relationship between the particular, universal and exemplary that marked their specific engagement with Confucianism outside of the Chinese cultural context, the paper tries to think about how the cautionary tale of Japanese Confucianism might help inform future philosophical studies of Confucian ethics in the global space.