Leiden University Student Repository

Waleson, Emmanuel (2019)

Self-Interest and Self-Sacrifice in the Han Feizi

Master thesis | Asian Studies (60 EC) (MA)

This thesis explores the conceptualization of selfhood, self-interest, and self-sacrifice in ancient Chinese thought by performing an intra-textual analysis of several anecdotes in the Han Feizi, a canonical text on ancient Chinese political philosophy dating back to the 3rd century BCE. More specifically, this thesis describes a paradox in early Chinese thought, particularly in the Han Feizi, about conceptions of self-hood as articulated in anecdotes involving self-interest and self-sacrifice. A close reading of relevant passages demonstrates that, according to the Han Feizi, the contradictory tension between self-interest and self-sacrifice that instigated the premise for this study is in fact not so paradoxical after all. According to the Han Feizi, individuals are motivated by their self-interested nature, even when they sacrifice their limbs, their children, or their lives in the pursuit of personal aggrandizement.

Chinese philosophy

Political philosophy

Warring States period

Han Feizi

Textual analysis

Selfhood

Self-interest

Self-sacrifice

Author

Waleson, Emmanuel

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

East Asian Studies

Supervisors

Els, Paul van

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en