Today, the world faces one crisis after another affecting individuals on a global scale. To respond to these crises, Anglo-American ethical and political philosophy requires alternative conceptions...Show moreToday, the world faces one crisis after another affecting individuals on a global scale. To respond to these crises, Anglo-American ethical and political philosophy requires alternative conceptions of care. Moving beyond (neo)liberal care ethics, this thesis argues for a non-gendered Confucian care ethics, illustrating what it means to care democratically. The aim is to alter democratic deficits by embracing interrelated Confucian selfhood. This enables intergenerational care to adapt to contemporary social challenges to humanity, democracy, equality, and freedom. I expand the notion of Confucian interrelated selfhood – transforming dichotomous moral boundaries of identity, community, and society – to include non-gendered, non-dyadic relationships. To be relevant for future generations, Confucian care ethical democracy must offer a theory of justice that understands how to care for each other in society. Whilst facing numerous care crises, it is imperative to encourage people to explore what it means to care intergenerationally for the present and future world. A communal effort to flourish on this planet starts by understanding the complexity of raising oneself, each other, and a whole society.Show less
This thesis proposes the ancient Chinese philosophy of Confucianism as an analytical lens to study Chinese foreign policy. The need for a framework consisting of Confucian teachings emerges from...Show moreThis thesis proposes the ancient Chinese philosophy of Confucianism as an analytical lens to study Chinese foreign policy. The need for a framework consisting of Confucian teachings emerges from the limited perspectives mainstream Western IR can offer to the theories evolving around the rise of China. There is value in looking at Chinese foreign relations through Confucianism because it shows cultural and social behavioural aspects, which govern Chinese society, and thus, contributes a different approach to the study of IR. The presented case study of China’s foreign policy toward the Middle East takes into account context specific, relational elements in order to obtain valuable insights. By applying a framework consisting of Confucian teachings on governance, order, and relationship, this thesis demonstrates an interpretation of Chinese foreign policy that has been disregarded by mainstream Western IR scholarship until now.Show less
The Confucian claim that we are not born as persons but that we must become persons highlights the importance of individual human experiences in relation to a larger global and collective network....Show moreThe Confucian claim that we are not born as persons but that we must become persons highlights the importance of individual human experiences in relation to a larger global and collective network. The way we perceive and act as persons in a society is shaped by the relationships we develop with others. This implies that the individual can never abstract himself entirely from his socio-historical context. However, the dominant interpretation of personhood seems to draw heavily on Kantian ideas, which are supposed to be in opposition with the Confucian social self. Namely, the Kantian ideal model is a free, autonomous and rational individual for whom self-legislation is the essential human achievement. In my thesis, I attempt to offer a comprehensive analysis and reconceptualization of personhood by borrowing from the Confucian notion of a relational person. Firstly, I will highlight the dominant Kantian conception of what it means to be an individual person within society. In doing so, I will depict certain characteristics of the rational individual and how they are reproduced in the process of grounding universal moral laws. Secondly, I will demonstrate that this view of personhood is to some extent problematic because it advocates an disembodied moral agent by undermining the importance of empirical and socio-historical influences. Thus, I will attempt to reconnect the individual within the social realm through the Confucian perspective on personhood. Namely, the concept of person implies the self in relation to others rather than a radical separation between them. The exemplary person (junzi) cultivates his heart-mind (xin) by developing filial piety (xiao) and benevolence (ren) which are expressed through the practice of rituals(li). These interrelated concepts depict a relational person who occupies certain roles in society based on the multiplicity and diversity of his relationships with other human beings. Finally, the important question is: To what extent is the Confucian relational self relevant in reconceptualizing the Kantian notion of personhood? I will argue that it is necessary to offer an all-encompassing view on personhood by opening up a dialogue between these two traditions. In order to do so, I will reject the presupposed fundamental dichotomy between the Kantian Western perspective and Confucianism. Comparing and connecting their main concepts allows me to expand the meaning of personhood and illustrate its complexities without completely refuting the Kantian individual or adapting the Confucian model in its totality. On one hand, Kant invites us to critically challenge past traditions and social norms by cultivating our abilities to think and reason for ourselves, while this capacity might be limited in Confucian thought. On the other hand, from the Confucian person we can learn how to understand ourselves and our connections with others in a growing social networkShow less
Multiple government Social Credit Systems (SCSs) are being piloted in China in response to the growing calls from the population that there is a breakdown of trust within society. Previous research...Show moreMultiple government Social Credit Systems (SCSs) are being piloted in China in response to the growing calls from the population that there is a breakdown of trust within society. Previous research finds that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are employing a surveillant construction to unite the heterogenous elements of the country using Big Data (BD), including; Chinese individuals, companies, social organizations and government agencies. This thesis focuses on how Foucault’s, Deleuze & Guatarri’s and Jäger’s interpretation of the ‘dispositive’ is being updated onto the digital platform of the SCS. Conducting Siegfried Jäger’s ‘Dispositive Analysis’ over a 3 × 3 analysis framework which includes the three perspectives of Apparatus, Articulation and Assemblage over the three modalities of Law, Ethical and Utilitarian, the thesis presents how the CCP are reconstructing cyberspace for the application of the SCS. More importantly, this research finds that the CCP are drawing upon traditional Confucian & Daoist morals and ethics as the basis for the SCS’s functionality, shaping the actions and behavioural patterns of the population.Show less
The Social Credit System is an automated mechanism that, collecting citizens’ personal information, aims at restoring trustworthiness in Chinese society. At the same time, this system might serve...Show moreThe Social Credit System is an automated mechanism that, collecting citizens’ personal information, aims at restoring trustworthiness in Chinese society. At the same time, this system might serve the purpose of restoring CCP’s moral legitimacy. To shed a light on this second objective, I explore and explain how morality came to be relevant in sustaining political authority in imperial China and why it is still important in Chinese contemporary political discourse. After having depicted the symptoms of China’s moral decay, I analyze the scope and objectives of the SCS. Specifically, I show how the logic behind a peculiar form of Chinese social relation, namely guānxi came to influence the SCS. Moreover, I depict the SCS as an educative tool to mold a new kind of society hinging on the concept of sincerity. Nevertheless, I caution about the potential risks and inefficacies of this didactic automated mechanism.Show less
The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the influence of the Confucian family system over lesbian, gay men, bisexual, and transsexual rights, LGBT rights, in Japan. This thesis investigates how...Show moreThe purpose of this thesis is to analyse the influence of the Confucian family system over lesbian, gay men, bisexual, and transsexual rights, LGBT rights, in Japan. This thesis investigates how this family system portrays hegemonic gender roles over the Japanese population. One of the outcomes is that the Confucian family system created a registry system, or Koseki Seido which dates back the Tokugawa era. The koseki seido has been an obstacle for these LGBT communities to have a legal status in Japan. Also, the traditionalist nature of the Japanese society has severely impacted the efforts of these minority groups in obtaining civil rights, when compared to more LGBT-friendly countries. Even though LGBT communities have not obtained a legal status within Japan’s society, since 2015 the Shibuya prefecture has been issuing same-sex partnerships that have granted these communities a better legal status. The partnership certificates are not legally binding; however, same-sex couples can be afforded the same civil rights as that of opposite-sex couples. The inclusion of the same-sex partnership certificates as a case study serves to illustrate how Japan is progressing in adapting LGBT rights, albeit slowly.Show less
In this thesis, I analyse six Taiwanese short stories written by contemporary women writers. I use feminist theory, namely Lu Hsiu Lien's 'New Feminism', to examine the position of economically...Show moreIn this thesis, I analyse six Taiwanese short stories written by contemporary women writers. I use feminist theory, namely Lu Hsiu Lien's 'New Feminism', to examine the position of economically independent women in Taiwan and their gender display.Show less
This thesis will examine the status of women at work in the South Korean job market. The thesis will discuss both the cultural and structural challenges faced by women in South Korea. For the...Show moreThis thesis will examine the status of women at work in the South Korean job market. The thesis will discuss both the cultural and structural challenges faced by women in South Korea. For the cultural challenges, the focus will lie on Confucianism in South Korea and its influence on women's position in society. For the structural challenges, factors will be examined, such as the gender wage gap, promotion opportunities, and contract versus permanent employment.Show less
Research master thesis | Asian Studies (research) (MA)
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With the rapid proliferation of New Confucian studies since the mid 1980s, it has become an unquestioned dogma that one particular event at the beginning of 1958 marks a watershed in the movement’s...Show moreWith the rapid proliferation of New Confucian studies since the mid 1980s, it has become an unquestioned dogma that one particular event at the beginning of 1958 marks a watershed in the movement’s development. This event is the publication of the Manifesto that Mou Zongsan 牟宗三, Tang Junyi唐君毅, Xu Fuguan 徐復觀, and Zhang Junmai 张君劢 co-signed and published almost simultaneously in the two journals Minzhu pinglun民評論 (Democratic Tribune) and Zaisheng再生(National Renaissance) with the title “为中国文化敬告世界人士宣言─我们对中国学术研究及中国文化与世界文前途之共同认识” (Wei Zhongguo wenhua jinggao shijie renshi xuanyan –women dui Zhongguo xueshu yanjiu ji Zhongguo wenhua yu shijiewen qiantu zhi gongtong renshi; translated in English as “A Manifesto on the Reappraisal of Chinese Culture – our Joint Understanding of the Sinological Study relating to World Cultural Outlook.”). Its main purpose is to benefit Western intellectuals in 'aiding them to appreciate Chinese culture'. In order to do so, the authors employ a strategic terminology, which allows them to build a consistent cross-cultural dialogue between Western and Chinese philosophy by means of an unprecedented discourse on 'Chinese Rationalism' (中国心性之学 Zhongguo xinxing zhi xue). Interestingly, the latter is described by the authors as “the essence of Chinese Culture” and, beside its comparative value, it represents the most comprehensive configuration of Confucianism in the context of 20th century. Academic interest in Chinese Studies and Chinese Philosophy should take into account the articulation of Chinese Rationalism in the Manifesto of 1958 as representing a paradigm of post-comparative dialogue that exemplifies the underlying philosophical continuity beyond consistently different traditions of thought.Show less
This thesis examines the rituals of succession in 18th century Korea and China. Producing a suitable heir to inherit the throne was an imperative for royals in order to extend their dynasty....Show moreThis thesis examines the rituals of succession in 18th century Korea and China. Producing a suitable heir to inherit the throne was an imperative for royals in order to extend their dynasty. However, from the case studies examined in this thesis, it becomes clear that there were palpable tensions between the eldest prince and the emperor incumbent. In both cases the outcome of the conflicts was execution of the heir apparent himself. The central question then is how and why these perilous cracks in the royal relationship formed between ruler and heir apparent.Show less
Generally speaking, democratic values and confucian values are conceived to be irreconcilable. However, if one gives a closer look at John Deweys conception of a democracy, the opposite rather...Show moreGenerally speaking, democratic values and confucian values are conceived to be irreconcilable. However, if one gives a closer look at John Deweys conception of a democracy, the opposite rather seems to be the case. What is more, if one gives a closer look at the problems in the current Chinese healthcare system, a combination of democratic values and confucian values might just help Chinese officials to solve this problem - in the form of a Confucian Democracy.Show less
