Confucian ritual and holistic moral education 1

Abstract

Ritual propriety (li) and benevolence (ren) are the central concerns of Confucius. However, ritual have been largely neglected by moderns as well as by certain Neo-Confucianists under the influence of Enlightenment which stresses individual rationality and being suspicious of traditional rituals as indoctrination which obstruct one's rational reflection. This article attempts to refute the criticism of traditional rituals given by the Enlightenment thought. Inspired by linguistic hermeneutics by Gadamer and Charles Taylor, I argue that as human beings are embodied agents who are historically situated, our understanding of the world inevitably involve prejudice or narrative derived meaning from tradition. However, in order to avoid blind observance of rituals which leads to stagnation of tradition, the development of tradition must be flexible and should be kept renovating through articulation and interacting dialogue between participants according to changing circumstance. The repetition in rituals does not necessarily exclude rational reflection; rather it helps to strength one's virtuous character. This article concludes that as long as we can keep tradition alive and practice rituals reflectively, Confucian rituals can still play an important role in moral cultivation and formation of social values even in the modern society.