Abstract
This paper engages with the thought of the contemporary New Confucian and Harvard scholar Tu Wei-ming. Its particular focus is on what could be termed “New Confucian Political Philosophy.” Yet, is it appropriate to speak of a specific political philosophy within Confucianism, or, more specifically, within its 20th century successor New Confucianism? Is it fit to use familiar categories of political philosophy such as liberal-communitarian, individual-society, or democratic-authoritarian in order to scrutinise New Confucianism? Taking questions such as these seriously, this paper starts with some important methodological issues and only then turns to Tu Wei-ming’s proposal of a fiduciary community, that is, of a community of trust. Among other issues, the Confucian family, self-cultivation, and the concept of politics as rectification are discussed. At the end, Tu Wei-ming’s ideas of how to make this Confucian sense of politics and of community contribute to contemporary political philosophy are briefly addressed.
Highlights
This paper engages with the thought of the contemporary New Confucian and Harvard scholar Tu Weiming
Its particular focus is on what could be termed "New Confucian Political Philosophy." Yet, is it appropriate to speak of a specific political philosophy within Confucianism, or, within its 2cf' century successor New Confucianism? Is it fit to use familiar categories of political philosophy such as liberal-communitarian, individual-society, or democratic-authoritarian in order to scrutinise New Confucianism? Taking questions such as these seriously, this paper starts with some important methodological issues and only turns to Tu Wei-ming's proposal of a fiduciary community, that is, of a community of trust
The topic of this paper is a prominent spokesperson of contemporary New Confucianism; the scholar and Harvard Professor Tu Wei-ming (Du Weiming f±!i!lA, 1940)
Summary
This paper engages with the thought of the contemporary New Confucian and Harvard scholar Tu Weiming. The focus is on Tu Wei-ming's thought His extensive scholarly work covers a broad spectrum: singular studies on Mencius, Wang Yangming, and other seminal figures and themes of Confucian and neo-Confucian philosophy; a propagation of a specific sense of religiousness within Confucianism; a constant rethinking of the role of the Chinese intellectual and ; and the potential contribution of the Chinese and especially the Confucian tradition in a moving and globalising world. 2 The term "fiduciary" derives from the Latin fides and stands for "trust, confidence." I want to examine this concept of a fiduciary community from the viewpoint of political philosophy, a viewpoint under which Tu Wei-ming's thought is not often portrayed. The goal of this investigation is to tentatively answer three questions. I will delineate the potential contribution of this Confucian sense of community, as Tu Weiming outlines it, to the broader context of political philosophy, as well as raise some, in my opinion, problematic issues inherent in this endeavour
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