On the non-finality of physical death in classical Confucianism

Henry Rosemont

doi:10.15388/aov.2007.2.3737

Abstract

There is probably no idea more difficult to contemplate clearly than death and dying, especially one’s own. How we think about death, however, will surely be influenced by what we think about life and living in general, and more specifically how we define ourselves as human beings. The early Confucians viewed persons very differently than contemporary Western thinkers and developed a ritual orientation grounded in the family that had both ethical and religious (but not transcendental) dimensions, in which the death of the body was not seen as abrupt and final, but rather as a stage that began before our embodiment, and will continue long after its dissolution.

Highlights

There is very probably no idea more difficult to think about clearly than death, especially one’s own, and this holds true for philosophers no less than for anyone else
One thing that does seem clear, is that how we think about death and dying will be strongly influenced by our conceptions of life and living as a human being, in general, and more how we define and describe our unique selves within these general concepts
It should prove philosophically fruitful to examine how other cultures have conceived human beings, how the persons in those cultures defined and described themselves, and how those definitions and descriptions were reflected in attitudes and rituals associated with both the living and the dead

Summary

Introduction

There is very probably no idea more difficult to think about clearly than death, especially one’s own, and this holds true for philosophers no less than for anyone else.

Results

Conclusion