vannorden_iccp_final.qxd:Layout 1 2/21/11 11:03 AM Page 1 v introduction to “This book is an introduction in the very best sense of the word. It provides a the beginner with an accurate, sophisticated, yet accessible account, and offers n new insights and challenging perspectives to those who have more specialized n classical knowledge. Focusing on the period in Chinese philosophy that is surely most o easily approachable and perhaps most important, it ranges over a rich set of r competing options. It also, with admirable self-consciousness, presents a d number of daring attempts to relate those options to philosophical figures and e n movements from the West. I recommend it very highly.” chinese —LEEH. YEARLEY, Walter Y. Evans-Wentz Professor, Religious Studies, Stanford University c “A substantial and highly accessible introduction to the indigenous l philosophy philosophies of China. Van Norden shares his clear distillations of classical a Chinese philosophies using conceptual frameworks many will find familiar. s s This reader-friendly book sets the historical and cultural contexts for the i philosophies discussed, and includes appendices, study questions, and c ai imaginative scenarios, which aid us in appreciating some of the most n l important philosophy ever developed.” t —ANNPIRRUCCELLO, Professor of Philosophy, University of San Diego cr ho d “This lucid introduction to early Chinese thought offers historical, textual, i nu and conceptual analyses of the schools of classical Chinese philosophy, ec illuminating their basic themes, theories, and arguments and providing st readers with an intellectual bridge between Chinese and Western thought. ei o Introductory texts such as this are especially needed today, as the study of p n philosophy faces the challenges of globalization and the urgent need for h dialogue among different philosophical traditions. it lo “An ideal text for introductory courses, this book will also inspire graduate o students, scholars, and experts in philosophy in general, and Chinese s philosophy in particular, with its theoretical insights and comparative o methodology.” p —VINCENTSHEN, Lee Chair in Chinese Thought and Culture, Department of h Philosophy and Department of East Asian Studies, University of Toronto y BRYANW. VANNORDENis Professor in the Philosophy Department and the Department of Chinese and Japanese at Vassar College. h a c ISBN-13: 978-1-60384-468-0 k 90000 e t t bryan w. van norden 4468 Cover image: Ma Yuan, On a Mountain 9 781603 844680 FnL1 00 0000 Path,ink and color on silk, Song dynasty. introduction to classical chinese philosophy introduction to classical chinese philosophy Bryan W. Van Norden Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. Indianapolis/Cambridge Copyright © 2011 b y Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America 15 14 13 12 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 For further information, please address Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. P.O. Box 44937 Indianapolis, Indiana 46244-0937 www.hackettpublishing.com Cover design by Abigail Coyle Text design by Mary Vasquez Composition by Agnew’s, Inc. Printed at Sheridan Books, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Van Norden, Bryan W. (Bryan William) Introduction to classical Chinese philosophy / Bryan W. Van Norden. p . cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-60384-468-0 (pbk.)—ISBN 978-1-60384-469-7 (cloth) 1. Philosophy, Chinese—To 221 B.C. I. Title. B126.V28 2011 181′ .11—dc22 2010 042112 Adobe PDF ebook ISBN: 978-1-60384-605-9 For Barbara Lucy to my Ricky and Lois to my Peter contents ■ ■ Preface XI Map of China XIII Selected Translations XIV Selected Secondary Works XVI 1. THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT I. Myth 2 II. Early History 5 III. Th e Period of the Philosophers 10 IV. Timeline 13 2. KONGZI AND CONFUCIANISM I. Kongzi’s Social Context and Life 18 II. Five Th emes of Confucianism 21 1. Happiness in the Everyday World 21 2. Revivalistic Traditionalism 22 3. Th e Family and Diff erentiated Caring 24 4. Ritual and Functionalism 25 5. Ethical Cultivation 29 3. KONGZI AND VIRTUE ETHICS I. Th ree Normative Th eories 34 II. Confucianism as Virtue Ethics 38 1. Living Well 38 2. Th e Virtues 39 3. Ethical Cultivation and Human Nature 43 III. Limitations of Confucianism 44 IV. Kongzi’s Particularism 45 4. MOHIST CONSEQUENTIALISM I. Th e Fixed Standard of Consequentialism 51 II. Criticisms of Confucianism 52 viii contents III. Political Philosophy 58 IV. Divine Command Th eory 60 V. “Against Fatalism” and Dialectic 62 VI. “On Ghosts” and Truth 64 VII. Historical Signifi cance 67 5. YANG ZHU AND EGOISM I. What Is Egoism? 70 1. Psychological Egoism 70 2. Ethical Egoism 74 II. What Is the Nature of a Th ing? 75 III. Early Debates over Yang Zhu’s Way 76 IV. Th e Contemporary Debate 79 6. MENGZI AND HUMAN NATURE I. Th e Mohists, Profi t, and Impartiality 87 II. Yang Zhu and Human Nature 88 III. Th e Virtues 91 IV. Ethical Cultivation 92 V. Cosmology 97 VI. Historical Signifi cance 98 7. LANGUAGE AND PARADOX IN THE “SCHOOL OF NAMES” I. Deng Xi and the Origins of the “School” 102 II. Hui Shi 103 III. Gongsun Long 108 IV. Th e Later Mohists 111 1. Resolving the Paradox of Deng Xi 112 2. Resolving the Paradoxes of Hui Shi 112 3. Resolving the White Horse Paradox 113 4. Th e New Foundation of Mohist Ethics 114 5. Th e Limits of Logic 116 V. Historical Signifi cance 118 8. THE DAODEJING AND MYSTICISM I. Myth and Reality 122 II. Five Th emes 125 contents ix 1. Social Ills and Th eir Solution 125 2. Nonaction 126 3. Th e Teaching Th at Is without Words 130 4. Th e Way 131 5. Mysticism 133 III. Historical Signifi cance 135 9. Z HUANGZI’S THERAPEUTIC SKEPTICISM AND RELATIVISM I. Zhuangzi’s Context 142 II. Skepticism 143 III. Relativism 144 IV. Detachment in Society, Not from Society 147 V. Nonaction 150 VI. Doctrine or Th erapy? 152 VII. Conventional or Radical? 155 VIII. Historical Signifi cance 159 1 0. XUNZI’S CONFUCIAN NATURALISM I. Xunzi’s Context 164 II. Naturalism and Ritual 164 III. History and Objectivity 168 IV. Human Nature and Psychology 171 V. Ethical Cultivation 178 VI. Historical Signifi cance 180 11. HAN FEIZI I. Life and Context 186 II. Critique of Confucianism 187 III. Th e Five Elements of Han Feizi’s Th eory of Government 190 1. Th e Power of Position 190 2. Administrative Methods 191 3. Laws 193 4. Th e Two Handles of Government 194 5. Th e Way of the Ruler 195 IV. Th e Question of Amoralism 196 V. Historical Signifi cance 198