Contemporary Confucianism and the Global Order

Stephen Angle, Professor of Philosophy and Chair of East Asian Studies, Wesleyan University
FedEx Global Education Center, Room 1009

Can Confucianism contribute to re-thinking our future global order? I examine this possibility in three stages. First, Confucianism is not simply a set of religious or philosophical doctrines whose implications for a given topic can be straight-forwardly disclosed. It has been a complex and dynamic tradition of thought and practice, deeply intertwined with the pre-modern Chinese state. Is it indeed relevant today? Second, I suggest that from among the various contemporary efforts to appropriate Confucianism, several promising approaches overlap in taking a positive attitude toward democracy, and propose that we should focus our attention on these. Finally, on this basis I review the roles that this pro-democratic Confucianism could play in helping Chinese and other citizens to generate norms for an improved, inclusive global order.