Contemporary Confucianism and the Global Order

The Carolina Asia Center hosts a discussion with Stephen Angle on the values of Confucianism in today's society

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.