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Tension and Harmony: A Comment on Chenyang Li’s The Confucian Philosophy of Harmony

Tension and Harmony: A Comment on Chenyang Li’s The Confucian Philosophy of Harmony Department of Philosophy, Lingnan University waiwaichiu@ln.edu.hk Reconstruction of Harmony Chenyang Li's new book, The Confucian Philosophy of Harmony, challenges current interpretations of Confucianism by focusing on a long neglected idea -- harmony. It also challenges an ideology, found in both the East and the West, that harmony is either static conformity or well-disguised conflict. As Li explains, the book is a reclamation of `harmony' for its proper use in designating the kind of harmony advocated in traditional Chinese thought and, mainly, Confucianism (p. 10).1 Li does this by carefully examining the status of harmony in the Confucian classics, arguing that it is the most comprehensive and penetrating idea. Other Confucian values such as ren , li , zhong , and dao are either intertwined with, or derived from, harmony. For Li, Confucian harmony is a continuous process that always produces and transcends creative tensions. It may be argued that Confucians view the world not as a static entity, but as an unending harmonization. Li's reconstruction of the idea of harmony is largely solid and convincing, and while I generally agree with his view on its conceptual status, my attempts to situate his interpretation in a larger context have http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Philosophy East and West University of Hawai'I Press

Tension and Harmony: A Comment on Chenyang Li’s The Confucian Philosophy of Harmony

Philosophy East and West , Volume 67 (1) – Dec 28, 2017

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Publisher
University of Hawai'I Press
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 University of Hawai'i Press.
ISSN
1529-1898
Publisher site
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Abstract

Department of Philosophy, Lingnan University waiwaichiu@ln.edu.hk Reconstruction of Harmony Chenyang Li's new book, The Confucian Philosophy of Harmony, challenges current interpretations of Confucianism by focusing on a long neglected idea -- harmony. It also challenges an ideology, found in both the East and the West, that harmony is either static conformity or well-disguised conflict. As Li explains, the book is a reclamation of `harmony' for its proper use in designating the kind of harmony advocated in traditional Chinese thought and, mainly, Confucianism (p. 10).1 Li does this by carefully examining the status of harmony in the Confucian classics, arguing that it is the most comprehensive and penetrating idea. Other Confucian values such as ren , li , zhong , and dao are either intertwined with, or derived from, harmony. For Li, Confucian harmony is a continuous process that always produces and transcends creative tensions. It may be argued that Confucians view the world not as a static entity, but as an unending harmonization. Li's reconstruction of the idea of harmony is largely solid and convincing, and while I generally agree with his view on its conceptual status, my attempts to situate his interpretation in a larger context have

Journal

Philosophy East and WestUniversity of Hawai'I Press

Published: Dec 28, 2017

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