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The Dao of Politics: Li (Rituals/Rites) and Laws as Pragmatic Tools of Government

The Dao of Politics: Li (Rituals/Rites) and Laws as Pragmatic Tools of Government In the history of Chinese thought, Confucianism is often contrasted with Legalism in terms of the former’s emphasis on <i>li</i> (ritual or rite) and the latter’s emphasis on <i>fa</i> (laws). However, others have argued that the Confucian <i>li</i> have served some of the same purposes as laws in the Western world. This article shows that through an overlap between Dewey’s concept of custom and the Confucian notion of <i>li,</i> and Dewey’s understanding of the relationship between custom and law, Dewey’s pragmatism could engage Confucian philosophy on the key questions of what kind of tools will achieve good government. It argues that pragmatically rituals and laws are complementary tools of government, but the perceived differences between them reveal important insights regarding coercion and moral transformation in relation to good government. Dewey’s insistence that the rational and aesthetic should not be separated in any satisfactory experience provides the basis for an argument that the aesthetic emphasis of <i>li</i> complements the rational emphasis of laws, and a balance between the two is required to achieve Deweyan democracy as a way of life, in which aesthetic elements of culture will be as important as the rational structure of a political system. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Philosophy East and West University of Hawai'I Press

The Dao of Politics: Li (Rituals/Rites) and Laws as Pragmatic Tools of Government

Tan, Sor-hoon, --
Philosophy East and West , Volume 61 (3) – Jul 23, 2011
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Publisher
University of Hawai'I Press
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 University of Hawai'i Press.
ISSN
1529-1898

Abstract

In the history of Chinese thought, Confucianism is often contrasted with Legalism in terms of the former’s emphasis on <i>li</i> (ritual or rite) and the latter’s emphasis on <i>fa</i> (laws). However, others have argued that the Confucian <i>li</i> have served some of the same purposes as laws in the Western world. This article shows that through an overlap between Dewey’s concept of custom and the Confucian notion of <i>li,</i> and Dewey’s understanding of the relationship between custom and law, Dewey’s pragmatism could engage Confucian philosophy on the key questions of what kind of tools will achieve good government. It argues that pragmatically rituals and laws are complementary tools of government, but the perceived differences between them reveal important insights regarding coercion and moral transformation in relation to good government. Dewey’s insistence that the rational and aesthetic should not be separated in any satisfactory experience provides the basis for an argument that the aesthetic emphasis of <i>li</i> complements the rational emphasis of laws, and a balance between the two is required to achieve Deweyan democracy as a way of life, in which aesthetic elements of culture will be as important as the rational structure of a political system.

Journal

Philosophy East and West – University of Hawai'I Press

Published: Jul 23, 2011

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