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7 - Moral Motivation for Future Generations, Naturally

A Mencian Proposal

from Part II - Intergenerational Ethics in Dialogue with Confucianism and Daoism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2024

By
Jing Iris Hu
Edited by
Hiroshi Abe ,
Matthias Fritsch  and
Mario Wenning
Hiroshi Abe
Affiliation:
Kyoto University
Matthias Fritsch
Affiliation:
Concordia University, Montréal
Mario Wenning
Affiliation:
Loyola University, Spain
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Summary

This chapter advocates for a naturalistic ethical framework that bases normative components in basic human functions, such as emotions, as an effective approach to address intergenerational ethics questions. Using Mencius’s ethical framework as an example, which establishes emotional pivot points to incorporate others’ concerns and worries into moral deliberation, the chapter argues that this approach provides significant theoretical advantages over frameworks that rely on a familial-role-based relational understanding of Confucian ethics and moral cultivation through rituals. The chapter also highlights the flexibility and adaptability of Mencian ethics, which was redeveloped over a thousand years later during the Neo-Confucian flowering and serves as evidence of its philosophical framework’s ability to connect people emotionally and ethically across time.

Keywords

Menciusnaturalistic ethicsintergenerational ethicsempathycare
Type
Chapter
Information
Intercultural Philosophy and Environmental Justice between Generations
Indigenous, African, Asian, and Western Perspectives
 , pp. 131 - 152
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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