Description
The book discusses the concepts of virtue ethics and consequentialism in early Chinese philosophy, specifically focusing on Confucianism and Mohism. The author uses an analytic approach to examine the texts and arguments of both schools of thought. It is shown that Confucianism, although similar to Aristotelianism, has distinct ideas about the good life, virtues, human nature, and ethical development.
In this book, Bryan W. Van Norden examines early Confucianism as a form of virtue ethics and Mohism, an anti-Confucian movement, as a version of consequentialism. The philosophical methodology is analytic, in that the emphasis is on clear exegesis of the texts and a critical examination of the philosophical arguments proposed by each side. Van Norden shows that Confucianism, while similar to Aristotelianism in being a form of virtue ethics, offers different conceptions of the good life, the virtues, human nature, and ethical cultivation.
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