标签：virtue

[Spanish] Fernando Savater: “The Invitation to Ethics” —★

Philosophy & Thought2008.09.21
[Spanish] Fernando Savater: “The Invitation to Ethics” —★
[西]Fernando Savater: “An Invitation to Ethics,” translated by Yushi Yang, Peking University Press2008, 9月,20 yuan——★ As for the earlier An Invitation to Philosophy (see https://yilinhut.net/2007/11/01/1070.html), I had a very high opinion of it; the author’s better-known An Invitation to Ethics was also long anticipated. It finally went on sale a few days ago, and after buying it I finished it in a little over an hour. It is indeed quite good, and worth recommending. Printed at the top of the cover of this book is the sentence: “The only purpose of ethics is to strive to improve oneself, rather than to drone on condemning others.” Even if I had not…
philosophy book reading notes freedom
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2008年9月21日
A Few Words on “Olympic” — “Olympic Game”

Culture & Public Commentary2008.08.08
A Few Words on “Olympic” — “Olympic Game”
I had long said I would write some articles about the Olympics, but the reason I kept putting it off was mainly that I had read far too little, whether primary or secondary sources, on ancient Greece, so I would certainly be speaking without much confidence. Recently, in a last-minute dash, I read a few introductory books; of course that does not really solve anything, but in order to get something written before the opening of the Olympics, I could only make do. Though I lack confidence, I have always had ancient Greece and the “Olympic spirit” on my mind, and I have a large heap of related thoughts. Because…
culture freedom tradition religion
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2008年8月8日
Seven Subjects of Moral Education (How to Do Moral Education?)

Culture & Public Commentary2008.07.17
Seven Subjects of Moral Education (How to Do Moral Education?)
Moral education is not the task of the university. By the time they enter college, most students are already adults, and their individual character has long since taken basic shape. A university ought to build a stage on which all kinds of different personalities can coexist, guiding each character to shine in its own distinctive way; it should not then try to remake students’ personalities. Primary and secondary education are different. Primary and secondary schools, together with parents, bear the mission of cultivating and shaping children’s character. The “not yet complete” in “minors” refers precisely to the fact that their personality and character have not yet taken shape, and their…
philosophy culture freedom education
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2008年7月17日
Kantian Ethics and “Anthropocentrism” (Draft)

History of Science & Scholarship2008.05.14
Kantian Ethics and “Anthropocentrism” (Draft)
Abstract: The “human-centeredness” represented by Kant has become the main target of contemporary environmental ethics, and whether nonhuman beings possess “intrinsic value” has become the focal point of controversy. Yet contemporary scholars’ interpretation of what exactly “intrinsic value” means is entirely different from Kant’s. Taking as its point of departure the “human-centeredness” widely criticized by environmental ethics, as well as basic ethical concepts such as “value” and “purpose,” this essay sorts through and comments on the features of Kantian ethics, and points out that environmental ethics’ criticisms of Kant are to a considerable extent based on misreading. This essay argues that the so-called human-centeredness in the Kantian sense is, in…
value Kant human nature paper
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2008年5月14日
[U.S.] Paul Woodruff: “Reverence—A Forgotten Virtue” (Reverence) —★

Philosophy & Thought2007.08.29
[U.S.] Paul Woodruff: “Reverence—A Forgotten Virtue” (Reverence) —★
[US] Paul Woodruff: Reverence—A Forgotten Virtue, translated by Lin Bin and Ma Hongqi, Commercial Press, July 2007, 14 yuan—★ I personally highly recommend this book! The topic of this book is very much to my taste: “Reverence”—that is, what we have all along been talking about as “敬畏” (awe and reverence). The author discusses Reverence from the standpoint of virtue ethics—that is, from the perspective of what I have all along been calling virtue ethics—which is quite to the point, and says many things I have long wanted to say but have not yet said. I also very much agree with the author’s use of Reverence to interpret the Confucian…
book reading notes faith Confucianism
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2007年8月29日
Virtue, Reason, and Spirit

Philosophy & Thought2007.05.03
Virtue, Reason, and Spirit
I once said, “The sublime are often rational; their decisions or choices should be guided more by reason than by mere whim, or by blind obedience to habit—a person of limited intelligence can also be trained into a selfless sacrificer, and a fanatical cultist may likewise completely abandon his own interests, but they cannot be called sublime, because behind their consistent behavior we see more irrationality. Only someone who has freely reflected upon his own life and can autonomously and rationally control his behavior is possibly capable of becoming sublime.” Later I added: “Actually, there is also a matter of level here. When the sublime reach a certain level, their…
philosophy reason emotion virtue
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2007年5月3日
On “the Sublime”

Philosophy & Thought2007.05.01
On “the Sublime”
Reply to UINC’s second question: “How do you view human morality? Do you believe that an absolute, sublime morality exists?” This question is really too broad—especially the first half, which basically requires a review of my views on ethics. However, my ethical position has not yet truly taken shape, so I can only talk about some scattered, immature ideas. “Sublime” is a word I quite like, and in fact this word is neglected in mainstream modern normative ethics, because they are more concerned with the minimum moral norm than with the highest pursuit of virtue. And since I lean toward virtue ethics, the first thing I have to do is…
philosophy pluralism virtue
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2007年5月1日
Are There Hierarchies of Value, Higher and Lower, Noble and Mean?

Philosophy & Thought2007.04.18
Are There Hierarchies of Value, Higher and Lower, Noble and Mean?
In response to UINC’s question. Questions in ethics and morality are very difficult to discuss. As Teacher Cheng said, many great philosophers only expressed opinions on ethical questions in the later period of their academic lives, when their entire philosophical systems had reached maturity. For the likes of us, insignificant nobodies, it is even less realistic to expect to have anything like definite views on ethical questions very early on—especially since many questions are never something one can gain deep insight into while still young. Young people will always be confused; if one is not confused at all, that in itself is abnormal. Confucius said that at thirty he stood…
philosophy pluralism virtue Confucius
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2007年4月18日
Ethics Course on the Life-and-Death Question: Second Assignment — On the Value of Life

Philosophy & Thought2007.04.08
Ethics Course on the Life-and-Death Question: Second Assignment — On the Value of Life
Choose one of the following four questions for discussion: 1. Is life itself valuable, or is life merely a necessary condition for other values? 2. If life itself is valuable, why? What kind of value does life have? 3. If it is precisely life itself that is valuable, does that mean all living beings possess value equally? 4. If only certain beings have value, what is the basis for drawing such a limit? Is life itself valuable, or is life merely a necessary condition for other values? It is worth noting that these four questions are arranged in a progressive sequence: if one does not accept the previous position, then…
philosophy value virtue life
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2007年4月8日
The Difference Between Ethics and Moral Standards and Legal Norms

Philosophy & Thought2007.03.24
The Difference Between Ethics and Moral Standards and Legal Norms
Ethics provides the basis for, or a justification of, law; law is the ethical minimum, and so on. Whether such claims are reasonable or not, they often tend to blur the essential difference between ethical-moral questions and questions of legal norms. The core of ethics is “the good,” or “virtue”; the core of jurisprudence is “justice,” or “order.” Ethics pursues “the good,” or seeks “virtue”; law proclaims “justice,” or safeguards “order.” “Justice,” at most, is only one aspect or one side of “the good”; and according to some other lines of thought, “justice” and “order” are even more often “evil.” “Norms” are the negation of self-discipline; “punishment” is the exercise…
philosophy virtue rule of law
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2007年3月24日