Confucian Democracy

Sor-hoon Tan is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the National University of Singapore. She is the coeditor (with K. C. Chong and C. L. Ten) of The Moral Circle and the Self: Chinese and Western Perspectives.

"…this book is well written and persuasively argued." — Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy"Globalization is now a buzzword that may well be dying the slow death of a lack of meaning brought on by overuse. In Confucian Democracy … Sor-hoon Tan offers a brilliant essay in comparative philosophy that single-handedly restores depth, nuance, and importance to this still key concept. She does so through a meticulous engagement with the best of scholarship on Confucius and Dewey, and in the process she also uncovers new layers of significance in the works of these two giants of thought. All in all her book is a remarkable achievement and one that will prove invaluable as the meaning of 'global philosophy' evolves over the coming decades." — Philosophy East & West"…Tan's Deweyan reconstruction of Confucianism proves to be a very fruitful and stimulating dialogue between East and West. Her definition of Confucian democracy, the similarities and differences she identifies from Confucianism and Deweyan pragmatism, and the ways she suggests for reconstructing Confucianism are significant contributions to the comparative study of Confucian and Deweyan philosophies, and they have 'practical cash value' for the reconstruction of current Asian societies." — Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society"Extremely well-written and clear, this is an exemplary illustration of modern comparative philosophy. The whole question of whether or not there can be something we call a 'Confucian Democracy' is an extremely lively academic and political issue these days. Tan does an excellent job defining democracy and Confucianism with a balanced discussion between Dewey and various classical Chinese thinkers." — John Berthrong, author of All Under Heaven: Transforming Paradigms in Confucian-Christian Dialogue"Tan's remarkable interweaving of Confucius and Dewey has both the practical cash value Dewey would insist upon and the carefully wrought authoritative texture Confucius would expect. She has written a wonderfully insightful and stimulating book." — George Allan, author of The Patterns of the Present: Interpreting the Authority of Form

• Acknowledgments 1. Confucian Democracy? Divining the Future Whose Confucianism? Which Democracy? Liberals and Communitarians Dewey and Confucius 2. Social Individuals Liberal Self and Autonomy Unique Rather Than Autonomous Individuals Dewey’s Social Self-in-the-Making Constructing a Confucian Conception of Self Tension between Distinctness and Connectedness Choice in the Liberal-Communitarian Debate Dewey On Willing and Choosing Confucian Choice: Learning and Thinking Confucian Personal Commitment Individuality and Organic Sociality 3. Harmonious Communities Society and Community Nonexclusionary Community The Art of Community: Achieving Harmony Achieving Harmony through Confucian Ritual Practice The Science of Community: Cooperative Inquiry Equality and Differentiated Orders Equality in Human Relations 4. Ethico-Political Orders The Political Domains of Procedural Republics Ethico-Political Ends Dewey on Politics in Ancient China The Sage-King: An Ideal in Question Exemplary Persons: Ethico-Political Ends-in-View People As Basis (minben)The Role of the People in TianmingAre People Good Enough for Self-Government? Faith in People 5. Authoritative Freedom Negative and Positive Freedoms Freedom As Growth Confucian Positive Freedom Right to Speak and Right Speech Rights or Rites? Authoritative versus Authoritarian Coercion and Authority in Imperfect Situations 6. Cultivating Democracy Reconstructing Confucianism and Democracy Democracy and the Realpolitik of Stability Notes References Index