The Formation of Chinese Humanist Ethics

This book makes Chinese ethics theoretically more understandable through an interdisciplinary approach, from the perspectives of hermeneutics and semiotics. The Analects of Confucius are structurally analyzed so as to reveal the epistemological preconditions and pragmatic rationality implied in the maxims of this important classic. The composition, constitution, and structure of the Han Academic system are studied; other pre-Qin Chinese ideologies, like Taoist nihilism and Mencian-Confucian ethics are also discussed. Volume 1 and 2 The Structure of the Chinese Ethical Archetype 1. The Background and Foundation of Confucian Ethical Rationality 2. The Pragmatic Aesthetics of Ethical Choice 3. The Political Turn of Mencian-Confucian Ethics against Taoist Nihilism and Legalist Philosophy of Power Volume 3 and 4 The Constitution of Han-Academic Ideology 1. The Background and Conditions of Han-Confucianism 2. The Composition of the Confucian Classics 3. The Cultural Consequences of Han-Confucianism