儒家“消极伦理”不适用于全球化的世界吗?

父子互隐的言论表明,孔子主张伦理的有限性或"消极伦理"。这种"消极伦理"否定特定情况下的伦理原则,给予诸如基于亲情和友情的行为以优先权。从古希腊悲剧《安提戈涅》看,作为伦理学两种最重要替代品的"爱"与"法律"是两种"非道德"(amoral)状态。在谈论儿子对待偷羊的父亲的态度时,孔子的道德不是道德主义意义上的道德,而正是这种非道德。在儒家看来,所有美德都根植于孝弟之类的非道德因素,即根植于一种情感。儒家"有限的"或"消极的伦理"不仅适用于中国,而且具有普世性。

Confucian “Negative Ethics” for a Global World?——Why Not?

Confucius argues for the limitations of ethics,or for a "negative ethics" that negates certain ethical principles in certain situations,and privileges a behavior that is based on,for instance,the feelings one has towards one’s family members or friends.Perhaps the two most important substitutes for ethics are love and law.Passionate love is normally quite amoral.The moral of Confucius when he talks about a son’s attitude to his father who steals sheep is not moralism,but amoral.Confucian "limited" or "negative ethics" is not only Chinese,but also universal.