The Confucian Concept of Jen and the Feminist Ethics of Care: A Comparative Study

This article compares Confucian ethics of Jen and feminist ethics of care. It attempts to show that they share philosophically significant common grounds. Its findings affirm the view that care-orientation in ethics is not a characteristic peculiar to one sex. It also shows that care-orientation is not peculiar to subordinated social groups. Arguing that the oppression of women is not an essential element of Confucian ethics, the author indicates the Confucianism and feminism are compatible.     

Cosmetic Surgery: Feminist Perspectives

Cosmetic surgery is gaining popularity not only in the U.S., but worldwide. The sheer number of procedures being performed makes it seem “normal,” and in the statistical sense it is. Feminist therapists are likely to have clients who are contemplating undergoing one or more of these procedures. Therapists ought to help their clients to understand the motivations underlying a decision to undergo surgery for the sake of improving on nature. In the final analysis, the decision belongs to the woman who may be placing her life at risk to achieve some desired end. The therapist can play a role in helping her to weigh the risks and what will be accomplished in the end.     

Feminist Perspectives on the Human Rights Act: Two Cheers for Incorporation

This paper considers feministperspectives on the Human Rights Act. Itdiscusses the reasons why many feminists aresceptical regarding the impact the Act willhave on women's lives, including theimplications for anti-discrimination law,problems with the framework of rights in theEuropean Convention and deeper difficulties facingfeminism in negotiating rights discourse. Whileacknowledging these problems, it is argued thatthere are grounds for a more positiveinterpretation of incorporation. Questions arethen raised about the nature and scope of rightsand the role of the state in challenging genderinequality.     

Reconsidering Ecclesiology: Feminist Perspectives

Abstract

This paper considers the task of constructing a feminist ecclesiology that rejects the binary opposition between inventing new models of the Church and maintaining a critical relation with ecclesiological traditions.

Most feminist ecclesiology has been generated out of the women-church movement and has been criticized for failing to engage deeply enough with the influential ecclesiological traditions which still shape women's experience within the Church. The creation of a critical, constructive feminist ecclesiology will enable women to participate in ecclesial self-reflection and the informed critique of patriarchal models. Essential to this process will be the self-conscious recognition that women's bodies embody the body of Christ and that they are thus engaged in the embodied performance of God's presence in the world. The traditional vehicles of word and sacrament are means of ‘speaking’ this presence that needs to be reclaimed and reinterpreted by women. Furthermore, participation in the revisioning of such performances will contribute towards subverting the gendered symbolism that has structured ecclesiological discourse in the past. The article concludes by asserting that the task of the feminist ecclesiological theologian is to reflect upon the significance of women being church in the myriad frameworks through which the Church is constituted and experienced. Women require an ecclesiological culture in which their agency and authority become apparent.     

Revisiting Confucian Jen Ethics and Feminist Care Ethics: A Reply to Daniel Star and Lijun Yuan

At two fronts I defend my 1994 article. I argue that differences between Confucian jen ethics and feminist care ethics do not preclude their shared commonalities in comparison with Kantian. utilitarian, and contractarian ethics, and that Confucians do care. I also argue that Confucianism is capable of changing its rules to reflect its renewed understanding of jen, that care ethics is feminist, and that similarities between Confucian and care ethics have significant implications.     

命与天命:儒家天人关系的双重视角

"命"与"天命"是传统文化中一对重要范畴,主要指人所受到的限制。二者都起源于"令",由"王令"而"天令",又因"天令"对王权的决定作用从而成为王权之"命"。西周末,随着传统天命观的式微,"命"开始向个体落实。孔子正是在对"命"深切体验的基础上重提"天命",以作为君子之为君子的依据;子思又将其进一步落实为人之"性"。到了孟子,便通过"命"与"性"、"求在我者"与"求在外者"的比较,终于形成"命"与"天命"的不同规定:"命"体现着天对人之自然生命的限制,表现的是人所无法驾驭的客观力量,但却落实于人并表现为人之"命";"天命"体现的则是人之自我确认的道德理想,其虽然出于人却又必须证之于天,所以是天之真正的命于人者。命与天命,既体现了传统天人关系的双重视角,同时也是儒道两家不同探索侧重的一个基本分野。     

A Lesbian Feminist Subscale for the Feminist Perspectives Scale

In an attempt to increase the breadth offeminist perspectives assessed by the FeministPerspectives Scale (FPS2; Henley, Meng, O'Brien,McCarthy, & Sockloskie, 1998), we developed andpsychometrically evaluated a new subscale that assesses lesbianfeminist attitudes. As do the six other subscales of theFPS2, the Lesbian Feminist subscale includes 10attitudinal and 3 behavioral items. We conducted 3 studies with 287 respondents (58% EuropeanAmerican, 15% Latino, 13% Asian, and 6% AfricanAmerican); 88% were women and most were collegeeducated. Findings from these preliminary psychometricevaluations support the subscale's reliability (Cronbach'salpha = .91) and validity. We offer recommendations forthe scale's use and discuss its potentiallimitations.     

"身心合一"之"仁"与儒家德性伦理--郭店竹简"(身心)"字及儒家仁爱的构成

有关儒家“仁爱”思想的研究,人们比较关注的问题之一,是“仁”这个字的起源,即它最初的构形以及与此相联的本义。战国玺印文“”的发现和释读,①使人们看到了“仁”字的新的构形,也使重新理解“仁”的意义有了可靠依据。郭店竹简中所有的“仁”字(七十多个)都写作“”,不仅进一步确证了古“”字的存在,而且提供了有关儒家“仁爱”观念的新文献,为研究“仁”带来了新的途径和活力。大家围绕“身心之仁”的讨论,主要集中在此字的构形与《说文》“从千从心”之“仁”和“从人从二”之“仁”之间的关系及其意义,但还不能令人信服。本文在…     

尊严平等与关怀:女性主义生命伦理学

女性主义生命伦理学试图从根本上颠覆男尊女卑的传统伦理观念,倡导从制度层面确保女性独立的社会地位,捍卫女性权利与尊严.女性主义生命伦理学还以其特有的关怀主义特征,呼吁性别平等,强调人文关怀,注重社会公平,成为构建和谐社会的重要理论思潮.     

Two Kinds of Feminist Philosophy

This article makes a distinction between two kinds of feminist philosophy. One looks ‘up’ to the realm of philosophy and aims to intervene in this realm in order to make it feminist. The other looks ‘down’ to the world of human experience and aims to make it feminist. This article argues that feminist philosophers’ efforts are better spent on the second kind of feminist philosophy. Feminist philosophy can better achieve its aims by applying philosophy to the critical analysis of women's lives and gender norms, rather than by attempting to change the discipline of philosophy itself.     

The Dildo as a Transformative Political Tool: Feminist and Queer Perspectives

Censorship in patriarchal cultures runs deep in pushing dialogues and discussions on sexuality and sexual desires underground. The forbidden nature of these conversations is tighter around women and girls. With the inadequacy of affirmative and safe spaces to talk about sexual desire and pleasure, accessibility and availability of sex toys including dildos becomes significantly difficult, more so for women and other marginalized communities. Discussions about the dildo are further mired in debates between and among feminist and queer ideologies. In this paper, I look at how the dildo could be viewed simultaneously as a tool of oppression as well as of liberation and attempt to address the question: who does the dildo oppress and who does it liberate? I explore the multiple perspectives around the dildo within feminist thought and queer theory with special attention to points of convergence and divergence between them. While some predominant feminist perspectives understand the dildo as a symbol of the phallocentric order, there are others which view it as a tool for transformative politics. Queer theory also views the dildo as a device that can alter and shift traditional hierarchical relationships and be liberating not only for women but also for several marginalized identities including people with disabilities and people living with HIV. Unwrapping some of the ways in which the dildo is perceived, understood and experienced, I suggest that the dildo needs to be interpreted in complex and multi-layered ways.     

Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide from Confucian Moral Perspectives

This essay first discusses the three major arguments in favor of euthanasia and physician-assisted-suicide in contemporary Western society, viz., the arguments of mercy, preventing indignity, and individual autonomy. It then articulates both Confucian consonance and dissonance to them. The first two arguments make use of Confucian discussions on suicide whereas the last argument appeals to Confucian social-political thought. It concludes that from the Confucian moral perspectives, none of the three arguments is fully convincing.     

A History of Women and Feminist Perspectives in Community Psychology

Using an historical framework, we document and assess efforts to include women, women's issues, and feminism in community psychology and in the Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA). Initiatives of the SCRA Task Force/Committee on Women are traced from its inception to present. We also chronicle the dilemmas and difficulties of moving toward a feminist community psychology. The history is divided into five phases. Each phase is described in terms of women's involvement in the field and efforts to integrate feminist content into research and practice of the field. Reflections on the qualities of contexts that have both supported and inhibited inclusion are identified. We look to this history to try to understand the observation that while women have been increasingly visible in leadership roles and women's professional development has been encouraged, less progress has been made toward building a feminist community psychology.