Social axioms and values: a cross‐cultural examination

The relationships between social axioms, general beliefs that people hold about the social world, and values, defined as desirable goals for life, were examined in five cultural groups. Results show that the correlations between social axioms and Schwartz's (1992) values are generally low, suggesting that they represent two distinct types of construct. Based on a structural equation modelling approach, results further show that generally speaking, the five axiom dimensions are related to the value types in a meaningful and interpretable manner, and that these relationships are generally similar across the five cultural groups. Implications of these results and directions for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

儒道情欲调节传统探析

情绪调节是当今情绪心理学的研究热点。中国传统文化中蕴涵着丰富的情欲调节思想。通过挖掘、梳理和提取儒家和道家两个学派的情欲调节思想,将有助于拓宽我国情绪调节研究者的研究思路。     

Decomposing filial piety into filial attitudes and filial enactments

In an attempt to explore the attitude-behaviour relationship, the present study examined the mixed findings from research on filial piety by differentiating filial attitudes from filial behaviours. The Filial Behaviour Scale was developed to tap the behavioural manifestations of filial piety, and its nomological network was established in two Chinese contexts, Hong Kong and Beijing. In addition to filial attitudes, we used values, social beliefs, and self-construals to explain filial behaviours. The results of hierarchical regression analysis showed that the value factor of conservation and the social axiom of reward for application predicted filial behaviour above and beyond filial attitudes; an interdependent self-construal moderated the effect of cultural group on filial behaviour. Gender and regional differences in filial piety were also examined. Males were found to score higher on filial attitudes, but not significantly higher on filial behaviours. Regional differences existed in filial behaviours, but not in filial attitudes, with Mainland Chinese displaying a higher level of filial behaviours than their Hong Kong counterparts. These identified differences suggest the importance of differentiating filial attitudes from filial behaviours in future attempts to understand Chinese filiality.     

Is T<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">u</Emphasis> Wei-ming Confucian?

Tu Wei-ming’s discourse has been badly understood by some Western philosophers who study Confucianism. I suggest that this misunderstanding stems from the fact that these philosophers fail to realize that Confucian discourse is in an entirely different register from Western philosophical discourse. I then propose my own preliminary definition of Confucian discourse in five points and present a structural analysis of a text by Tu Wei-ming. Finally, I consider which features of Tu’s discourse can properly be called Confucian. The answer to this question reflects not only on Tu but also on Confucian discourse and the study of Confucianism in general.     

儒家社群主义略论

As a social and political thought, communitarian ideas appeared in the Pre-Qin Confucianism. By the Song Dynasty, it had become a systematic theory, namely, the learning of the “four books.” As a social and political theory, not only can Confucian communitarianism contribute to Western liberalism, but it can also be an intellectual resource for the development of democracy in East Asian countries and regions. The future of the Confucian communitarianism lies in its critique of itself and its discourse with Western liberalism, by which Confucianism evolves from communitarianism into liberalism. __________ Translated from Wenshizhe 文史哲 (Literature, History and Philosophy), 2006, (4): 31–37     

谈《疏五过论》的五种过错对当今医生的教育意义

传统的医学道德观认为：“医乃仁术”、“生命至贵”等就是“‘大医精诚”。医者要做到“大医精诚”,就要避免《疏五过论》中医者的五种过错,使患者保持健康的生命。所以,医生要以严谨认真的工作态度,充分了解患者的病情;以生物心理社会医学模式来处理患者;不能急功近利,追求名誉,应常怀仁爱之心建立和谐的医惠关系。医生处理患者的态度及自身的道德修养直接影响患者的健康和生命,这种理念应该成为医生终生追求的目标,这样才能顺应新医改的要求。     

儒、释、道文化对幽默的态度

儒释道这三种中华传统文化中的主流文化,对于幽默有着各自独特的看法.儒家文化对幽默持模棱两可态度,一方面贬低幽默,认为幽默使人随意而不重视人伦,另一方面又认为幽默能够使人变得仁爱.佛家文化对幽默持积极态度,认为幽默是一种智慧的参悟.而道家是一个非常强调幽默的哲学流派,无论是其核心思想还是表达方式都无不体现着幽默的光芒.从学术角度梳理这三种文化对幽默的态度,可以促进幽默,使得幽默在当今中国人的生活中发挥着更加积极的作用.     

Harmonizing global ethics in the future: a proposal to add south and east to west

This article considers how global ethical matters might be approached differently in the English-speaking literature if values salient in sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia were taken seriously. Specifically, after pointing out how indigenous values in both of these major parts of the world tend to prescribe honouring harmonious relationships, the article brings out what such an approach to morality entails for political power, foreign relations and criminal justice. For each major issue, it suggests that harmony likely has implications that differ from approaches that currently dominate Western thought, namely those of utility, autonomy and capability. Lacking the space to systematically defend harmony as a fundamental value, it nonetheless urges theorists not to neglect it in future work.     

Global ethics and human responsibility: challenges for the theory and the discipline

The aim of this article is to identify the main challenges for global ethics as an academic discipline. This article assesses the moral and practical justifications for common global principles. Individual and institutional responsibility on the supranational level is connected with the standard of human rights and the relational aspects of the globalised world. It also points out two separate problems which global ethics should aim to solve. The first is metatheoretical and methodological and concerns the discipline's lack of self-reflexiveness. The second is essential and concerns the clash of values (human rights and sovereignty). Regarding the second problem, the main future challenge of global ethics is to construct a measurement to bring political decisions closer to morality and more strongly connect rights with responsibilities.     

Global ethics: dimensions and prospects

Global ethics is an emerging discipline which has not yet reached maturity. The main tasks before it to gain maturity are: first, to achieve a greater integration of various domains of enquiry all of which are concerned with global normative issues. At a general level this includes integrating global ethics with cosmopolitanism, global justice and human right discourse. At the level of areas of concern, there needs to be greater integration of various areas such as development, trade, environment and climate change. And it must grapple with the question of diversity within universality: how far can diversity of practices be accommodated within a culturally sensitive universal framework? Second, there is the question of finding a shared normative framework with respect to the diverse worldviews that may lie behind this: what degree and kind of convergence/consensus are worth working for? Third, there is the task of creating the conditions for its own wider acceptance, which should include taking the idea of global citizenship seriously.