ONLINE FIRST
published on August 26, 2025
Sang-Hwan Kim
https://doi.org/10.5840/ecoethica202582174
Origins and Limits of Confucian Modernity
This essay reviews the origins and limits of Confucian modernity, dating back to Confucius¡¯s teachings (method of humorous self-directed questioning, pursuit of objective-collective freedom through etiquette practice), and compares them with Socrates¡¯s teachings (method of ironic refutation, pursuit of subjective-personal freedom through alternative thinking) that we can find in the origins of Western democracy and Enlightenment. It also examines how much the driving forces of Confucian modernity (knowledge-oriented attitude, ideal of self-cultivation, seek of a stable system, meritocracy) could satisfy the conditions of postmodern society, explaining how they are revealed recently in the so-called Chinese Dream.