Confucian relationality in dysfunctional family relations: Challenging oppression and self-centered individualism
Publication Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
1-2025
Abstract
It is now widely accepted that the Confucian worldview is one that privileges human relationships over individualistic concerns. Some go further to assert that Confucianism assumes that the human person is constituted by her relationships. What its admirers see as strength is the target of criticism by those who worry about the threat of domination and oppression in relationships which do not respect individuality, freedom, and equality. While human relationships undoubtedly have significant value in developing and maintaining our humanity and are important to ethical life, real relationships could also be dysfunctional in various ways, including when viewed from an ethical perspective. Are the harms of dysfunctional relationships given sufficient weight in Confucian assumptions of relational personhood and commitment to harmony in relationships? This chapter will seek an answer to the question by examining the discussions of actual family relationships in the pre-Qin texts and reflect further on the place of relationality in Confucian ethics.
Discipline
Philosophy | Political Science
Publication
Relationality Across East and West
Editor
Jun-Hyeok Kwak; Ken Cheng
Identifier
10.4324/9781003564034
Publisher
Routledge
Citation
TAN, Sor-hoon. (2025). Confucian relationality in dysfunctional family relations: Challenging oppression and self-centered individualism. In Relationality Across East and West (pp. ). : Routledge.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/4204