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- Title
Is Contemporary Chinese Society Inhumane? What Mencius and Empirical Psychology Have to Say.
- Authors
Zhao, Wenqing
- Abstract
This essay discusses the tragic news story of a Chinese toddler, Xiao Yueyue 小悅悅, in light of Mencius' ethical philosophy and modern studies of moral psychology, which help in understanding the problem of passive bystanders that has long vexed the Chinese public. Mencius never said that every person would act to help when a child is in danger; he did not even say that people would feel sympathetic for every child in a real life dangerous situation. He simply asserted the existence of a fragile sprout of sympathy that demands constant cultivation and a proper environment to be grown into actual altruistic behavior. This essay also compares and contrasts Mencius' theory to the works of Martin Hoffman and Daniel C. Batson and shows some of the ways modern empirical psychology supports Mencius' understanding of sympathy and altruism.
- Subjects
GUANGDONG Sheng (China); XIAO Yueyue; ETHICS; MENCIUS, ca. 372 B.C.-ca. 289 B.C.; CONFUCIAN philosophy; MODERN society; CRUELTY
- Publication
Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy, 2014, Vol 13, Issue 3, p343
- ISSN
1540-3009
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s11712-014-9383-0