Self and Other in Confucian Philosophy

It is commonly accepted that the “self” in Confucian thought is a relational one. What this means, however, is not always clear. In addition, the relationality of the “self” entails certain philosophical problems—such as how one delineates self from other, and how others contribute to the constitution of the self. This article’s investigation of the relational self in Confucian thought focuses on the concept of ren 仁, arguing that it represents a bidimensional social ontology that connects horizontal and vertical dimensions between self and particular and general others. It focuses on the transmitted version of the character for ren, composed of “person and two,” to discuss the horizontal dimension, and on the Guodian excavated version, composed of “body above mind below,” to discuss the vertical dimension. Furthermore, it introduces George H. Mead’s theory of the “generalized other” to elaborate on the vertical dimensionality of the self-other relationship. This will show that self and other are mutually produced and incorporated into a progressive sociocultural complex of selfhood.