Sublating reverence to parents: A Kierkegaardian interpretation of the Sage-King Shun's piety

Lauren F PFISTER*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

    3 Citations (Scopus)
    52 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    In the Mengzi there is a hypothetical situation relating how the ancient sage-king Shun è̂œ would respond if his father had committed murder. This has recently become a source of debate among Chinese philosophers. Here we will apply arguments made by Johannes de silentio (Kierkegaard's pseudonym) about the "teleological suspension of the ethical" related to the action of the biblical Abraham, and link them up to alternative interpretations of the actions of Shun. This challenges the current and traditional interpretations of his actions, suggesting how this new approach can overcome ethical quandaries related to the Mengzian account of Shun's behavior.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)50-66
    Number of pages17
    JournalJournal of Chinese Philosophy
    Volume40
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Mar 2013

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Sublating reverence to parents: A Kierkegaardian interpretation of the Sage-King Shun's piety'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this