American Civilization Portrayed in Ancient ConfucianismThe current work invites Americans to step through the looking glass - backwards, this time - and view ourselves from a Confucian perspective. In his analysis, Zhang draws together references to the I Ching, Leibniz, Tocqueville, Lipset and Aristotle, a judicious few statistics such as crime rate and economic growth, and the lions of Chinese philosophy. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 5 | |
II All Men Are Created Equal Versus All Men Are Born Equal | 33 |
III Democracy and Law | 57 |
IV Education and Knowledge | 101 |
V Economic Freedom and Development | 127 |
VI American Universalism and Rational Civili zations in the Future | 171 |
| 205 | |
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According American ancient argued become believed benefit capitalism century China Chinese Ching civilization common concept Confucian Confucius consequences consider Constitution created culture democracy democratic desires determined distribution duties dynamics economic effective emphasized equality established examine fact follow force freedom global groups growth hand held hold human ideal ideas important income increased individual industrialization influence institutions interpreted Japan justice knowledge labor lead learning leisure living maintained means Mencius mind moral natural observed one’s opportunity period person play political population position possible poverty practice principles productivity propriety rational reason recognized relations religion respect rich role rules sense shows Smith social society structures superior Taiwan tends theory things thought traditional understanding United universal values virtue vision wealth welfare Western
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Page 17 - Given for one instant an intelligence which could comprehend all the forces by which nature is animated and the respective situation of the beings who compose it an intelligence sufficiently vast to submit these data to analysis it would embrace in the same formula the movements of the greatest bodies of the universe and those of the lightest atom...
Page 14 - What has made the European family of nations an improving, instead of a stationary portion of mankind ? Not any superior excellence in them, which, when it exists, exists as the effect, not as the cause ; but their remarkable diversity of character and culture. -Individuals, classes, nations, have been extremely unlike one another : they have struck out a great variety of paths, each leading to something valuable...