Confucian-Western Comparative Political Philosophy

Project director: Dr. MANG, Fan-lun Franz

  • To seek to understand clearly the importance of Confucianism for contemporary politics and social development, especially in the context of East Asia.
  • To assess the prospects of Confucian political philosophy, given that it is attracting increasing attention from scholars across different areas of study (in particular, political philosophy, Chinese philosophy, and East Asian studies).
  • To achieve cultural and historical self-understanding through careful study of some of the classical texts of Confucianism and recent scholarly work on Confucianism.
  • To seek to identify the limitations and positive contributions of Confucianism for East Asia’s future political and social development
  • To provide a systematic analysis of the recent work on Confucian political philosophy
  • To read closely some of Confucianism’s classical texts
  • To examine the plausibility of state perfectionism (i.e. the philosophical view that the state may promote the good life for its citizens), as many contemporary Confucian political philosophers base their arguments on this philosophical view