Ethical and Political Views of Aristotle and Zhu Xi : Leadership and Self-Governance in Intercultural Context

An intercultural philosophical examination of two major ethical qualities – self-governance and leadership – in Zhu Xi’s Neo-Confucian and Aristotle’s ethics.

In this study of comparative ethics Diana Arghirescu analyses the specific ways in which qualities are conceived and put into practice in two culturally different ethical traditions. Developing a textual dialogue between translations of the Neo-Confucian master Zhu Xi’s (1130-1200) authoritative classic commentaries on the ancient Four Books and the corpus of Aristotelian ethics, Arghirescu offers a substantial and innovative comparative analysis of the traditions. The approach reconceives the task of intercultural communication, unveiling distinguishing features of the Chinese and Western interpretations of their two ethical notions.

By identifying cultural presuppositions embedded in these translations of Zhu Xi’s Chinese classical texts, Arghirescu''s philosophical examination of ethical qualities in Neo-Confucianism and Ancient Greek philosophy challenges traditional ways of thinking and assumptions found in philosophy.

Alert to the limitations of the comparative approach and engaging with the latest work in sinology, this cross-cultural study presents the origins of the diverse cultural sensibilities guiding people’s life habits and decision-making process.