Three doubts about the comparison between Western and chinese views of harmony from the perspective of axiology
pp. 239-247
in: Deshun Li (ed), Values of our times, Berlin, Springer, 2013Abstract
Moral ideas are the production of a particular history, the reflection of a certain culture, and the symbols of a national thought. Western and Chinese views of harmony are respectively formed into different system of theory with quite different historical, cultural and ethical background. Researchers, starting from various standpoints, have put forward some important conclusions on comparison between views of harmony in Western and Chinese ethics. Some of these studies have promoted the comparison between the two cultures, while some are quite confusing and needed to be clarified. The chapter is going to doubt three popular statements, such as "Only individualism is promoted in western ethics", "Virtue is promoted only in Chinese ethics' and "China has no law of western style in some sense" and tries to clarify some misguiding conclusions on the comparison between Western and Chinese views of harmony.