Confucian democracy – A Deweyan reconstruction of Confucianism

• Main Author: TAN, Sor-hoon
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2004
• Subjects: Arts and Humanities
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2573
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Using both Confucian texts and the work of American pragmatist John Dewey, this book offers a distinctly Confucian model of democracy. Through a detailed study of relevant concepts and theories in Confucianism and John Dewey’s pragmatist philosophy, this book illustrates the possibility of Confucian democracy and offers an alternative to Western liberal models. Sor-hoon Tan synthesizes the two philosophies through a comparative examination of individuals and community, democratic ideals of equality and freedom, and the nature of ethical and political order. By constructing a model of Confucian democracy that combines the strengths of both Confucianism and Deweyan pragmatism, this book explores how a premodern tradition could be put in dialogue with contemporary political and philosophical theories.