SUNG-MING CONFUCIANISM AND ECOLOGY

Abstract

The present thesis is divided into four parts. In Part 1, I the reader's attention is directed to the curious absence of Confucianism in contemporary literature on ecological issues where other Asian philosophies have been examined for the insights they provide into such issues, and also the popular application of Confucian thougl1t instead to the concerns of modern industrial society. It is then asserted that Confucianism should be made to serve the interests of ecology rather than of modern industrial society, especially the Sung-Ming variant of Confucianism. A brief plan of the whole work is then provided.

In Part 2 three Sung-Ming Confucian philosophers arc discussed, namely Chou Tun-i’s, Chu Hsi and Wang Yang-ming. Chou Tun-i's ideas of Wu-chi,, Tai-chi, Yin and Yung, and the Five Elemental Forces, found in his Discourse on the Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate, are examined; in particular the author argues for an understanding of the Tai--chi as immanent rather than transcendental, and also for the presence of the idea of 'levels of reality' in Chou's thought. Turning to Chu Hsi, I discuss and analyse his ideas of Ii and ch 'i before presenting an argument to the effect that Chu's cosmology and metaphysics are basically the same as Chou Tun-i's and discussing Chu's views on the origins or human evil and his idea of 'the extension of knowledge through the investigation of things'. Finally, Wang Yang-ming is discussed, in particular his dictum that: 'mind IS li' and his doctrine of the unity of knowledge and action.

Part 3 outlines four large points of agreement between the abovemcntioncd three thinkers before proceeding to discuss the following major issues pertaining to the application of their ideas to environmental philosophy: (I) how the traditional Confucian view of humankind being at the apex of creation can squa.re with environmental values; (.2) how the Sung-Ming Confucians' vision of a harmonious Universe can accommodate the apparent conflicts found in the Natural world; (3) whether the value we ascribe to Nature is intrinsic or instrumental, particularly in the context of Sung-Ming Confucianism; (4) whether the cosmic principle of Sung-Ming Confucianism is transcendental or immanent, and what it implies for environment.al concerns; (5) whether the emphasis on the value of the whole in modern ecology and Sung-Ming Confucianism leads to eco-fascism whereby the individual is denied all value; (6) certain elements of Sung-Ming Confucian cosmology, such as the ideas of change and of the cyclical interplay of opposites, and their relevance for ecological concerns; (7) the Sung-Ming Confucians' views of knowledge, in particular how Chu's and Wang's views can be reconciled, and their relevance for ecological concerns; and finally (8) just how we can tell that the world-view of the Sung-Ming Confucians is true.

In Part 4 I argue that Confucianism cannot ally itself with modern industrial society and instead should devote itself to the cause of ecology, before discussing the practical applications of Sung-Ming Confucian principles to the work or saving the planetary