The Vulnerability of Integrity in Early Confucian Thought
Michael Ing
Reviews and Awards
"The book is well argued, well presented, and a pleasure to read The volume is an important contribution to the discussion of ancient Chinese thought and contemporary Confucian ethics."--Barbara Hendrischke, Religious Studies Review
"[S]tudents of Chinese philosophy will benefit from considering its methodological stance, and readers of other academic as well as political and social circles would find in The Vulnerability of Integrity a culturally-unique reiteration of a plea, shared by several contemporary virtue ethicists, for the recognition of guilt and regret as markers not of moral failure but of moral stature."--Sharon Sanderovitch, Reading Religion
"The Vulnerability of Integrity in Early Confucian Thought is an excellent addition to a growing number of works that draw on Confucian sources to enrich the contemporary ethical discourse. Ing's strengths as a thinker and a writer allow him to render the complex moral concepts and dilemmas described in classical Confucian sources intelligible to modern readers who are not necessarily well-acquainted with this tradition His efforts in making the works of early Chinese thinkers accessible to ethicists that are interested in learning about Confucianism but do not have the training to read the original texts render this book invaluable and deserving of the highest praise."--Ori Tavor, JAAR
"Michael Ing has emerged as a leader in the movement to broaden our understanding of Confucianism to better reflect its diversity of ethical, psychological, and spiritual views. In this new book he powerfully demonstrates that many early Confucians accept the possibility of irresolvable value conflicts, and on this basis explore the valuable facets of vulnerability-explorations from which we can still learn today."--Stephen C. Angle, Mansfield Freeman Professor of East Asian Studies and Professor of Philosophy, Wesleyan University
"This book is a thoughtful and inspired exploration of important philosophical concepts such as vulnerability, trust, courage, care, and compassion in the context of Confucian ritual practice. In examining how moral agents use rituals to work through situations of conflict and potential harm, Michael Ing shows how individuals arrive at an optimal degree of vulnerability, one that enhances our lives through meaningful interactions with others. With persuasive clarity, Ing demonstrates how formulations on ancient Confucian rituals advance our contemporary understandings in ritual studies and the ethics of care."--Erica F. Brindley, Professor, Asian Studies and History, Pennsylvania State University
"Michael Ing continues to make his singular contribution to Confucian moral psychology at a time when such fresh insights into the human experience are bringing Confucian philosophy into the mainstream of the ethical discourse. Concern for achieving ritual propriety in one's roles and relations works in complex ways to promote order and elegance in the communal living of irreducibly relational persons. This Confucian ethic of ritual, in contrast to the integrity provided by 'rule' or 'law,' brings with it a degree of flexibility, adjustment, and innovation, but it is also a source of moral ambiguity and a personal vulnerability that has both positive and negative consequences for the Confucian project of personal cultivation."--Roger T. Ames, Humanities Chair Professor, Peking University
