Knowledge, Faith, and Transcendence: Interpretation of Confucian Ritual and Law Thought

Author: Ren Qiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: This book conducts a comparative study of Christianity and Confucian thought from three aspects: "The Incarnation and the Mandate of Heaven," "Faith and Understanding," and "Law and Faith." It explores the faith foundation of Confucian ritual-law thought and Western legal thought. Subsequently, it defines the concepts of ritual propriety (li) and righteousness (yi) in Confucian thought, analyzes their meanings and social functions, and interprets the Confucian concepts of "ritual" (li) and "penalty" (kan) from the perspective of the fundamental attributes of modern law and morality. Following this, using "benevolence" as a thread, it analyzes the ultimate justifications and differences in the humanistic governance concepts of Confucianism, Plato, and Heidegger regarding social governance models. It also interprets the implementation pathways and dilemmas of humanistic governance theory, thereby arguing that the transition from humanistic governance to rule of law is an inevitable choice for human society. Finally, using the conceptual pairs "instrumental rationality and value rationality" and "individual freedom and state power" as analytical frameworks, it examines the theoretical connotations, conditions for realization, and relationship between China's modernization of the rule of law and Confucian ritual-law thought.