Human Rights in Chinese Thought: A Cross-Cultural Inquiry

by Stephen C. Angle

Overview

What should we make of claims by members of other groups to have moralities different from our own? Human Rights in Chinese Thought gives an extended answer to this question in the first study of its kind. It integrates a full account of the development of Chinese rights discourse with philosophical consideration of how various communities should respond to contemporary Chinese claims about the uniqueness of their human rights concepts. The book elaborates a plausible kind of moral pluralism and demonstrates that Chinese ideas of human rights do indeed have distinctive characteristics, but it nonetheless argues for the importance and promise of cross-cultural moral engagement.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521809719
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	07/04/2002
Series:	Cambridge Modern China Series
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.22(w) x 9.33(h) x 0.91(d)

Table of Contents

1. Introduction; 2. Languages, concepts, and pluralism; 3. The consequences of pluralism; 4. The shift toward legitimate desires in neo-Confucianism; 5. Nineteenth century origins; 6. Dynamism in the early twentieth century; 7. Change, continuity, and convergence prior to 1949; 8. Engagement despite distinctiveness; 9. Conclusions.

Editorial Reviews

Although there is indeed a distinct Chinese moral code that differs from Western thought on issues of human rights, cross-cultural moral dialogue is an imperative within a view that accepts moral pluralism. So argues Angle (philosophy, Wesleyan U.) as he integrates an analysis of the historical development of Chinese conceptions of (rights) and (people's rights) with an engagement of the ideas of such Western philosophers as Richard Rorty, Alasdair MacIntyre, Michael Walzer, and Allan Gibbard. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

"A historical orientation makes [this book] of immense interest beyond circles of human rights theorists and philosophers...engaging and provocative..." China Rights Forum

"There has been a flurry of fine books within the last decade on the debate about the history and role of human rights in China, and Professor Stephen Angle has written one of the best, if not the best of the lot." - John Berthrong, Boston University

From the Publisher