Revisiting “Ren-Yi” in Confucian Ethics: The Emotional Source of a “Caring Imperative”
摘要
This article initiates a novel care perspective within the scope of Confucian notions per se in explicating Confucian ethics, in which the core Confucian notions constitute the vibrant virtuosity in a way-making way. Specifically, on the premise of Mencius’ proposition of “residing in ren and seeking yi 居仁由義,” this article argues that it is in ren’ai 仁愛 of caring emotion that the “caring imperative” of yi 義 is rooted. Moreover, this article holds that the value of ren-yi 仁義 is self-affirmed in liangzhi 良知as the innate goodness of care relationship and the self-consummating virtuosity, attuning li 禮to the optimal appropriateness in zhong-shu 忠恕. In the final analysis, this article concludes that with ren as the emotional source and yi the caring imperative, “ren-yi-li仁義禮,” a trio of core Confucian notions, forms an organic entirety of virtuosity of Confucian ethics in a care perspective, both intrinsically and extrinsically.