Book contents
- Intercultural Philosophy and Environmental Justice between Generations
- Intercultural Philosophy and Environmental Justice between Generations
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Indigenous Philosophies on Justice between Generations
- Part II Intergenerational Ethics in Dialogue with Confucianism and Daoism
- 5 Ghosts and Intergenerational Justice
- 6 Intergenerational Ethics and Sustainability
- 7 Moral Motivation for Future Generations, Naturally
- 8 Transience, Responsible Transformation, and Deep Time in Daoist Thought
- Part III Humanity Facing the Near Environmental Future
- Index
- References
7 - Moral Motivation for Future Generations, Naturally
A Mencian Proposal
from Part II - Intergenerational Ethics in Dialogue with Confucianism and Daoism
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 March 2024
- Intercultural Philosophy and Environmental Justice between Generations
- Intercultural Philosophy and Environmental Justice between Generations
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Indigenous Philosophies on Justice between Generations
- Part II Intergenerational Ethics in Dialogue with Confucianism and Daoism
- 5 Ghosts and Intergenerational Justice
- 6 Intergenerational Ethics and Sustainability
- 7 Moral Motivation for Future Generations, Naturally
- 8 Transience, Responsible Transformation, and Deep Time in Daoist Thought
- Part III Humanity Facing the Near Environmental Future
- Index
- References
Summary
This chapter advocates for a naturalistic ethical framework that bases normative components in basic human functions, such as emotions, as an effective approach to address intergenerational ethics questions. Using Mencius’s ethical framework as an example, which establishes emotional pivot points to incorporate others’ concerns and worries into moral deliberation, the chapter argues that this approach provides significant theoretical advantages over frameworks that rely on a familial-role-based relational understanding of Confucian ethics and moral cultivation through rituals. The chapter also highlights the flexibility and adaptability of Mencian ethics, which was redeveloped over a thousand years later during the Neo-Confucian flowering and serves as evidence of its philosophical framework’s ability to connect people emotionally and ethically across time.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Intercultural Philosophy and Environmental Justice between GenerationsIndigenous, African, Asian, and Western Perspectives, pp. 131 - 152Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024