The culture wars that simmer within any nation may have been escalating recently;but regardless of their national settings or milieus,many of these wars are informed by two opposing paradigms of culture.This paper ana...The culture wars that simmer within any nation may have been escalating recently;but regardless of their national settings or milieus,many of these wars are informed by two opposing paradigms of culture.This paper analyzes two of these leading paradigms,designated here as Regressivism and Progressivism.Other theorists have long chronicled the differing strengths and weaknesses of these paradigms,taking the former as expressing more conservative,traditional,and nationalistic values,and the latter as expressing more liberal,pluralistic,and cosmopolitan values.Going beyond these perennial distinctions,I argue that Progressivism is more benign and beneficial than the former-by meeting basic human needs better and supporting more effective adaptation to changing exigencies.I also argue that Progressivism does not express merely subjective or relativistic preferences and values,but objectively preferable and quantifiable ones,that benefit not only our personal lives more but also our global village and communal lives more.展开更多
Charles Taylor criticizes many liberal theories based on a kind of atomism that assumes the individual self-sufficiency outside the polity.This not only causes soft-relativism and political fragmentation but also unde...Charles Taylor criticizes many liberal theories based on a kind of atomism that assumes the individual self-sufficiency outside the polity.This not only causes soft-relativism and political fragmentation but also undermines the solidarity of the community,that is,the very condition of the formation of autonomous citizens.Taylor thus argues for communitarian politics which protects certain cultural common goods for sustaining the solidarity of the community.However,Brenda Lyshaug criticizes Taylor’s communitarianism as suppressing plurality and enhancing hostility among cultural groups.In the face of such controversies,I argue for modern Confucian familism which emphasizes the family as a common good that provides a safe,stable,and nurturing environment for nurturing children and cultivating civility for future generations with a sense of community and autonomy.I also defend Confucian familism from four possible criticisms:insufficiency of familism,hierarchical relationship in the family,the danger of nepotism,and challenge from postmodern families.I argue that unlike traditional Confucianism,modern moderation of the Confucian family can greatly reduce the hierarchical problem;its emphasis on the family as one of the foundations of politics can avoid the danger of being atomistic liberalism and suppressive communitarianism.展开更多
The future of media ethics in the global age depends on the sophistication of its theoretical foundations.Theories are not abstract theorems,but include presuppositions and that deep level needs to be understood.Commu...The future of media ethics in the global age depends on the sophistication of its theoretical foundations.Theories are not abstract theorems,but include presuppositions and that deep level needs to be understood.Communitarianism is a social philosophy that aims to ground a media ethicsthatisinternational, cross-cultural, andgender inclusive.Modern-day communitarianism is a form of liberal democracy that began as a critical reaction to John Rawls’A Theory of Justice.One of communitarianism’s historic roots is community as a normative ideal in Confucianism.These two social philosophies are united by the idea that the community is ontologically prior to individual rationality.They yield the ethical principle of human dignity.Two applications,civic transformation and interpretive sufficiency,result from theories of media ethics based on communitas.展开更多
The issue addressed in this essay is what constitutes the most appropriate type of relationship between the individual and society. Because African countries have generally not been successful reconstructing their soc...The issue addressed in this essay is what constitutes the most appropriate type of relationship between the individual and society. Because African countries have generally not been successful reconstructing their societies in a manner that can significantly help their peoples to realize their human potential, they are in need of social reconstruction. In their attempts to find a solution to this problem, African scholars—both post-colonial African nationalist leaders and contemporary African philosophers and scholars of African culture—have fixed on the idea that a liberal or communitarian ideology can reverse the collapse of shared values. Many of these scholars claim that the roots of communitarianism go back to indigenous African societies. Others, meanwhile, have discovered something in the African way of life that makes African society effectively liberal. This essay holds that none of these attempts to solve the problem of the dislocation of African values succeed, due to the inadequacies inherent in both liberalism and communitarianism. I suggest instead that the only solution to Africa’s social problem is the provision by the government of an essential foundation for the pursuit of such public benefits as peace, welfare, and the opportunity for the individual to pursue his or her own happiness.展开更多
文摘The culture wars that simmer within any nation may have been escalating recently;but regardless of their national settings or milieus,many of these wars are informed by two opposing paradigms of culture.This paper analyzes two of these leading paradigms,designated here as Regressivism and Progressivism.Other theorists have long chronicled the differing strengths and weaknesses of these paradigms,taking the former as expressing more conservative,traditional,and nationalistic values,and the latter as expressing more liberal,pluralistic,and cosmopolitan values.Going beyond these perennial distinctions,I argue that Progressivism is more benign and beneficial than the former-by meeting basic human needs better and supporting more effective adaptation to changing exigencies.I also argue that Progressivism does not express merely subjective or relativistic preferences and values,but objectively preferable and quantifiable ones,that benefit not only our personal lives more but also our global village and communal lives more.
基金My work on this article is partially supported by a Grant from the College of Professional and Continuing Education,an affiliate of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
文摘Charles Taylor criticizes many liberal theories based on a kind of atomism that assumes the individual self-sufficiency outside the polity.This not only causes soft-relativism and political fragmentation but also undermines the solidarity of the community,that is,the very condition of the formation of autonomous citizens.Taylor thus argues for communitarian politics which protects certain cultural common goods for sustaining the solidarity of the community.However,Brenda Lyshaug criticizes Taylor’s communitarianism as suppressing plurality and enhancing hostility among cultural groups.In the face of such controversies,I argue for modern Confucian familism which emphasizes the family as a common good that provides a safe,stable,and nurturing environment for nurturing children and cultivating civility for future generations with a sense of community and autonomy.I also defend Confucian familism from four possible criticisms:insufficiency of familism,hierarchical relationship in the family,the danger of nepotism,and challenge from postmodern families.I argue that unlike traditional Confucianism,modern moderation of the Confucian family can greatly reduce the hierarchical problem;its emphasis on the family as one of the foundations of politics can avoid the danger of being atomistic liberalism and suppressive communitarianism.
文摘The future of media ethics in the global age depends on the sophistication of its theoretical foundations.Theories are not abstract theorems,but include presuppositions and that deep level needs to be understood.Communitarianism is a social philosophy that aims to ground a media ethicsthatisinternational, cross-cultural, andgender inclusive.Modern-day communitarianism is a form of liberal democracy that began as a critical reaction to John Rawls’A Theory of Justice.One of communitarianism’s historic roots is community as a normative ideal in Confucianism.These two social philosophies are united by the idea that the community is ontologically prior to individual rationality.They yield the ethical principle of human dignity.Two applications,civic transformation and interpretive sufficiency,result from theories of media ethics based on communitas.
文摘The issue addressed in this essay is what constitutes the most appropriate type of relationship between the individual and society. Because African countries have generally not been successful reconstructing their societies in a manner that can significantly help their peoples to realize their human potential, they are in need of social reconstruction. In their attempts to find a solution to this problem, African scholars—both post-colonial African nationalist leaders and contemporary African philosophers and scholars of African culture—have fixed on the idea that a liberal or communitarian ideology can reverse the collapse of shared values. Many of these scholars claim that the roots of communitarianism go back to indigenous African societies. Others, meanwhile, have discovered something in the African way of life that makes African society effectively liberal. This essay holds that none of these attempts to solve the problem of the dislocation of African values succeed, due to the inadequacies inherent in both liberalism and communitarianism. I suggest instead that the only solution to Africa’s social problem is the provision by the government of an essential foundation for the pursuit of such public benefits as peace, welfare, and the opportunity for the individual to pursue his or her own happiness.
