On the Nationality,Subjectivity,and Originality of Chinese Virtue Ethics in the New Era

Under the academic environment of diversifying theoretical orientations for modern ethics,Chinese virtue ethics in the new era takes a five-in-one theoretical form that integrates mind,behavior,norms,e ort,and spiritual plane.Its mainstream is Marxist virtue theory or Marxist virtue ethics,which manifests Chinese nationality,subjectivity,and originality.It is of great signicance for contemporary people to re ect on and examine the disciplinary structure of ethics and promote the integration of ethical research,and will certainly play a vital role in building a community of shared future for mankind.

On Virtue Ethics

If one goes beyond the Western perspective, one realizes that most philosophy outside the West has been virtue-ethical in character. But it also turns out that there are simply more historical kinds of virtue ethics than most virtue ethicists recognize. Virtue ethics is mainly of interest because of its contemporary relevance and plausibility, and it is argued here that a virtue ethics that emphasizes empathy is very plausible in contemporary terms. Such an approach can say some strong things in favor of democracy, but it can also criticize Western thought for putting too much emphasis on autonomy rights rather than people＇s, and especially women＇s, welfare.

We Are One:On the Idea of the Moral Postulate

The moral postulate is the key concept of ethical pragmatism that suggests that whatever is genuinely beneficial,an individual must be genuinely good for the group.Dewey suggests that the moral postulate implies the solutions to moral disagreements.This paper examines pragmatists’ethics and proposes that people are justified to hold this belief.Moreover,that people hold the belief makes the realization of the moral postulate and solutions of moral disagreements possible.This paper provides a unique approach to solving moral disagreements and avoids the dichotomy between Kantianism and Utilitarianism.

Variable retention harvesting: conceptual analysis according to different environmental ethics and forest valuation

Background:Conceptual clarity is important to attain precise communication of scientific knowledge and to implement appropriate technological and policy actions.Many concepts referring to forest management are widely used by decision-makers,regardless of their complexity.Although the scientific and methodological issues of forestry practices are frequently discussed in the literature,their normative dimensions are rarely treated.Thus,linguistic uncertainty increases when different environmentally ethical perspectives and ways of valuing forests are considered.The objective was to compare different conceptualizations on the silvicultural systems suggested for forest management and the implications they have for conservation.We have conceptually contrasted highintensity forestry practices with variable retention harvesting,considering different environmentally ethical perspectives and forest valuation alternatives.Results:Clear boundaries between clear-cutting,selective logging,and variable retention harvesting can be evidenced when different ethical points of view and alternatives in the human-nature relationships are considered.We have found a variety of definitions of variable retention harvesting that can be analyzed under different ethical positions.Sharply contrasting views on variable retention harvesting can be evidenced if nature is considered to be purely at human’s service or if it is conceptualized as humans co-inhabiting with nature.The latter position implies that the maintenance of ecological,evolutionary,and historical processes supported by unmanaged forest stands is a crucial step for forest management proposals based on variable retention harvesting.Conclusions:Forestry practices that are focused on forest yields and that misinterpret functional uncertainty of forest functioning would be risky.Moreover,forestry with variable retention harvesting could imply good yields with reasonable conservation management in some contexts,while it could be unacceptable in other socioecological contexts.The improvement of conceptual clarity on the different meanings of variable retention harvesting and the development of indicators for forest management based on the variations of this concept can reduce controversies.

Confucian Ethics and Impartiality： On the Confucian View about Brotherhood

This essay reviews Confucian ethics with regard to impartiality and Confucian notion of brotherhood. It focuses on the comments by Song Neo- Confucians, Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi, about a famous case involving brotherhood. In this case Diwu Lun of the Han dynasty treated his diseased son and his diseased nephew in different ways. The author argues that Confucianism, starting from a naturalist standpoint, affirms the partiality in the relations between brothers, and judges deliberate impartiality negatively. On this point, one cannot simply view Confucianism as analogous to the Kantian ethics which promises impartiality or the virtue ethics which opposes impartiality.

Three Different Approaches to Virtue in Business- Aristotle, Confucius, and Lao Zi

The proposed paper presents an overview on the matter of virtue from different philosophical angles. It concentrates on three different schools of thought coming from the West and the East and their respective concepts of virtue. These schools of thought and the therewith-associated personalities and works discussed in this paper are Aristotelian virtue ethics, Confucianism and Daoism. The paper focuses specifically on the Nicomachean Ethics （NE） by Aristotle, the Analects belonging to Confucianism, and the Dao De Jing coming from Daoism. The paper is divided into three major parts. First, the concept of virtue of each school is outlined. In the second part, the concrete virtues as such according to each school are explained. In the third part, these virtues are then applied in specific business contexts like business practice, corporate culture and leadership, illuminating each school＇s characteristic approach. The paper closes with a summary and conclusion. In the conclusion the paper outlines differences as well as similarities between Aristotelian and Confucian virtue ethics. Yet, the author generally takes a critical stance towards comparisons merely for the sake of finding similarities. Particularly between Aristotelian and Confucian virtue ethics there is a significant difference when it comes to the cultural and historical background of these schools, which should not be ignored. Besides, even within Chinese philosophy there are already significant differences when it comes to concepts and practice.

The Basic Character of the Virtue Theory of Mencius＇ Philosophy and Its Significance in Classical Confucianism

Mencius takes humaneness as the primary moral idea, and makes new annotations to some classical Confucian moral ideas, such as rightness, courtesy and intelligence. The main traditional topic of virtue has, in Mencius, been transformed gradually form virtuous conduct to virtue. The four minds-four virtues theory of Mencius marks the formation of virtue ethics in classical Confucianism.

Ethical and legal implications of gene editing in plant breeding:a systematic literature review

Biotechnology policies and regulations must be revised and updated to reflect the most recent advances in plantbreeding technology. New Plant Breeding Techniques(NPBT) such as gene editing have been applied to address the myriad of challenges in plant breeding, while the use of NPBT as emerging biotechnological tools raises legal and ethical concerns. This study aims to highlight how gene editing is operationalized in the existing literature and examine the critical issues of ethical and legal issues of gene editing for plant breeding. We carried out a systematic literature review(SLR) to provide the current states of ethical and legal discourses surrounding this topic. We also identified critical research priority areas and policy gaps that must be addressed when designing the future governance of gene editing in plant breeding.