Communitarianism, Confucianism and the Self

As Confucian thought wrestles with the push for modernization, and liberal democracy finds new cracks in its political consensus that undermine the communitarian ethos of solidarity, the need for the mutual understanding has never been more pressing.

In Communitarianism, Confucianism and the Self, Andrew Hung offers a path to this concord by drawing out the similarities between the communitarianism of Charles Taylor and the Confucian teachings that still guide modern day China.

The surprising number of similarities between the two philosophies is demonstrative of comparative philosophy’s potential to generative new paradigms of family, community, authenticity, morality, politics and the body. Building on communitarianism and confucianism’s shared account of how an individual’s consciousness exists in the wider world, this book demonstrates that whilst the challenges facing the East and West can seem particular and even mutually exacerbating, there is ample opportunity for productive philosophical dialogue between the two.

The work towards this book was partially supported by a grant from the College of Professional and Continuing Education, an affiliate of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Andrew Tsz Wan Hung is a Lecturer in the College of Professional and Continuing Education and Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong.