Growing Moral: A Confucian Guide to Life

Angle (Neo-Confucianism), a Wesleyan University professor of philosophy and East Asian studies, delivers an entertaining introduction to Confucian philosophy and its applications to modern life. Angle starts with a history of Confucianism’s five main figures: Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi, Zhu Xi, and Wang Yangming. The author gives an overview of Confucian principles, including filial piety, following rituals, and personal and political engagement, as well as the application of these principles, such as by responding to conflict as a sage would by thinking outside the box and gracefully accepting that which cannot be changed. Angle also considers the future of Confucianism and grapples with its patriarchal and hierarchical past to arrive at a “progressive Confucianism,” which privileges ethical insight and political change as means to fulfill one’s capacity for virtue. The author makes a few questionable choices—for instance, a characterization of many modern Buddhist practitioners as being in search of “emptiness”—though these blips don’t detract from the overall excellence of the scholarship on offer. This should provide ample food for thought. (Mar.)