Mastery, dependence, and the ethics of authority / Aaron Stalnaker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stalnaker, Aaron, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Philosophy, Confucian.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 354 pages)

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2020]

Summary:

Over the last few decades, skepticism about political and moral experts has grown into a serious social problem, undermining the functioning of liberal democratic regimes. Indeed, meritocracy-that is, government by hard working, public-spirited people with high levels of relevant expertise-has never looked so promising as an alternative to the dangers of know-nothing populism. One cultural tradition has devoted sustained attention to the idea of meritocracy, as well as to the cultivation of true expertise or mastery: Confucianism. 0Mastery, Dependence, and the Ethics of Authority presents a compelling analysis of expertise and authority, and examines classical Confucian conceptions of mastery, dependence, and human relationships in order to suggest new approaches to these issues in ethics and political theory. Contemporary Westerners are heirs to multiple traditions that are suspicious of authority, especially coercive political authority. We are also increasingly wary of dependence, which now often seems to signify weakness, neediness, and pathology. Analysts commonly presume that both authority and dependence threaten human autonomy, and are thus intrinsically problematic. But these judgments are mistaken. Our capacity for autonomy needs to be cultivated over time through deliberate practices of training, in which we depend on the guidance of virtuous and skilled teachers. Confucian thought provides a subtle and powerful analysis of one version of this training process, and of the social supports such an education in autonomy requires-as well as the social value of having virtuous and skilled leaders. Early Confucians also argue that human life is marked by numerous interacting forms of dependence, which are not only ineradicable, but in many ways good. On a Confucian view, it is natural, healthy, and good for people to be deeply dependent on others in a variety of ways across the full human lifespan.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1.Paradoxes of Freedom: Modern Western Difficulties with Authority and Dependence

1.1.Introduction

1.2."From Status to Contract": Myths and Histories of Authority's Decline

1.3.Autonomy, Domination, and Legitimate Authority

1.4.Transformations of "Dependence" in the Modern West

1.5.Anti-paternalism and the Foreclosure of Autonomy

2.Early China and the Quest for Mastery

2.1.Introduction

2.2.Key Aspects of Early Chinese History

2.3.Memorializing Masters: Early Confucian Texts and Their Characters

2.4.Construing "Early Confucianism"

2.5.Further Polishing of the "Chinese Mirror": Problems and Prospects

2.6.Philosophical Retrieval and the Peril of Blind Spots

3.Virtue, Skill, and Mastery

3.1.Introduction

3.2.Skill, Virtue, and Practice According to Aristotle and MacIntyre

3.3.Alternative Readings of Aristotle That Highlight the Skill-Virtue Analogy

3.4.Early Confucian Accounts of Virtue

3.5.Mastering "Ritual"

3.6.Mengzi's Account of Wisdom as Moral Discernment

3.7.Propriety and Wisdom in Relation to Other Virtues

3.8.Revisiting Virtue and Skill

4.The Confucian D&o: Mastery as the Fruit of Shared Practices

4.1.Introduction

4.2.Practice-Centered Religiosity

4.3.The Value of the Essential Ru Practices

4.4.The Need for Authoritative Teachers

4.5.The Way as a Lifelong Path with Stages

4.6.Teaching (and Learning) How to Perform

4.6.1.Practical Mastery

4.6.2.Inspiring Models

4.6.3.Trustworthy Guides

5.Dependence, Autonomy, and the Varieties of Relationship

5.1.Introduction

5.2.The Good Society

5.3.Subordinate Judgment: Obedience, Disobedience, and Remonstration

5.4.Teachers and Students

5.5.Varieties of Dependence and Responsibility

5.6.Deference and Vulnerability Once More

6.Dreaming of a Meritocracy, Grappling with Reality

6.1.Introduction

6.2.Realism, Idealism, and "Dark Consciousness"

6.3.Xunzi on Giving Authority to the Wise

6.4.Divine Government versus Feasible Meritocracy

6.5.The Hierarchies of "Virtue" and "Position"

6.6.The Varieties of Legitimate Authority

7.Learning from the Early Confucians

7.1.Introduction

7.2.Sagehood and the Danger of Domination

7.3.Autonomy Requires Relations of Training and Support

7.3.1.Cultivating Capabilities and Autonomy Competence

7.3.2.Relational Autonomy

7.3.3.Neo-republican Autonomy and Freedom from Domination

7.4.Embracing Dependence

7.5.Rethinking the Anarchist Challenge to Authority

7.6.Reimagining Expertise.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-19-005232-5

0-19-005231-7

0-19-005233-3