"Confucianism is one of the world's most influential philosophical traditions, offering profound and challenging insights on human nature, virtue, ethical cultivation, and the foundations of civilization. In The Ways of Confucianism, David S. Nivison brings out the exciting variety within Confucian thought, as he interprets and elucidates key thinkers from over two thousand years, from Confucius himself, through Mencius and Xunzi, to such later Confucians as Wang Yangming, Dai Zhen, and Zhang Xuecheng." "Professor Nivison, who retired from Stanford University in 1988, brings to bear a rare combination of skills in both sinology and Western philosophy. He wields the methodological tools of a classical philology and Anglo-American philosophy to weave a fascinating account of how Confucians have grappled with momentous human issues, how they have responded to their intellectual rivals, and how their thinking has evolved through the centuries."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved (Blackwell)

Is human nature good or evil? Does knowledge guarantee right action, or can humans do what is wrong when they know what is right? What parts should teachers, classic texts, and our own moral intuitions play in our ethical cultivation?

Confucianism is one of the world's most influential philosophical traditions, offering profound and challenging insights on human nature, virtue, and the foundations of civilization. In The Ways of Confucianism, David S. Nivison brings out the exciting variety within Confucian thought, as he interprets and elucidates key thinkers from over two thousand years, from Confucius himself, through Mencius and Xunzi, to Wang Yangming, Dai Zhen, and Zhang Xuecheng.

Confucianism is one of the most influential philosophical traditions in the world, with profound and challenging insights on human nature, virtue, ethical cultivation, and the foundations of morality and civilization. In this collection of essays, most never before published, Nivison presents nuanced and subtle interpretations of key thinkers from over two thousand years in the Confucian movement. Copyright ?Libri GmbH. All rights reserved

David S. Nivision first joined the faculty at Stanford University in 1948, and retired from there in 1988. He began by working on the late Qing philosopher Zhang Xuecheng; Nivision's Life and Thought (1966) of that early modern Chinese thinker was highly acclaimed. Nivision's studies then led him to move back through Chinese history, and he eventually came to make important discoveries about early Chinese chronology and astronomy. (Syndetics)