RT Article
T1 The Taciturn Exemplar: Silence, Speech, Moral Cultivation in the Analects
JF Journal of religious ethics
VO 50
IS 1
SP 60
OP 83
A1 Hsu, Nai-Yi
LA English
PB Wiley-Blackwell
YR 2022
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1811955991
AB Early Confucian thinkers have an intense interest in the external aspects of moral exemplars. This article explores this interest by unpacking a complicated relation between silence, speech, and moral cultivation in the Analects. Situating Confucius’s desire to be silent in a pedagogical context, this article points out a tension between speaking of moral knowledge and personalizing it. It argues that silence is considered a desirable pedagogical practice because it fosters a more intimate relation between people and the moral knowledge they receive. This article then offers a detailed analysis of several difficult pedagogical moments between Confucius and two of his most eloquent students, Zigong and Zai Wo. Their problematic ways of speaking provide cases in point that flesh out the arguments sketched above. This article concludes by reflecting on how silence can also be alienating in moral cultivation, and on how people’s styles of speech may shape who they are.
K1 Appearance
K1 self-cultivation
K1 Speech
K1 Silence
K1 Confucian Ethics
DO 10.1111/jore.12380