The Confucian and Scottish Traditions on Moral Emotions and Responsibility

scottish enlightenment david hume reading list theory of moral sentiments confucius mencius francis hutcheson xunzi

READING LIST


Session I: Analects on Benevolence, Self-Cultivation, and Leadership

·      Confucius. Analects (with selections from traditional commentaries). Translated by Edward Slingerland. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2003.  Selections from Books 2, 4, 12, and 13.  Page(s): 8-16, 29-38, 125-137, and 138-152.


Session II: Hutcheson on Egoism and the Sources of Morality

·      Hutcheson, Francis. An Inquiry into the Original of Our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue. Edited by Wolfgang Leidhold. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, Inc., 2004.  Treatise 2, Section 1- 3.3.  Page(s): 89-120.


Session III: Mencius on Self-interest and the Emotional Sources of Morality

·      Mengzi [Mencius (with selections from traditional commentaries)]. Translated by Bryan W. Van Norden. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2008.  Books 1A, 2A, and 3B.  Page(s): 1-15, 33-49, and 76-87.


Session IV: Hume on Benevolence, Self-Interest, and the Moral Sentiments

·      Hume, David. An Enquiry concerning the Principles of Morals. Edited by Tom L. Beauchamp. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.  Sections 1 and 2; Section 9; and Appendix 1.  Page(s): 73-82, 145-156, and 157-163.


Session V: Xunzi on Virtue and Emotions, Egoism, and Human Nature

·      Xunzi. A Translation and Study of the Complete Works, Volumes 1-3. Edited by John Knoblock. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1988, 1990, 1994.  Volume 1, Books 2 and 4; and Volume 3, Book 23.  Page(s): 151-158, 186-195, and 150-162.


Session VI: Smith on the Moral Sentiments

·      Smith, Adam. The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Edited by D. D. Raphael and A. L. Macfie. Indianapolis: Liberty Classics; Liberty Fund (Glasgow Edition), 1982.  Part 1, Section 1, Chapter 1; Part 2, Sections 1 and 2; and Part 6, Section 2, Chapter 1 and Chapter 3.  Page(s): 9-13, 67-91, 218-221, and 235-237.