Family Ethics and Unfettered Order
Author: Wu Fei
Source: “Civilization Zongheng” Issue 4, 2009
Time: November 20, Bingshen, the year Bingshen, 2567, the year of Confucius Renwu on the 8th
Jesus December 26, 2016
1. Family and Modern Times
Feminist political philosopher Susan Okin Okin once pointed out with some confusion that the liberal political philosophy from Locke, Rousseau to Rawls, while advocating equality and justice for the whole society, is always unwilling to treat the principles of justice in society as the same. Bring in families. In order to break this last obstacle to human equality, Okin believes that the principle of social contract based on distributive justice should be introduced into the family. This can greatly advance the principle of justice in modern society and realize a genderless society. society (genderless society).
We don’t care whether Okin’s statement is reasonable or not, but she undoubtedly pointed out a phenomenon that is worthy of our consideration, that is, the unfettered attitude advocated by modern Eastern society The principle of equality not only did not start with the family in the first place, but many important thinkers never thought of implementing this principle into the family. Looking at the modern history of Europe, we can clearly see the fierce criticism of the papal privileges by religious reformers, and we can also hear the rumble of the bourgeoisie’s attack on the royal power. However, children’s criticism of their parents, women’s criticism of men, and individuals’ criticism of their families Subversion, for a long time, was a rather vague sound. For example, Locke, one of the founders of the liberalism theory, emphasized the difference between the family and political society. He believed that the family is a natural community, and it is natural for minor children to obey their father; Only when individuals outside the society are completely equal, a social contract needs to be established. Even in the late 20th century, when feminism had become an extremely powerful trend of thought, even a standard liberal thinker like Rawls was reluctant to put the principles of justice he advocated into For home use.
But the situation of Jamaica Sugar Daddy in China is completely different. Almost before the Chinese people could see the true face of modern society, the voice of family reaction was overwhelming. old political timesThe order has not been completely denied, and the old economic order has not been completely overturned, but the argument of reforming the family structure and subverting ethics has quickly gained widespread recognition. The Marriage Law of the 1950s probably far exceeded the imagination of many Western feminists, both in terms of the basic ideas it implemented and the huge impact it had on social practice. Perhaps this is one of the most successful laws in modern China. If the replacement of the strict hierarchical Catholic religion by the Protestant religion of justification by faith, and the replacement of the divine right of kings by natural rights, represents the basic aspects of Eastern modernity, then the monogamy of one man and his group of wives and concubines, the central family’s replacement of the large clan, Romantic love replaces the orders of parents and the words of matchmakers, showing the basic style of Chinese modernity. Without the emphasis on the unfettered and equal modern family, there would be no modern China; and the gradual development of other aspects of modernity must also be based on the spiritual temperament of modern family life. How to understand and shape the cultural connotation of modern Chinese families is by no means just a partial or important issue, but will surely be related to the overall pattern of Chinese culture in the future.
On the one hand, the Orientals are searching for the basis of natural law and natural human rights in classical philosophy and the Bible; on the other hand, the Chinese are sparing no effort to attack Confucian family ethics . On the one hand, the Orientals are looking to Cicero, Caesar, and Augustine for the source of their modern lifestyle; on the other hand, a dramatist who is far from a master in the OrientJM EscortsIbsen actually impressed countless of the best minds in China. Is this really a unified modernity? Is it the same social form that modern people in the Middle East are trying to construct?
Perhaps we don’t have to be as eager to confirm or deny as Orkin did. Since the masters who built the Oriental unrestricted society are unanimously unwilling to introduce their specially designed principles of justice into the family, they must have their reasons; and the reason why the earliest modern people in China invariably expressed dissatisfaction in the family revolution The banner that restricts China must also have its deep reasons.
Why the modern thinkers in the East did not regard the modernization of the family as their important goal is not, as Okin imagined, because their tasks were not completed thoroughly. , but because when they advocate equality for everyone, they do not regard equality as the only or ultimate goal. In other words, what they really care about is not how to build a society where everyone is equal, but how to realize a better life ideal through equality. Even Hobbes, who reduced humans to the state of naked wolves, also knew that there must be inequality between humans; however, in order to establish a solid foundation for contract politics, humans must be reduced to the most basic level. JM EscortsBasic desire. If people lose any social and civilized attributes and become only fear, desire, and hope, people will nod and turn directly to Jamaicans SugardaddyXi Shixun smiled and said: “Brother Shixun didn’t seem to answer my question just now.” The difference between people is minimal. Locke, who was much gentler and wiser than Hobbes, emphasized the equality of all people. However, the people in his Jamaicans Sugardaddy It is a “blank slate” without any color, with neither innate moral concepts nor inherited guilt burdens, only unused emotional and rational abilities, controlled by the natural law promulgated by God. Locke’s natural men not only do not have love for each other, they do not even have the hatred and war that Hobbes said. What they say about everyone being equal is just an abstract assumption; if such equal people exist, they are cold, cold individuals without any warmth; and these individuals’ Jamaicans SugardaddyThe purpose of existence is only to provide convenience to the country, but it cannot lead. “Mother, how many days has passed since my daughter had an accident in Yunyin Mountain?” She asked her mother, no. Answer the questions. People enter ultimate happiness.
However, the composition of the family is not directly related to this process. The relationship between parents and children is not a completely equal relationship between natural persons, but a relationship between adults and children. The reason why families need to exist is because there is actually no equality between minors and adults. It is necessary for minors to grow up, acquire the same knowledge and social experience as adults, and become members of an unfettered society. To be a qualified citizen, you will definitely need the education and training of your parents. Although the relationship between husband and wife is different from that between parents and children, there is also an essential difference between the marriage contract and the social contract. The country is a necessary evil that has to be established because of human weaknessJamaica Sugar, but marriage and family are not necessary evils, but It is a social community aiming at human happiness and education. Therefore, it is not only impossible but also unnecessary to introduce into the family the principles of the social contract on which the state was founded. The reason why these thinkers did not introduce the social contract into the family is precisely because Jamaicans Sugardaddy they had much deeper thinking than Okin.
2. Family issues in modern China
If we say that Okin’s advocacy of the so-called “asexual society” is due to her self-consciousness and shallowness, then, What is the explanation for the family reaction in early modern China? Lu Xun and Hu Shi were so obsessed with Ibsen, a second-rate playwright from the East. Is it true that the thinking height of the best Chinese thinkers only reached the level of Okin?
Although Yan Fu and others have long translated and introduced Eastern non-restraint ideas, and the reaction to subvert the imperial system has already occurred, the systematic ideological enlightenment of modern China was in the New Civilization Movements only truly form a scale, and one of the themes of the New Civilization Movement is the criticism of ethics. Those who advocated the New Civilization Movement did not believe that the logic of the social contract should be applied to the family, as Okin did, because the contract theory thought introduced by Yan Fu has neither been widely accepted by the ideological circles, nor has it become a social and political concept. reality. Therefore, the logic here is completely different from that of Okin. The family reaction was not a continuation of the wider modern reaction, but its real beginning. Although equality and unrestraint are also the themes of Chinese modernity, the way modern China solves the problem is completely different from that of the East, and the subsequent articles are naturally impossible to be the same.
The concept that everyone is equal before God does not exist in the Chinese ideological tradition , neither talks about original sin nor natural law. Modern ideological revolution cannot start from these aspects, and it is impossible to adapt to and overcome the weaknesses of human nature with social contract and human law. However, China emphasizes ethics, and the focus of ethics is family ethics. Perhaps it is precisely because of this that regardless of the spread of foreign religions by missionaries, the economic development of Westernization schools, or the ancient reform of modern classics Jamaica Sugar</ The Three Principles of the People, the reactionaries, and various oriental trends of thought by Yan Fu and others can at best be regarded as the prelude to Chinese modernity and have never become the true beginning of modern Chinese thought. Only the discussion of family ethics can mean The comprehensive arrival of modern thought.
Therefore, if we look at it from a negative perspective, no matter whether it is the Westernization Movement, the abolition of the imperial examination, or even the abolition of the imperial system, it is not like the overthrow of family ethics that marks a year that has not happened in three thousand years. The real emergence of the overnight changes; from a positive perspective, whether it is the establishment of factories, schools, parliaments, or republics, it does not mark the true dawn of an unfettered China like the transformation of the family. The reform of the family touches the core of ritual and music civilization.
Chinese history has seen constant invasions of alien races, separatism by princes, and the flourishing of heresy, but the collapse of rituals and music in any era was only partial and short-lived. , even false. Political chaos, bad tasteThe rise of De Lingchi and even the rise of the Buddha and Lao clan have never shaken the most basic framework of ritual and music civilization; but what modern China is facing is not ordinary chaos, rupture, or looking even more beautiful than last night. Gorgeous wife. Moral degradation, but a complete transformation of civilization.
However, we can also look at this issue from another angle: why has China’s decisive modern transformation not occurred in politics, economy, and culture?Jamaicans EscortMing, religion and other fields, but occurs in family ethics? To put it more clearly, why can’t Chinese people achieve their own freedom through economic prosperity, political democracy, and Eastern religions, but must cultivate the source of freedom from China in their family life? This may mean that family ethics, as the lifeblood of Chinese civilization, is still the starting point for constructing old-fashioned life ideals. That is to say, the New Civilization Movement’s comprehensive criticism of family ethics does not mean that the family will no longer be important. On the contrary, it just shows that the family is still the starting point of thinking in modern Chinese civilization. Only after accepting the concepts of romantic love, unfettered marriage, and the core family can modern Chinese gradually understand the true meaning of democracy, unfettered trade, and international peace. This is the starting point of this big article on Chinese modernity. Therefore, when the voice of family reaction swept across China, the background of unfettered China was already in front of the world. However, this was just the background. We are still far away from the subtlety and greatness of it. Not seen.
The unrestrained equality of the East is based on Jamaicans Sugardaddy according to the ancient Greeks The natural law tradition in Doas thought and Christian tradition gradually makes time pass so fast and silently. In the blink of an eye, Lan Yuhua is about to go home. A new legal system was established; while China’s unfettered equality is a new etiquette and new morality formed in the debate with the traditional etiquette and moral system. In the course of a century in modern China, the form of the new ritual system has been emerging, but no one has yet given a systematic expression. What’s more, various Eastern isms are ebbing and flowing in China, and the mentality of conforming to international standards always makes the ideological world more chaotic. Faced with such a complicated situation, Chinese thinkers are not only unable to understand the true surroundings of themselvesJamaica Sugar Daddy The changes that are taking place have even forced us to use Eastern standards to tailor Chinese thought and history, and we have even lost the theoretical summary of the life we have personally experienced. talent.
No matter all the exaggerated words from China and the West will eventually disappear, the lives of the people are real.of. Generations of Chinese Jamaica Sugar Daddy people have experienced the happiness and sweetness brought about by the great changes in modern Chinese families; but in modern families, more and more More and more helplessness and confusion are testing people’s endurance, and at the same time, they are also giving rise to more thoughts. and smart.
3. New etiquette and unfettered China
In fact, as early as the new civilization At the time of the movement, none of the leading thinkers considered the destruction of the family order as their ultimate goal. Breaking the old morals is to establish new morals, destroying the old order is to establish a new order, and destroying the old ethics is to establish a new ethics. Accordingly, although people did not explicitly say Jamaicans Escort when criticizing the ethics, an inevitable conclusion is that the eradication of the old ethics should be for the purpose of Establish a new etiquette system. The problem with traditional etiquette is not that etiquette should be replaced by the legal system (in fact, etiquette and legal system are not issues at the same level. China also has laws, but the laws are formulated in accordance with etiquette. A “Tang Lu Shu Yi” can tell The truth is that the Eastern legal system is not the ultimate basis. There are natural laws and religions under national laws. In other words, there must be a civilized framework on top of any legal system), but the spirit of unfettered equality cannot be reflected in traditional etiquette; therefore, the goal of the modern new etiquette system should be to achieve the goal of unfettered equality. On the basis of this, establish new etiquette and music order, education model, and legal system to realize the ideal of harmonious and beautiful life. And this is what is happening in modern China.
Since we want to establish a new set of family ethics, this kind of unfettered equality is certainly not the unfettered equality that Orientals rely on to establish a social contract, let alone Austrian equality. King’s distributive justice. To achieve unfettered equality among family members, it is not only necessary to abolish the Three Cardinal Guidelines, it is not only necessary for husband and wife to share property, and it is not only necessary for offspring to have the right to decide their own affairs, but more importantly, a family must protect everyone. Achieve harmony and joy under the conditions of dignity. If only equality and unfetters among family members are ensured, but the family itself falls apart, becomes a stranger, loses the most basic warmth, and becomes a stranger to each other, the country will naturally be unable to achieve true equality and equality in any sense. Unfettered. This is by no means what the thinkers of the New Civilization Movement want to see. Perhaps precisely because of this, both Lu Xun and Hu Shi ultimately abandoned Ibsen’s line.
To make the family still a place of warmth and happinessIn this situation, it is necessary to achieve a harmonious family life under the condition that the husband does not serve as a guide for his wife. Romantic love and unfettered marriage are common means of establishing an old-style family; but in reality, romantic love often quickly turns into a naked family. of domestic violence. In order for the family to continue to be a place for educating children and enjoying family happiness, it must be possible for orchids to flourish, jade trees to grow fragrant, and the elderly to be able to live happily without the father being the guide for the son. However, in reality, the family is not often The father is not the father and the son is not the son. Parents lament that their offspring are increasingly ignoring the principle of filial piety and brotherhood. However, the education undertaken by society is becoming increasingly technical. Human ethics and moral character are not only unable to become the content of education, but are even regarded as feudal remnantsJamaicans Escortis despised. To build a country from a family, it must be done by the rulerJM Escorts Under the conditions of ministers and ministers, society can operate in an orderly manner, people can live and work in peace and contentment, and officials and intellectuals can use their own power and wisdom to serve the people’s material and spiritual freedom; but in reality , official corruption is common, and the common people are exploited. Intellectuals rush to show off their independence and undermine order, corroding the true foundation of freedom in the name of freedom.
Is it possible to have both equality and happiness, freedom from restraint and order? Conflicts in smaller and smaller families are becoming more and more complex. Modern China has destroyed ancestral halls, collapsed clans, and razed ancestral tombs, but it cannot abolish the family, but must rely on it instead. China’s family revolution did not get rid of a heavy ethical burden for itself, but instead raised a huge JM Escorts problem for itself.
Chinese-style problems force us to once again turn to the experience of the modern East. As Kant said, the state of enlightenment is the state of mature use of one’s own sensibility. Modern families should not be cold, full of misfortunes and conflicts. Instead, they can be harmonious without a strong hierarchical system. There is no need for rigid family laws. Children can respect the elderly without the involvement of the law. , there will be no fussing between husband and wife. We are still far from this state, and we don’t even understand how to get to this state, because our era is only an “age of enlightenment”, not an “enlightened era” yet.
As we have seen later, Hobbes and Locke, on the one hand, assumed abstract equality, and on the other hand, they knew that there must be inequality in reality, otherwise there would be no equality. There is a state. While modern society promotes people’s unfettered equality, it also artificially creates many inequalities in the system. As we all know, the concept of unfettered equality has gained unprecedented publicity.In the modern East, the state’s comprehensive control of society has also reached its extreme. Modern social organizations composed of various companies, units, and institutions divide modern people into countless small grids. Each unit has different social functions. Regardless of its social status or the treatment given to its members, it is impossible to be equal to each other; and in each unit, there must be a certain hierarchy in order to implement orders and restraints. The New Year’s Eve pot-rice-style equality is at best equality within each pot, but the price is extreme inequality between pots. It is impossible for a modern person to be equal to people in his own unit, and there must be a gap compared with people in other units. So where can he achieve equality? But none of us will deny the equality of modern people’s personality value because of this inequality in reality. It is even precisely this reality of inequality that shapes the concept of equality of personality value.
In this case, why do we require absolute equality in the family? Is it true that equality that cannot be achieved in work units and society will be achieved in families? Absolute equality will definitely make it impossible for parents to educate their children, and it will definitely make it impossible for husband and wife to live harmoniously. Any form of family ethics will ultimately be impossible to realize. Just like equality in society, equality in the family should only be equality of value in an abstract sense, rather than the abolition of the order of elders and children and the division of labor in the family. The equality of personality value between grandfather and grandson does not mean that grandfather and grandson must have the same amount of property, do exactly the same work, and receive exactly the same careJamaicans Sugardaddy. Parents should be kind, children should be filial, friends should be brothers, and husbands and wives should follow each other, so that everyone can achieve the full realization of their personality and become an unfettered and happy person. If fairness in the family can be realized, it will also become a form of fairness in society and the country, and will enable Chinese laws to operate smoothly guarantee of civilization. Only after establishing a new order of etiquette can modern China truly guarantee the dignity and personal value of each individual and be able to achieve Jamaica Sugar Daddy Only by realizing Chinese-style legality and justice on the most basic basis can we form a mature and unfettered China.
3. New Etiquette and Unfettered China
In fact, as early as the New Civilization Movement, important thoughts No one regards destroying family order as their ultimate goal. Breaking the old morals is to establish new morals, destroying the old order is to establish a new order, and destroying the old ethics is to establish a new ethics. Correspondingly, although people did not say it explicitly when criticizing the ethics, an inevitable conclusion is that eradicating the old ethics willIt should be to establish a new etiquette system. The problem with traditional etiquette is not that etiquette should be replaced by the legal system (in fact, etiquette Jamaica Sugar Daddy and the legal system are not the same issue. Jamaicans EscortChina also has laws, but the laws are based on ethics. A “Tang Code” can tell that Xiu is good at serving others, and Caiyi is good at things in the kitchen. The two complement each other and work well together. Just right. Our truth is that the Eastern legal system is not the ultimate basis. There is natural law and religion under the national laws. In other words, there must be a civilized framework above any legal system), but lies in Jamaicans Sugardaddy, the spirit of unfettered equality cannot be reflected in traditional etiquette; therefore, the goal of the modern new etiquette system should be to establish a new order of etiquette and music, and a new teaching model based on unfettered equality. , legal system, and realize the ideal of harmonious and beautiful life. And this is what is happening in modern China.
Since we want to establish a new set of family ethics, this kind of unfettered equality is certainly not the unfettered equality that Orientals rely on to establish a social contract, let alone Austrian equality. King’s distributive justice. To achieve unfettered equality among family members, it is not only necessary to abolish the Three Cardinal Guidelines, it is not only necessary for husband and wife to share property, and it is not only necessary for offspring to have the right to decide their own affairs, but more importantly, a family must protect everyone. Achieve peace and joy under the dignity of Jamaica Sugar Daddy. If only equality and unfetters among family members are ensured, but the family itself falls apart, becomes a stranger, loses the most basic warmth, and becomes a stranger to each other, the country will naturally be unable to achieve true equality and equality in any sense. Unfettered. This is by no means what the thinkers of the New Civilization Movement want to see. Perhaps precisely because of this, both Lu Xun and Hu Shi ultimately abandoned Ibsen’s line.
In order for the family to remain a warm and happy place of existence, it is necessary to realize a family life where everything is equal, romantic love and unfettered love, under the condition that the husband does not act as a guide for the wife. Marriage is a comprehensive means of establishing an old-style family; but in reality, romantic love often quickly turns into naked domestic violence. In order for the family to remain a place for teaching future generations and family happiness, it must still be able to J under the condition that the father is not the guide for the son.amaicans EscortThe orchids are blooming and the jade trees are fragrant, which makes even the elderly happy. However, in real families, fathers are often not fathers and sons are not sons. Parents lament that their offspring are increasingly neglected. However, the teachings undertaken by society have become increasingly technical, and human ethics and moral character have not only failed to become the content of teachings, but have even been cast aside as feudal remnants. To build a country from the family, it is necessary to ensure that the society can operate in an orderly manner, the people can live and work in peace and contentment, and officials and intellectuals can use their own power under the condition that the king does not act as a guide for his ministers.Jamaica Sugarand wisdom serve the people’s material and spiritual freedom without restraint; but in reality, officials are rife with corruption and the common people are exploited, and intellectuals rush to flaunt their independence and destruction of order in order to be free from restraint. The name corrodes the true foundation of unfetteredness.
Is it possible to have both equality and happiness, freedom from restraint and order? Conflicts in smaller and smaller families are becoming more and more complex. Modern China has destroyed ancestral halls, collapsed clans, and razed ancestral tombs, but it cannot abolish the family, but must rely on it instead. China’s family revolution did not get rid of a heavy burden of ethics, but instead raised a huge problem for itself.
Chinese-style problems force us to once again turn to the experience of the modern East. As Kant said, the state of enlightenment is the state of mature use of one’s own sensibility. Modern families should not be cold, full of misfortunes and conflicts. Instead, they can be harmonious without a strong hierarchical system. There is no need for rigid family laws. Children can respect the elderly without the involvement of the law. , there will be no fussing between husband and wife. We are still far from this state, and we don’t even understand how to get to this state, because our era is only an “age of enlightenment”, not an “enlightened era” yet.
As we have seen later, Hobbes and Locke, on the one hand, assumed abstract equality, and on the other hand, they knew that there must be inequality in reality, otherwise there would be no equality. There is a state. While modern society promotes people’s unfettered equality, it also artificially creates many inequalities in the system. As we all know, in the modern East, where the concept of unfettered equality has never been more publicized, the state’s comprehensive control of society has also reached its extreme. Modern social organizations composed of various companies, units, and institutions divide modern people into countless small grids. Each unit has different social functions. Regardless of its social status or the treatment given to its members, it is impossible to be equal to each other; and in each unit, there must be a certain hierarchy in order to implement orders and restraints. The New Year’s Eve pot-rice-style equality is at best equality within each pot, but the price is extreme inequality between pots. A modern person cannot be the same as the people in his own unit, and there must be a gap compared with the people in other units. Then heWhere can parity be achieved? But none of us will deny the equality of modern people’s personality value because of this inequality in reality. It is even precisely this reality of inequality that shapes the concept of equality of personality value.
In this case, why ask for absolute equality in the family? Jamaica Sugar Daddy ? Is it true that equality that cannot be achieved in work units and society will be achieved in families? Absolute equality will definitely make it impossible for parents to educate their children, and it will definitely make it impossible for husband and wife to live harmoniously. Any form of family ethics will ultimately be impossible to realize. Just like equality in society, equality in the family should only be equality of value in an abstract sense, rather than the abolition of the order of elders and children and the division of labor in the family. The equality of personality value between grandfather and grandson does not mean that grandfather and grandson must have the same amount of property, do exactly the same work, and receive exactly the same care. Parents should be kind, children should be filial, friends should be brothers, and husbands and wives should follow each other, so that everyone can achieve the full realization of their personality and become an unfettered and happy person. If fairness in the family can be realized, it will also become a form of fairness in society and the country, and become a civilized guarantee for the smooth operation of Chinese laws and regulations. Only after establishing a new order of etiquette can modern China truly guarantee the dignity and personal value of each individual, realize Chinese-style legality and justice on the most basic basis, and form a mature and unfettered China. .
Editor in charge: Yao Yuan