Abstract
In the first part, we present a taxonomy of a dozen self-variations that appear in the contemporary studies of cross-cultural anthropology, psychology and philosophy. The taxonomy is designed to serve as a general template to analyse cultural variation in views of self, which ranges from the metaphysical self (or no-self) to ideal emotional self. In the second part, we apply three aspects of the taxonomy to analyse a distinctive way that the self is conceived in the Chinese tradition, and its relation to the family and non-family members. In particular, we look at the Chinese notion of the ‘soul’ (hun-po), which informs a unique, family-oriented notion of self. This understanding helps explain the distinctive texture of the Chinese virtue of filial piety that emphasises not only respect and support of the elderly members of the family, but also reproducing children who can carry the family lineage. It also helps us understand certain family-oriented ways of decision-making in the Chinese society.
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Notes
- 1.
Of course, in Zhu Xi’s understanding, it has to be the direct male descendants, because the family name and the bloodline are eventually carried by the men.
- 2.
An interesting question to ask is how the husband and wife are related to each other. Chinese marriage customs suggest that when the wife is married into the husband’s family, she becomes a member of her husband’s clan. She adopts the family name of her husband, and addresses the husband’s parents as ‘mother’ and ‘father’. When she dies, her husband’s clan, and in particular, her sons and unmarried daughters, are responsible for preparing ritual sacrifices and offerings for her. In this sense, the wife is ‘adopted’ by her husband’s family through the special channel of marriage.
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Acknowledgements
Owen Flanagan thanks the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, where he was a Berggruen Fellow in 2016–17, for its support. Both authors thank the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily express the views of the John Templeton Foundation.
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Flanagan, O., Zhao, W. (2017). The Self and Its Good Vary Cross-Culturally: A Dozen Self-variations and Chinese Familial Selves. In: Menon, S., Nagaraj, N., Binoy, V. (eds) Self, Culture and Consciousness. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5777-9_17
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