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Confucian Views of Nature

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Nature Across Cultures

Part of the book series: Science Across Cultures: The History of Non-Western Science ((SACH,volume 4))

Abstract

Just as there are many diverse forms of Confucianism, there are divergent Confucian views of nature. The tradition called Confucianism in the West has a long and developmentally complex history in East Asia (Schwartz, 1985; Graham, 1989). Although Confucianism or the teaching of the Ru (scholars) has Chinese origins, Confucian teachings spread and flourished in Korea, Japan and Vietnam (Berthrong, 1998). In order to understand characteristic Confucian reflections on nature, two questions concerning definitions must be addressed. What is Confucianism as a self-reflective tradition or set of traditions? And what do Confucians make of nature?

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© 2003 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Berthrong, J. (2003). Confucian Views of Nature. In: Selin, H. (eds) Nature Across Cultures. Science Across Cultures: The History of Non-Western Science, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0149-5_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0149-5_19

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-6271-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-0149-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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