The Taciturn Exemplar

Silence, Speech, Moral Cultivation in the Analects

Bibliographic Data

ID14760708
AuthorsNai‐Yi Hsu (corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume50
Issue1
Pages60-83
Publication date2022-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Religious Ethics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0384-9694 • E-ISSN: 1467-9795
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/jore.12380
OpenAlexW4281826839
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited19

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

Aesthetics · Context (archaeology · Direct speech · Epistemology · Linguistics · Point (geometry · Relation (database · Silence · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Chinese history and philosophy · History · Indian and Buddhist Studies · Philosophy · Psychology

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