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Document Details : Title: Hierarchy and Identity Subtitle: A Daoist Reponse to Bell and Wang Author(s): MOELLER, Hans-Georg Journal: Ethical Perspectives Volume: 29 Issue: 4 Date: 2022 Pages: 423-438 DOI: 10.2143/EP.29.4.3291688 Abstract : The word ‘just’ in the book title Just Hierarchy can have various meanings. It can mean ‘fair’ (as an adjective), but also ‘merely’ or ‘simply’ (as an adverb). This second meaning points to another dimension of hierarchies: hierarchies are, in real life, often not simply hierarchies. They define individuals. In the Confucian role-based context of Just Hierarchy they determine who one is. They reify personal identity in a ‘regime of sincerity’. Traditional Confucian hierarchies differ thereby from contemporary hierarchies in social function systems. Seen from a Daoist and amoral perspective, the primary problem with hierarchies is not that they are unequal, but that they tend to be taken too seriously. To achieve individual and social ease it is crucial to recognize the contingency of hierarchies and not internalize them. |
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