Global Ethics and Confucianism: A Reply to Pohl

Abstract

In his paper "Ethics of Cosmopolitanism-The Confucian Tradition," Karl-Heinz Pohl provides a very positive characterization of Confucian ethics, emphasizing some of its universalistic traits: the Confucian concern for "all under Heaven" and the doctrine of "the unity of Heaven and man," which can be interpreted ecologically as referring to a unity of humanity and nature. Pohl also provides a brief overview of Western ethical thought, claiming that "universal notions" such as those found in Confucianism have become "blind spots in the Western model." While I find nothing objectionable in what Pohl says about Confucianism, I am somewhat uneasy with what he does not say about it. His characterization of Western ethical thought is also problematic, as is the conclusion he draws from it. In this brief paper, I expand slightly on each of these points in turn.