Han Feizi’s philosophy has greatly influenced Chinese politics, but he is commonly perceived in Chinese history as an apologist for tyranny. Can his legalist philosophy be compatible with human rights? In this essay, I take up this interesting question. I argue that Han Feizi’s philosophy could endorse a “political” account of human rights. Han Feizi plans to help the state become orderly and stable. To achieve this goal, the key is the effectiveness of the incentive system and bureaucratic administration, under which people will be incentivized to act in ways that lead to the benefit of state interest. To enable these systems to function fully, there must be certain protections for people, which can be ensured effectively by providing them with rights. Han Feizi’s approach to human rights is different from the Confucian approach and can offer contemporary discussion of human rights new insights from the East Asian perspective.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
Ames, R. (1988). “Rites as Rights: The Confucian Alternative.” In: L.S. Rouner, ed., Human Rights and the World’s Religions, Notre Dame: Notre Dame University Press, pp. 199–216.
Bai, T. (2011). “Preliminary Remarks: Han Fei Zi—First Modern Political Philosopher?” Journal of Chinese Philosophy 38 (1): 4–13. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6253.2010.01625.x.
Bai, T. (2019). Against Political Equality: The Confucian Case. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Chan, J. (2013). Confucian Perfectionism: A Political Philosophy for Modern Times. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/utah/detail.action?docID=1414126.
Chen, Q. (2000). Hanfei Zi Xin Jiaozhu 韩非子新校注 (Han Feizi, With New Collations and Commentary). Shanghai.
Chen, N. (2022). Will the Real Realist Please Stand Up? A Comparison of Contemporary Political Realism and Han Feizi’s Philosophy (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Utah). https://www.proquest.com/docview/2773098143/abstract/34EC1E0D288C4CF5PQ/1.
Chen, N. (2023). “Han-Wei-Zi 韓韋子: Bureaucratic Administration in Han Feizi 韓非子 and Max Weber (Wei Bo 韋伯).” Philosophy East and West 73 (4): 828–853. https://doi.org/10.1353/pew.2023.a909966.
Feinberg, J. (1970). “The Nature and Value of Rights.” The Journal of Value Inquiry 4 (4): 243–260. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00137935.
Fukuyama, F. (2014). Political Order and Political Decay: From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalization of Democracy, First edition, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Green, M. (2012). “Hobbes and Human Rights.” In: S. A. Lloyd, ed., Hobbes Today: Insights for the 21st Century, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 320–334. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139047388.020.
Harris, E. L. (2013). “Han Fei on the Problem of Morality.” In: P. R. Goldin, ed., Dao Companion to the Philosophy of Han Fei, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 107–131. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4318-2_6.
Harris, E. L. (2022). “Amoral Desert? Han Fei’s Theory of Punishment.” In: E. L. Harris and H. Schneider, eds., Adventures in Chinese Realism: Classic Philosophy Applied to Contemporary Issues, Albany, New York: suny Press, pp. 195–210.
Harris, E. L., trans. (2023). “Han Feizi.” In: P. J. Ivanhoe and B. W. Van Norden, eds., Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy, Third edition, Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc, pp. 311–359.
Hutton, E. L. (2008). “Han Feizi’s Criticism of Confucianism and Its Implications for Virtue Ethics.” Journal of Moral Philosophy 5 (3): 423–453. https://doi.org/10.1163/174552408X369745.
Hutton, E. L., trans. (2016). Xunzi: The Complete Text. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Hutton, E. L. (2021). “Revisiting Xunzi’s Philosophy of Language.” Journal of Confucian Philosophy and Culture 36: 163–184.
Ihara, C. K. (2004). “Are Individual Rights Necessary? A Confucian Perspective.” In: D. B. Wong and K.-L. Shun, eds., Confucian Ethics: A Comparative Study of Self, Autonomy, and Community, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 11–30. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511606960.003.
Ivanhoe, P. J., trans. (2023). “Laozi.” In P. J. Ivanhoe and B. W. Van Norden, eds., Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy, Third edition, Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., pp. 161–206.
Jiang, T. (2021). Origins of Moral-Political Philosophy in Early China: Contestation of Humaneness, Justice, and Personal Freedom. Oxford University Press. http://public.eblib.com/choice/PublicFullRecord.aspx?p=6697145.
Martinich, A. P. (2011). “The Sovereign in the Political Thought of Hanfeizi and Thomas Hobbes.” Journal of Chinese Philosophy 38 (1): 64–72. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6253.2010.01628.x.
Nagin, D. S. (2013). “Deterrence in the Twenty-First Century.” Crime and Justice 42 (August): 199–263. https://doi.org/10.1086/670398.
Rosemont, H. (1988). “Against Relativism.” In: G. J. Larson and E. Deutsch, eds., Interpreting across Boundaries: New Essays in Comparative Philosophy, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, pp. 36–70. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt7ztvfc.6.
Shang, Y. (2017). The Book of Lord Shang: Apologetics of State Power in Early China. New York: Columbia University Press.
Summers, S. J. (2022). Sentencing and Human Rights: The Limits on Punishment, First edition, Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
Tiwald, J. (2013). “Confucian Rights as a ‘Fallback Apparatus?’ 作为‘备用机制’的儒家权利.” Academic Monthly 学术月刊 45 (11): 41–49. https://philarchive.org/rec/TIWCRA.
Van Norden, B. W. (2007). Virtue Ethics and Consequentialism in Early Chinese Philosophy. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Watson, B., trans. (2003). Han Feizi: Basic Writings. New York: Columbia University Press.
Weber, M. (1978). Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Williams, B. (2005). In the Beginning Was the Deed: Realism and Moralism in Political Argument. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 577 | 577 | 38 |
Full Text Views | 15 | 15 | 5 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 29 | 29 | 9 |
Han Feizi’s philosophy has greatly influenced Chinese politics, but he is commonly perceived in Chinese history as an apologist for tyranny. Can his legalist philosophy be compatible with human rights? In this essay, I take up this interesting question. I argue that Han Feizi’s philosophy could endorse a “political” account of human rights. Han Feizi plans to help the state become orderly and stable. To achieve this goal, the key is the effectiveness of the incentive system and bureaucratic administration, under which people will be incentivized to act in ways that lead to the benefit of state interest. To enable these systems to function fully, there must be certain protections for people, which can be ensured effectively by providing them with rights. Han Feizi’s approach to human rights is different from the Confucian approach and can offer contemporary discussion of human rights new insights from the East Asian perspective.
All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 577 | 577 | 38 |
Full Text Views | 15 | 15 | 5 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 29 | 29 | 9 |