IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i16p9854-d884462.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Philosophical Thought of Confucius and Mencius, and the Concept of the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind

Author

Listed:
  • Uzma Khan

    (Department of Philosophy, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China)

  • Huili Wang

    (Department of Philosophy, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China)

  • Zhongliang Cui

    (Institute of Contemporary Chinese Marxism, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
    Department of Philosophy, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China)

  • Abida Begum

    (School of Marxism, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
    Heilongjiang Province Think Tank for Ecological Civilization Construction and Green Development, Harbin 150040, China)

  • Abdullah Mohamed

    (Research Centre, Future University in Egypt, New Cairo 11835, Egypt)

  • Heesup Han

    (College of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Sejong University, 98 Gunja-Dong, Gwanjin-Gu, Seoul 143-747, Korea)

Abstract

The Community of a Shared Future for Mankind seeks to mitigate the world’s current challenges, and to create a more sustainable future through better global governance. Some of the philosophical arguments of the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind, and its foundations, which this article traces, are grounded in the philosophical teachings of Confucius and Mencius. The five pillars of Confucianism are benevolence (Ren), righteousness (Yi), propriety (Li), wisdom (Zhi) and fidelity (Xin). The five pillars have their equivalents in the philosophy of the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind: benevolence has its equivalents in multilateral and bilateral agreements; righteousness shows justice; propriety’s equivalents are international standards and regulations; wisdom is the problem-solving dialogues; and trustworthiness is equated to international organizations that safeguard global integrity. The Confucian principle of harmony is congruent with the objective of the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind, of creating a world of harmony, peace and cooperation. The Golden Rule has been observed in the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind, through its insistence on reciprocal bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Mencius’ philosophical contribution to the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind is in his theory of human nature, where humaneness is seen as developmental—as would be the community built by the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind. Mencius’ principle of governance is congruent with the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind’s insistence on responsible governance. These congruences and similarities, between the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind and the philosophies of Confucius and Mencius, point to the foundations for the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind.

Suggested Citation

  • Uzma Khan & Huili Wang & Zhongliang Cui & Abida Begum & Abdullah Mohamed & Heesup Han, 2022. "The Philosophical Thought of Confucius and Mencius, and the Concept of the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-12, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:16:p:9854-:d:884462
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/16/9854/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/16/9854/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Haoguang Liang & Yaojun Zhang, 2019. "The Theoretical System of Belt and Road Initiative," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-981-13-7701-3, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zi-Miao Gao & Xiao-Guang Yue & Xiao-Jing Li, 2019. "Where Will the Future Be Heading Towards? A Book Review for “The Belt and Road Strategy in International Business and Administration”," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-6, August.
    2. Lin Zhu & Xiaoming Li & Yao Huang & Fangyuan Liu & Chengji Yang & Dongyang Li & Hongpeng Bai, 2023. "Digital Technology and Green Development in Manufacturing: Evidence from China and 20 Other Asian Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-20, August.
    3. Uzma Khan & Huili Wang & Ishraq Ali, 2021. "A Sustainable Community of Shared Future for Mankind: Origin, Evolution and Philosophical Foundation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-12, August.
    4. Yiming Li & Liru Bai, 2024. "Analyzing Green Growth Efficiency in China and Investigating the Spatial Effects of Fiscal Decentralization: Case Study of Prefecture-Level Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-28, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:16:p:9854-:d:884462. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.