Confucianizing Socrates and Socratizing Confucius: On Comparing Analects 13:18 and the Euthyphro

Philosophy East and West, Vol. 60, pp. 187–206, 2010

Shijie Hanxue 世界汉学 [World Sinology], Vol. 7, pp. 179–192, 2011

20 Pages Posted: 23 Sep 2012 Last revised: 21 Feb 2015

See all articles by Tim Murphy

Tim Murphy

Grupo de Investigación sobre el Derecho y la Justicia (GIDyJ)

Ralph Weber

University of Zurich

Date Written: 2010

Abstract

An apparently quite specific question that was addressed by both Confucius and Socrates has attracted much attention in Sino-Hellenistic comparative philosophy. Their respective responses to the question of how a son should respond if his father commits a crime are found in Confucius' Analects 13:18 and in Plato's Euthyphro. This essay assesses three comparative analyses of these responses with particular reference to their underlying assertions of commonality, that is, the assumptions or presuppositions of commonality that serve to justify the comparative exercise in the first instance. The authors suggest that two of the analyses assert commonality between their two responses from a Confucian standpoint, while the third constructs commonality from a Socratic standpoint. The authors argue that the response of Confucius focuses specifically on the issue of xiao (filial piety) in the concrete situation presented to him, whereas Socrates uses the issue to investigate the different question known as the 'Euthyphro dilemma.' Some brief conclusions are drawn regarding comparative philosophical analysis in general and about comparing the responses of Confucius and Socrates in these passages in particular.

Keywords: comparative philosophy, Confucius, Analects, Socrates, Plato, Euthyphro, Euthyphro dilemma

Suggested Citation

Murphy, Tim and Weber, Ralph, Confucianizing Socrates and Socratizing Confucius: On Comparing Analects 13:18 and the Euthyphro (2010). Philosophy East and West, Vol. 60, pp. 187–206, 2010, Shijie Hanxue 世界汉学 [World Sinology], Vol. 7, pp. 179–192, 2011, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2150801

Tim Murphy (Contact Author)

Grupo de Investigación sobre el Derecho y la Justicia (GIDyJ) ( email )

Madrid
Spain

Ralph Weber

University of Zurich ( email )

Rämistrasse 71
Zürich, CH-8006
Switzerland

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