Normative CulturesThe great civilizations of the world are very different from one another, indeed more strangely different the closer they come in economic, social, and cultural interaction. Yet each claims to be a normative way of being human. At the very minimum human achievement requires competence in the conventions of one s own civilization. To be human is to participate in a conventional culture, and the normatively human conventional cultures are different. Here is the clash of civilizations : Without commitment to some conventions of civilized humanity, no one can be human; yet the conventions are different, perhaps even opposed. |
Contents
The Problem of Theory | 9 |
II THE TIMELINESS OF THEORY | 22 |
IMPORTANCE UNITY DIVERSITY | 30 |
RESPONSIBILITY THROUGH THEORY | 33 |
Importance | 37 |
I VALUELADENNESS IN THEORY | 38 |
II VALUEBLINDNESS IN THEORY | 44 |
III THE NATURE OF IMPORTANCE | 48 |
II NORMS OF DEFERENCE | 124 |
III NORMS OF ENGAGEMENT | 127 |
IV NORMS OF IDENTITY | 132 |
From Objective Obligation to Personal Responsibility | 139 |
II PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY UNIVERSAL AND INDIVIDUALLY CHANNELED | 144 |
III THE SOCIAL PUBLIC AND THE CREATION OF THE PRIVATE | 153 |
IV NORMATIVE IDENTITY FOR PERSONS AND COMMUNITIES | 158 |
Ritual and Normative Culture | 163 |
IV COMPARISON AS THE SYNOPTIC DISPLAY OF IMPORTANCE | 53 |
Unity | 59 |
I VAGUENESS AND SPECIFICATION | 62 |
II SELECTION AND TRIVIALIZATION | 68 |
III COMPARATIVE CATEGORIES | 74 |
A PROCESS OF COMPARISON | 81 |
Deference | 85 |
II PIOUS DEFERENCE | 90 |
III THEORY AS RESPONSIBLE DEFERENCE | 95 |
A PROCESS OF DIALECTIC TRAGEDY AND PROMISE | 98 |
The Pursuit of Responsibility as Practical Reason | 109 |
Ideal Norms | 115 |
I NORMS OF ORDER | 118 |
I A CONCEPTION OF RITUAL | 166 |
II THE OBJECTIVE TYPES OF NORMS | 181 |
III THE SUBJECTIVE TYPES OF NORMS | 185 |
THE ROLES OF RITUAL | 191 |
Practical Reason | 197 |
I PUBLIC PRACTICAL REASON | 198 |
II PERSONAL PRACTICAL REASON | 204 |
III THEORY AS ORIENTATION FOR PRACTICAL REASON | 212 |
IV NORMATIVE CULTURES | 216 |
Notes | 223 |
| 247 | |
| 263 | |
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Common terms and phrases
actual Adeimantos ancient Confucians argued argument Aristotle Axial Age Axiology of Thinking behavior Buddhism causal chapter Chinese comparative categories complex Confucian Confucius context cosmology culture Daoist defined descriptive categories determined developed dialogue discussion existential expressed extrinsic formal Glaucon haecceity harmony Hegel human individuals infinite institutions integrity interactions interpretation intrinsic importance language Leibniz Marxism means metaphoric overlay metaphysical modern moral non-reductive theory normative identity norms of deference norms of engagement norms of order objective obligations one's orientation Paul Weiss Peirce perhaps person perspectival importance perspective phenomena philosophical physical cosmologies Pinyin Plato possibilities problem public discourse public practical reason pursuit of responsibility reductionism relations relevant religions representations respect Richard Rorty ritual propriety roles semiotic sense sibility singular value sites of importance social Socrates structure subject matter synoptic vision theoretical theory of theories theory's things tions tradition translated vague category Wade-Giles Western Xunzi