A sociological (Re)construction of the reflexive self: A convergence between Foucault and classical Confucian ethics

Abstract

The emergence of a body of work on ethics since the 1990s with a special interest in the self in the Western academia, inspired by Michel Foucault's earlier work, resonates with a concomitant renewed scholarly interest in classical Confucian ethics both in China and internationally. An emphasis on culture and the rejection of a Euro-centric universalist self in these bodies of work accompanies the disavowal of the very possibility of a generic reflexive self. This article seeks to critically examine the ontological positions on the self of these bodies of work, of Foucault's later thoughts, and of classical Confucian ethics. It is argued that there is a theoretical affinity between Foucault's later thoughts and classical Confucian ethics, with both philosophers acknowledging reflexivity as a universally inherited nature of self and making a special consideration of cultural equality and commonality. The examination includes advocacy for a more nuanced approach to notions of cultural equality that relies on targeted research and intercultural dialogue to avoid any predetermining of cultural differences, to allow better-informed appreciation of differences, and to develop a more dynamic conceptualization of culture. This article concludes by initiating a discussion about the design of an integrated approach to cultivate reflexivity through training practices that bring together Foucauldian and Confucian ideas.