Filiality versus sociality and individuality: on Confucianism as "consanguinitism".

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Confucianism is often praised as a doctrine that highlights both the individual and social dimensions of the ideal person, for it puts special emphasis on such lofty goals as the cultivation of the self and the love of all humanity. (1) Through a close and critical analysis of the classical texts of the Analects (Lun yu) and the Mencius (Meng Zi), however, it can be demonstrated that because Confucius and Mencius always take filial piety, or, more generally speaking, consanguineous affection, as not only the foundation but also the supreme principle of human life,…