Boston Confucians
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Boston Confucians are a group of "New Confucians" from Boston, of whom the best known are Tu Wei-Ming of Harvard, John Berthrong and Robert Neville of Boston University.
Boston Confucianism refers to those who hold that Confucianism could be successfully adapted to a Western perspective. Confucianism is seen as a tradition with rich spiritual and cultural resources that can inform other world traditions. Boston Confucianism also argues for the transportability of Confucianism to geographical locations beyond Asia proper. The internationalized character of Boston Confucianism is to a great extent a central feature in the second generation of the New-Con
(Both Platonism and Christianity began as such portable traditions, which could be practiced outside of the Greek and Jewish roots which originally generated them.) However, this is a view that is common to New Confucians in general, whether from Boston, Beijing, Taipei, Hong Kong or Singapore. Indeed, there are contemporary advocates of Confucianism who are not New Confucians, but who would agree that Confucianism is not geographically or culturally parochial, any more than Buddhism or Islam have been. (Philip J. Ivanhoe, Joel J. Kupperman and David B. Wong would fall into this latter category.) Consequently, "Boston Confucian" is a term more closely linked to geography than intellectual content.
More than being a coherent system of ideas, Boston Confucianism is an experimental concept that seeks to creatively explore different applications of Confucianism in the age of globalization. In 2014 a new generation of scholars at Boston university have established the "Boston University Confucian Association" (BUCA). Weekly lectures and other activities are open to students and the public. "The Western Inscription" by Chang Tsai (11th Century) is a favorite of the New Confucians or Boston Confucians, as it points toward ecological concerns. The research of Tu We-ming and John Berthrong flow together nicely https://www.academia.edu/1703755/The_New_Confucians
The school of Boston Confucianism has become especially well known in academic circles in China. Chinese scholars see it as the first indication of Confucianism's ability to be enthusiastically endorsed by non-Asian North-American scholars and theologians for non-academic purposes.
References
- Robert Neville, Boston Confucianism. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2000.
- Bryan W. Van Norden, Review of Boston Confucianism in Philosophy East & West 53:3 (July 2003): 413-417.
- Joffre D. Meyer, "The New Confucians." https://www.academia.edu/1703755/The_New_Confucians (2008).
