To the Effort Itself: A Phenomenological Study of Wang Yangming's 王陽明 Theory of Moral Effort

Author

Minglai DongFollow

Defense Date

5-30-2018

Graduation Date

Summer 8-11-2018

Availability

One-year Embargo

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

PhD

Department

Philosophy

School

McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Committee Chair

Michael Harrington

Committee Member

Lanei Rodemeyer

Committee Member

Jay Lampert

Keywords

Wang Yangming, Husserl, Phenomenology, Neo-Confucianism

Abstract

In this dissertation, I phenomenologically clarify the theory on moral effort (gongfu 功夫) of the sixteenth-century Chinese philosopher Wang Yangming (or Wang Shouren 王陽明/王守仁 1472-1529). For Wang, the final purpose of moral effort is to cultivate one’s heart (xin 心) as the subject of consciousness, with the goal of sagehood. The heart is also the foundation on which all methods of moral effort can rely. I argue that Husserl’s phenomenology can shed a light on Wang’s doctrine, for it describes the transcendental structure of all aspects related to consciousness, which are also topics and phenomena studied by Wang’s philosophy.

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Dong, M. (2018). To the Effort Itself: A Phenomenological Study of Wang Yangming's 王陽明 Theory of Moral Effort (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1463