Confucianism and the Philosophy of Well-Being

Richard Kim's fascinating and engaging book brings the Confucian tradition into the Western philosophical discussion of well-being in a more sustained and thorough way than any treatment of which I'm aware. Revealing instructive similarities and differences between the traditions, and engaged with the scientific literature as well, this book is a major contribution to the contemporary philosophy of well-being. - Daniel Haybron, Saint Louis University, USA Richard Kim's book offers a pithy introduction to how Confucianism contributes to thinking about the good life for us now. I came away convinced that there are universal features of well-being, and also that some things that make a life good depend on one's stage in life, and the particulars of one's culture. Well-written and extremely accessible. - Owen Flanagan, Duke University, USA. Author of 'The Geography of Morals: Varieties of Moral Possibility' At long last, we have a sophisticated and systematic account of early Confucian views on well-being and its relations to ethics. Kim's book is the best on these subjects. He offers a sympathetic and plausible exposition of early Confucianism and makes compelling arguments for an account of well-being that is holistic and developmental, and he paints a very appealing portrait of what he calls 'ethical equanimity', which is one of Confucianism's distinctive contributions to philosophical reflection on well-being and the good life. - Justin Tiwald, San Francisco State University, USA Richard Kim's book is a superb introduction to the Confucian conception of human well-being embedded in the thought of Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi. His advocacy of a Confucian approach to well-being, admirable for its clarity, is informed by his familiarity with the best scholarship on Confucianism, recent empirical research on moral development, and contemporary philosophical theories of prudential value. - Richard Kraut, Northwestern University, USA