Cheng (誠) as ecological self-understanding: Realistic or impossible?

Abstract

Recent studies have recognised the Confucian holistic perspective as transformative in addressing the ecological concerns. This article complements and complicates this line of argument. The aforementioned literature has seldom examined whether or not the Confucian ideal is attainable. Centring on cheng, a Confucian metaphysical concept, this article highlights the struggle between the ideal and the real. The discussion is based on the premise that essential to the current ecological crisis is a need to reconfigure the meaning and purpose of humanity on the planet; utopianism, evoking images of a society radically different from the existing one, has the potential to instigate transformations. Utopias of all kinds encounter the tension between ideal and practice. Webb proposes an analytical framework of utopia-as-system and utopia-as-process. The former stresses an idealised blueprint and the latter attends to localised practice. For any radical change to occur, it is imperative to adopt both. Drawing on the research of ecotopia and edutopia, this article argues that Confucianism has a utopian impetus. As ecological self-understanding, cheng challenges modern assumptions regarding humanity and ecology. The concept represents a model of both utopia-as-system and utopia-as-process, and it has the potential to inspire change. It is, however, not without complication.

Keywords:

• Sincerity
• authenticity
• Confucianism
• ecological self-understanding
• sustainability
• utopias

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Bin Wu

Bin Wu is lecturer in Education at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne. Her research disciplines include sociology of education, educational history and philosophy. Overall, her preoccupation is with the way that ideas, past and current, affect the lives people live.