Abstract
Drawing an analogy between Wang Yangming’s endeavor to know ethical truth and Descartes’ quest for epistemic certainty, this paper proposes a reading of Wang's doctrine of the unity of knowing and acting to the effect that the doctrine does not express an ethical teaching about how the knowledge that is already acquired is to be related to acting, but an epistemological claim as to how we know ethical truths. A detailed analysis of Wang’s relevant texts is offered to support the claim.
Recommended Citation
SHI, Weimin
(2017)
"The Quest for Ethical Truth: Wang Yangming on the Unity of Knowing and Acting,"
Comparative Philosophy: Vol. 8:
Iss.
2, Article 7.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/comparativephilosophy/vol8/iss2/7
Included in
Comparative Philosophy Commons, Epistemology Commons, Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, Metaphysics Commons
