Sexual Ethics in a Secular Age Is There Still a Virtue of Chastity?

作者： Shizhen Xie

Chapter 9

"The Family as the Foundation of the Confucian Ethical Order," in Eric Silverman, Ed., Sexual Ethics in a Secular Age Is There Still a Virtue of Chastity? (Routledge, 2021), 128-149.


 This paper presents the classical Confucian perspective on chastity in five aspects.

(1) Positive: Sexual desire is part of human nature.

(2) Negative: If sexual desire is misdirected, it would be destructive.

(3) The framework of Confucian ethics is a whole.

(4) Wherein, family is the origin of ethics. 【作者似乎没有谈sex与家的关系】

"Experiences within the family ... defines the virtues." (p. 138)

Love 仁 is learned most naturally and fully in the context of the family. (p. 144)

(5) Chastity is a virtue, in which desire is harmonious with what is right.

"Confucius indicates clearly his view that the virtuous life can be entirely harmonious with one's desires, as a result of proper cultivation." (p. 142) 【贞洁：性欲与德性的和谐】

在总结部分，作者观察到，对于儒家，婚姻→家庭→德性。(pp. 143-144) 同时，作者也注意到，当今家庭关系的极不稳定，如shotgun marriage.