Why is legalism amoral

Skip to main content. The Internal Morality of Chinese Legalism. June Download PDF. Abstract It is widely held that there are no indigenous roots in China for the rule of law; it is an import from the West. The Chinese legal tradition, rather, is rule by law, as elaborated in ancient Legalist texts such as the Han Feizi.

Schwartz, Benjamin I. The World of Thought in Ancient China. Cambridge, MA: Belknap, Excellent study of the main Legalist thinkers that analyzes the development of ideas and foci, as well as their relationship with Confucianism, Mohism, Daoism, and the School of Names.

Carefully distinguishes between the ideas of each of the thinkers he addresses. Xu Zhen Zhou. Paris: Economica, Argues that the Legalists were unified insofar as they all desired absolute power on the part of the ruler and deemed this power essential for the strength and prosperity of the state.

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Your current browser may not support copying via this button. General Overviews To date, there have been few monographs dedicated to the Legalists and Legalism. How to Subscribe Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions.

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