Confucius the Stoic: The Encounter between Western and Chinese Philosophy in the Global Renaissance

In 1593, Matteo Ricci wrote in a letter that Confucius, “in morals, is another Seneca.” This intriguing analogy is the Ansatzpunkt to my talk. How did the Jesuit introduce the ancient Western philosophy to the Chinese; and in turn how did he introduce Chinese philosophy to Europe? What are the grounds of commonality and differences in making this sort of cultural and conceptual comparison? I will explore how Ricci is able to negotiate these two complex cultural spheres by making both the ancient philosophies of the West and East the prolegomena of his central mission of evangelization. Thus in his discursive paradigm of Western and Chinese philosophy, Stoicism and Confucianism are propaedeutic, necessary preconditions for the Christian faith; the only thing missing in Stoic ethics is the salvation of Christ, just as the only thing missing in Confucian ethics is the Gospel.

The presentation is in English. 

In cooperation with the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin and International Week XXL 2024.