Comparative Humilities: Christian, Contemporary, and Confucian Conceptions of a Political Virtue

ISSN： 1744-1684

Source： Polity, Vol.45, Iss.2, 2013-04, pp. : 198-222

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Abstract

This essay examines contemporary Western thinking on humility. Compared to other virtues, little has been written about humility in the past century. This has led scholars to dub it a forgotten virtue. Recently, a renewed interest in humility can be found among scholars working in various academic disciplines. These scholars disagree, however, about the meaning and implications of humility for contemporary life. I seek to intervene in this disagreement through a comparative approach and bring the ancient Eastern tradition of Confucianism to bear on the current Western resurgence of interest in humility as a civic value. I argue that humility is a crucial political virtue that fortifies us and helps us resist disillusionment. Humility, therefore, should neither be reduced to a vestige of traditional Christianity nor viewed as a watered down notion of modesty.