Normativity, Moral Reasoning, and Human Rights

This title explores the under-examined theoretical foundations of contemporary Chinese philosophical discourse on human rights. Through an interpretive, critical, and constructive approach, it analyzes key elements of the broader theoretical context and offers a new framework for understanding and engaging with Chinese approaches to human rights. The book addresses a significant gap in scholarship by exploring the tendency of major Chinese human rights theories to neglect the background assumptions that inform their approaches. Through a systematic analysis of selected Chinese theories of moral reasoning and their underlying conceptions of moral normativity, the author identifies a possible framework for human rights theorizing. On this basis, the author outlines an alternative approach to human rights that emerges from Chinese discourse while differing from the human rights theories that sparked the inquiry. By bridging relevant Anglo-European debates, this book also contributes to global philosophy and addresses human rights beyond the Chinese philosophical context. It is essential reading for advanced students, researchers, and anyone interested in the potential of Chinese human rights theory and contemporary philosophical developments in China.