International Journal of Frontiers in Sociology, 2021, 3(19); doi: 10.25236/IJFS.2021.031906.
Ziqi Wang
Chinese Language and Culture College of Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
Is there some middle ground between “Wangdao” and “Badao”, which represents the ethics of benevolence or hegemony respectively? Are discussions not rigorous enough about the thought of “Wangdao” in China and the thought of “Badao” in the West? What are the warfare ethics in Sun Tzu's The Art of War and Clausewitz’s On War? Based on the comparison of warfare ethics, it is necessary to put forward a new idea about the “Wangdao” and “Badao”, which runs through the whole process of war, from the objectives to the operations. The masterpieces of the two great philosophers and strategists came out under the influence of different cultures, which reflect the typical characteristics of Chinese and Western ethical thoughts to some extent. By comparing the warfare ethics in The Art of War and On War, and referring to dialectics, this paper tries to analyze the spiritual traits of ethics of “Wangdao” and “Badao”, and find out the cultural backgrounds of their formation. Finally, there will be discussions about the contemporary values of the ethics and suggestions about their applications in the modern society.
Wangdao; benevolence, Badao, hegemony, The Art of War; On War, ethics, cultural backgrounds, contemporary values
Ziqi Wang. “Wangdao” or “Badao”: Comparative Study of Ethics in the Art of War and On War. International Journal of Frontiers in Sociology (2021), Vol. 3, Issue 19: 27-32. https://doi.org/10.25236/IJFS.2021.031906.
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