Antonio S. Cua (July 23, 1932 – March 27, 2007) was an eminent scholar in

Chinese philosophy Chinese philosophy (Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 中国哲学; Traditional Chinese characters, traditional Chinese: 中國哲學) refers to the philosophical traditions that originated and developed within the historical ...

and

comparative philosophy Global or intercultural philosophy is an approach to philosophy which emphasizes the integration of influences from different cultures. It can represent the meeting of different philosophical traditions, such as Western philosophy, Asian philosophy ...

who was professor emeritus of philosophy at

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily ...

. Cua was primarily interested in Western moral philosophy,

moral psychology Moral psychology is the study of human thought and behavior in ethical contexts. Historically, the term "moral psychology" was used relatively narrowly to refer to the study of moral development. This field of study is interdisciplinary between th ...

and Chinese ethics, in particular

Confucian ethics Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

. He was the author of many important scholarly works, and the chief editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy'', the first English-language encyclopedia on 'Chinese philosophy'.

Early years

Cua was born into a

Filipino Chinese Chinese Filipinos (sometimes referred as Filipino Chinese or Chinoy/Tsinoy in the Philippines) are Filipinos of Chinese descent with ancestry mainly from Fujian, but are typically born and raised in the Philippines. Chinese Filipinos are one ...

family doing commercial business in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

. He graduated from

Far Eastern University Far Eastern University (), also referred to by its acronym FEU, is a Private university, private research non-sectarian university in Manila, Philippines. Created by the merger of Far Eastern College and the Institute of Accounts, Business and ...

in Manila in 1952 and came to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

for

graduate studies Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachel ...

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. He received a master's degree in 1954 and a PhD in 1958, both from the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

Career

From 1958 to 1962, Cua taught at

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

Athens, Ohio Athens is a city in Athens County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 23,849 at the 2020 United States census. Located along the Hocking River within Appalachian Ohio about southeast of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, Athe ...

. He then served as professor of philosophy and chairman of the department at the

State University of New York at Oswego State University of New York at Oswego (SUNY Oswego or Oswego State) is a public university in Oswego, New York. It has a total student population of 6,756 and the campus size is 700 acres. SUNY Oswego offers more than 120 undergraduate, graduate ...

from 1962 to 1969. At The Catholic University of America, he taught philosophy in the School of Philosophy from 1969 to 1995. He retired in 1996 and was

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

until his death. He died in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

in 2007. He was president of several organizations, including the International Society for Chinese Philosophy, the

Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soc ...

and the

Association for Asian Studies The Association for Asian Studies (AAS) is a scholarly, non-political and non-profit professional association focusing on Asia and the study of Asia. It is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. The Association provides members with an Ann ...

. He held leadership roles in several other associations.

Works

Cua was the author of numerous scholarly works and the chief editor of the '' Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy''. The volume, the first of its kind, contains entries on major schools, thinkers, works and concepts in

and is considered the most comprehensive scholarly reference book with exact information and original interpretation of Chinese philosophy and its history. His books include "Reason and Virtue: A Study in the Ethics of Richard Price" (1966, revised 1998), in which he studied Price, an 18th-century moral and political philosopher; "Dimensions of Moral Creativity" (1978), which focused on the role of paradigmatic individuals as the concrete embodiment of moral principles and ideals; and "Ethical Argumentation" (1985), his first attempt to develop a Confucian theory of ethical argumentation and

moral epistemology In metaphilosophy and ethics, metaethics is the study of the nature, scope, ground, and meaning of moral judgment, ethical belief, or Value_(ethics), values. It is one of the three branches of ethics generally studied by philosophers, the others ...

. In his "Moral Vision and Tradition: Essays in Chinese Ethics" (1998), Cua offered a comprehensive philosophical study of Confucian ethics, its basic insights and its relevance to contemporary Western

moral philosophy Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied et ...

. His last work was "Human Nature, Ritual and History: Studies in Xunzi and Chinese Philosophy" (2005), which reflected his authority in studies on Xunzi, one of the greatest

Confucian philosopher Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...

s in

ancient China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

. "Cua's total body of work on Xunzi is the deepest and richest work in English on this thinker.... Cua is one of the great senior figures in the field, and this book will be a useful reference in courses in Chinese and comparative studies," David Wong, a philosophy professor and department chair at Duke University, said in 2005.The Catholic University of America - CUA Press:
Human Nature, Ritual, and History (Studies in Xunzi and Chinese Philosophy).

Bibliography

*''Human Nature, Ritual, And History: Studies In Xunzi And Chinese Philosophy'' (Studies in Philosophy and the History of Philosophy), Antonio S. Cua (Author), Catholic University of America Press (April 2005) *''Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy'', Antonio S. Cua (Editor), Routledge, 2003. *''Moral Vision and Tradition: Essays in Chinese Ethics'' (Studies in Philosophy and the History of Philosophy), Antonio S. Cua (Author), Catholic University of America Press (April 1998) *''Ethical Argumentation: A Study in Hsun Tzu's Moral Epistemology'', Antonio S. Cua (Author), Univ of Hawaii Pr (May 1985). *''Unity of Knowledge and Action: A Study in Wang Yang-Ming's Moral Psychology'', Antonio S. Cua (Author), Univ of Hawaii Pr (May 1982) *''Dimensions of Moral Creativity: Paradigms, Principles, and Ideals'', Antonio S. Cua (Author), Pennsylvania State Univ Pr (June 1979) *''Reason and Virtue: A Study in the Ethics of Richard Price.'', Antonio S. Cua (Author), Ohio University Press, (1966)

References

External links

Publications of Antonio S. Cua
CUA School of Philosophy. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cua, Antonio 1932 births 2007 deaths Deaths from cancer in Maryland American Confucianists American philosophy academics American writers of Chinese descent Filipino emigrants to the United States University of California, Berkeley alumni Ohio University faculty State University of New York faculty Catholic University of America School of Philosophy faculty Filipino Confucianists Filipino philosophers Moral psychologists 20th-century American philosophers 21st-century American philosophers Far Eastern University alumni American people of Chinese descent