Abstract

Mou Zongsan rarely discusses Søren Kierkegaard’s philosophy. Nevertheless, in On the Characteristics of Chinese Philosophy, Mou uses Kierkegaard as an example to illustrate the fundamental ontological differences between Christianity and Confucianism. Mou claims that Confucians affirm moral subjectivity, while Christians urge one to deny one’s sinful self and to be integrated into God’s subjectivity. Therefore, Mou believes that Confucianism is characterized by self-affirmation, while Christianity is characterized by self-negation. As a response to this, this article argues that, even if one agrees that Kierkegaard’s philosophy may represent this perspective of Christian ontology, “self-negation” can hardly outline the whole picture of Kierkegaard’s philosophy. By criticizing Mou’s oversimplified dichotomy of self-affirmation and self- negation, this article examines both Mou’s Confucian and Kierkegaard’s Christian perspectives on the ontological question of individual subjectivity, which can provide new insight to Confucian-Christian dialogue.