Human Beings or Human Becomings?

Agues that Confucianism and other East Asian philosophical traditions can be resources for understanding and addressing current global challenges such as climate change and hunger.Great transformations are reshaping human life, social institutions, and the world around us, raising profound questions about our fundamental values. We now have the knowledge and the technical expertise, for instance, to realize a world in which no child needs to go to bed hungry-and yet, hunger persists. And although the causes of planetary climate disruption are well known, action of the scale and resolution needed to address it remain elusive.>Peter D. Hershock is Director of the Asian Studies Development Program at the East-West Center. He is the author many books, including Valuing Diversity: Buddhist Reflection on Realizing a More Equitable Global Future, also published by SUNY Press. Roger T. Ames is Humanities Chair Professor at Peking University. He is the author of many books, including Human Becomings: Theorizing Persons for Confucian Role Ethics, also published by SUNY Press.