Political Passions
in Dialogue on War

What drives domination, and how might it be transformed?

This editorial examines political passions in war through a dialogue between Augustinian Christian thought and modern Confucian interpretations of relational love.

Its central question concerns the inward dispositions behind political and military action: how pride, self-centred love and the desire to dominate may be understood, and how justice, compassion and rightly directed love can provide resources for transformation.

Libido dominandi: the lust for domination

The editorial approaches war through Augustine’s concept of libido dominandi. Military glory may conceal a desire for domination, while the damage of war involves both bodily suffering and the deformation of the agent’s moral life.

The direction of will and love

Gao Yuan considers the “weight” of will and love as a way of describing orientation towards different goods. Political passions become distorted when love turns towards self-centred power rather than a rightly ordered good.

Two loves and two cities

The discussion places domination within Augustine’s account of the earthly city and the pilgrim heavenly city. Their opposition does not mean that they can be mapped neatly onto separate contemporary states or institutions; the editorial also notes their intermingling in temporal history.

Distorted imitation

The desire to rule is examined as a distorted imitation of divine authority and love. Drawing on modern interpretations, the editorial explores the moral ambiguity of political power and its connection with pride and self-love.

Ren, relational creativity and political love

The second part turns to modern interpretations of ren and relational love. It discusses Cheng Chung-ying’s account of creativity in dialogue with process philosophy and Chen Lai’s interpretation of ren as an ontological ground.

Gao Yuan then considers Daniel A. Bell’s discussion of Confucian political resources and Guo Qiyong’s emphasis on justice, benevolence and social relations. These approaches provide a different framework for addressing domination and conflict.

A shared problem, different foundations

Both sides of the dialogue offer resources for questioning destructive political passions, but their accounts of human nature and moral renewal differ.

Grace and the ordering of love

In the Augustinian Christian framework discussed here, fallen human dispositions require divine grace. The transformation of domination is understood through rightly ordered love, moral renewal and an ultimate horizon of justice and peace.

Returning to the goodness of ren

The modern Confucian approaches examined in the editorial place greater emphasis on the resources of human goodness and relational love. Compassion, benevolence and justice become means of addressing political and military conflict.

Relational love is therefore a point of comparison, not proof of identical metaphysical commitments. The article preserves the differences between the traditions while exploring their capacity for mutual understanding.

Peace without reducing ethics to passivity

The concluding comparison brings Christian teachings on responding to evil into conversation with the Confucian injunction not to impose on others what one would not wish for oneself.

Gao Yuan interprets these teachings through the renewal of inward disposition. In this argument, transforming the lust for domination does not simply mean abandoning every form of outward punishment or responsibility. The emphasis falls on motives, the direction of love and the moral character of action.

Political emotion as a meeting point

Connecting moral psychology and political theology

The editorial examines domination through pride, self-love and the direction of desire, connecting political action with inward moral life.

Extending Christian–Confucian dialogue

Relational love provides a comparative lens through which Augustinian and modern Confucian resources can be brought into conversation about war and peace.

Preserving differences within comparison

The argument identifies shared ethical concerns while distinguishing grace-centred and Confucian approaches to human goodness and renewal.

Linking this discussion with wider research

This editorial connects with Gao Yuan’s studies of relational love, deification and sanctification, and the history of European emotional philosophy.

Cite the original editorial

Formal title:
Political passions in modern Christian-Confucian dialogue on war

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