Comovimento Moral e a Ética da Virtude Exemplar no Confucionismo: Being Morally Moved and Confucian Exemplary Ethics of Virtue

This essay argues that a theory of gandong (“感动”, being morally moved）should serve as the very ground of Confucian morality. As a pivot or a starting point of human moral conducts, gandong triggers our moral consciousness and connects ganying (“感应”, ontological attunement) not Only with our moral knowing epistemologically, but also with ganqing (“感情”，affection) psychologically. In light of the understanding of gandong, I would like first to explore Confucian morality as an exemplary virtue ethics grounded ontologically in attunement and moral affections. I then try to answer two possible criticisms of Confucian Ethics as “emotivism” and of Confucian moral person as “being too good to be attractive”. Keywords: gandong; ganying; Confucian Ethics; exemplary ethics; emotivism