I am not a Sage but an Archer: Confucius on Agency and Freedom

Abstract

Agency and freedom express fundamental experiences that we have as humans in our conscious deeds and varied pursuits. The absence of terminological equivalents in pre-modern Chinese makes it challenging to explain Confucian views on these. I attempt to explain agency and freedom in Confucianism following a metaphor from its primary sources: the archer. A paradigm for moral agent, the metaphor discloses Confucian perspectives on purposeful activity and self-determination.