ABSTRACT

The classical Chinese understanding of reflection has implications for the position of human beings in the world and thus also for how entrepreneurship is pursued. The innate resistance to metaphysics and the lack of a notion of a personal god have from the first millennium BCE put the emphasis squarely on human beings, their actions and interactions. Hence the humanism and moralism of Confucius and his followers. Since there is no hope of divine intervention, men, not gods, are responsible for the state of the world. Clearly this understanding served to empower Chinese entrepreneurs. Since there is no reason to wait for outside assistance, we have to act on our own. Moreover, our actions will be judged not in an unpredictable afterlife but instead right here on earth according to well-established precedents.