Abstract
The Confucian ethics of social roles, closely associated with the Confucian notion ofritual propriety (li)has received significant attention of commentators. Moreover, references to the centrality of roles and rituals have been used to support cross-cultural claims about what is distinctive for Chinese thought in contrast to the Western philosophy. In my talk, I draw attention to the Stoic theory of decorum, as outlined in Cicero’s De Officiis. This theory has mostly been marginalized in the standard canon of Western philosophy, and it contains striking parallels with (as well as several pertinent differences from) the Confucian notion of ritual propriety. These parallels provide a compelling ground for revisiting the broader cross-cultural claims, and invite some reflections on the constrains of the Western philosophical canon.