| Pettit is a typical representative of neo-republicanism, whose theory of civic ethics contains value, institution and citizen,"freedom as non-domination" is the supreme political value and ideal of citizens of the Republic. Citizens can build a trusting and cooperative relationship in the process of interactive communication and equal consultation. The government takes "contestatory democracy" as a platform for public debate and protects the rights and freedom of citizens. Essentially, Pettit’s thought of civic ethics is a set of citizen norms and political principles based on "freedom ","equality" and "trust" which are abided by the whole citizens. Current researches focus on the presentation and interpretation of Pettit’s republicanism, but none of these researches examine Pettit’s theory from the perspective of civic ethics. Furthermore, scholars generally believe that the neo-Roman school of neo-republicanism is in a disadvantageous position compared with neo-Athenian school regarding civic ethics and civic virtue. However, through a systematic and in-depth analysis of Pettit’s theory of civic ethics, the dissertation could systematically sum up his republicanism and display their originality and practical significance.Starting from the background and foundation of Pettit’s theory of civic ethics, the dissertation insists that "freedom as no-domination","new concept of citizen" and "regulatory theory" are the three pillars of Pettit’s Republicanism and the core ideas of the civic ethics. On this basis, the specific contents of Pettit’s thought of civic ethics are divided into three dimensions including individual dimension, interaction dimension and community dimension. In individual dimension, citizens pursue personal good. In interaction dimension, citizens emphasize on common knowledge. In community dimension, citizens appeal for public good under contestatory democracy. These dimensions imply different norms of civic conduct and public interaction. After elaborating these contents in detail, the dissertation will briefly comment on his theory of civic ethics, believing that it has an advantage when compared with others, while lacks of innovation. Lastly, the enlightenment of Pettit’s theory of civic ethics on China is elaborated, especially on the civic ethics with Chinese characteristic. |
