Bridging Confucian thought and environmental psychology: Defining the anthropocosmic worldview and the virtue of benevolence

Many modern environmental concepts, such as bio-egalitarianism, animal rights, and intrinsic environmental value, emerged from Western societies’ shift away from anthropocentrism. However, this shift may not capture the trajectory of changing environmental concepts in other cultures. This paper explores the conceptual resources of Confucianism and identifies those that may enrich the theoretical toolkit of environmental psychology. Confucianism emphasizes ontological holism and relational interdependence. Echoing this ethos, we carefully defined two focal concepts from Confucianism: the anthropocosmic worldview (Tian-Ren-He-Yi; comprising cosmic oneness, cosmic harmony, and moral anthropocentrism) and the Confucian virtue of benevolence (Ren; comprising all-encompassing self, habitual care, and partiality in care). We compared these concepts with influential constructs in environmental psychology. We discussed relevant future research opportunities. This work contributes to cultural diversity in environmental psychology and may inspire new empirical research directions. • Introduced Confucian ideas to enrich environmental psychology. • Clearly defined the Anthropocosmic Worldview. • Clearly defined the Confucian Virtue of Benevolence (Ren).