Lessons of the dragon: Bruce Lee and perfectionism between East and West

Abstract

This article endeavors to understand the work of Bruce Lee, particularly his appearance on the US television series Longstreet (1971–1972), with reference to the philosophical concept of perfectionism. Although in extant scholarship Lee has often been presented as an anti-Confucian figure, this article reexamines Lee’s Confucian connections vis-à-vis perfectionism. By virtue of an investigation into the centrality of the concepts of character, volition, and self-actualization in Confucianism, in conjunction with an analysis of their prominence in Western (specifically, Aristotelian and Emersonian) philosophy, this article situates Lee between Eastern and Western perfectionist traditions. This article then examines Lee’s work on Longstreet in an effort to elucidate the perfectionist ethos that fueled Lee’s philosophy of Jeet Kune Do and, by extension, his media pedagogy regarding teaching and learning martial arts. Ultimately, this article argues that Lee represents a quintessential perfectionist pedagogue and that the most important lessons to be learned from Lee involve such perfectionist hallmarks as building character, cultivating virtue, and self-actualizing.