The fundamental purpose of Neo-Confucianism was: a. to re-assess the worth of the individual within traditional Chinese society. b. to preserve the essentials of the traditional Chinese way of life in the face of Western advances. c. to diminish the disproportionate influence of the aristocracy. d. to broaden the base of literacy in Chinese society. e. to unite the metaphysical speculations of Buddhism and Daoism with the pragmatic Confucian approach to society..

-the fundamental purpose of Neo-Confucianism was to unite the metaphysical speculations of Buddhism and Daoism with the pragmatic Confucian approach to society.

Explanation:

the historians cited in the article all agree with one another about the cause of the civil war. despite coming from different backgrounds and cultures, the historians agree that slavery was the root cause of the civil war. the fact that all these historiansgenerally agree with one another makes their shared viewpoints more reliable and valid, especially because the historians have different backgrounds and all work for the well-respected institutions of howard university, clemson university, and the university of colorado.