Confucius once said, “If you strive for virtue, you will be free of evil.” In the simplest of terms, it could be said that Confucianism ultimately strives for virtue and order. Confucius’ contemplative way of addressing virtuous living may establish Confucianism as more of a philosophy than a religion. Specifically, it is “a moral philosophy with ethics at its core.” It is based on hierarchical relationships, and it focuses on superiority or inferiority within said relationships. One major facet of its practice is its integration into Chinese government and culture. Because of the religion’s close ties to government and state identity, it is also closely tied to the guidance of human behavior. Improper human behavior is the greatest evil, in that it fails to promote order in society. Confucianism approaches evil in such a way that minimizes its roots and consequences while maximizing the role of sole human responsibility, that which is contrary to the Christian perspective.
Confucian thought is heavily saturated with ideals of societal order, so sin and evil are primarily thought of as improper behavior. Essentially, all men are born alike, but it is their behavior that sets them apart as being virtuous or otherwise. Therefore, all mankind is capable of becoming superior in their deportment. However, Confucius stated that “those who comprehend virtue are few and far between,” which contributes to the problem of evil. The ability to act virtuously comes from the
Nuyen (123) has also contended that Mencius considers Heaven to qualify and delegate ruling rights to whom they (heaven) deem fit to carry out its intention. By that, Mencius will only consider the upper ruling class to be able to make appropriate decisions for the people because they are the only ones who can interpret Heaven’s will. In Chinese philosophy, many see that it is possible to become like a God, hence many stress on the importance of ‘doing good’ and being moral to achieve that bestowing status. Confucians first maintained that there was a morality that was mandated by heaven, and that it was a pivotal purpose for humans to safeguard what was given to them by the heavens (Scarpari, 323). Hence, development of our morality is also part of heaven’s will for humans (Loubna, 181). If desire is constituted as part of human nature, we need to find a balance that aims to fulfil our needs while at the same time, not compromising on the natural flow of life with any negative impact (Wu,
Confucianism discuss their role in Chinese society by empathy for suffering, pursuit of morality and justice, respect for ancient ceremonies, and adherence to traditional social relationships, such as those between parent and child, elder and younger sibling, husband and wife, and ruler and subject. Stressing that the deference to age and rank that is at the heart of the Confucian social order brings a reciprocal responsibility. For example, a king’s legitimacy depends on the goodwill of his people. A ruler should share his joys with his subjects and will know his laws are unjust if they bring suffering to the people. Confucianism had a profound impact on
One of the oldest philosophies in Chinese history is Confucianism. At the time of the warring states, Confucius wandered throughout China seeking a ruler who accepted the Confucian way. Since then, his ideas grew and are still relevant today. Throughout time other philosophers, Mengzi and Xunzi, have interpreted Confucius’ teachings and have long debated whether human nature is good or bad. I argue that human nature is not, as Mengzi believes, inherently good, instead, completely self-interested.
Confucianism and Daoism are two very influential Chinese philosophies. Originating during a time of chaos and separation of the Chinese people, it was the Golden Age of China intellectual thought blossomed. While both are two separate philosophy’s, it was common for people to follow a blend of both beliefs. These moral codes sought to lead order amongst the political disorder disintegration. The existential thinkers of Confucianism and Daoism preached their doctrines to the people of China and gained followers no matter if they were or were not successful and political additions. Through the comparison of Confucianism and Daoism, both originated in China and both focus on self-improvement, but their social gender inferiority and goal of philosophy set them apart making them both alike and different one from another.
The paper discusses both the Confucian moral theory and virtue logic in broader perspectives. The Confucianism looks at moral thoughts as a broad aspect of morality in our society. This is the reason why Xinzhong Yao argues in his book that morality can only start with individuals. The author outlines Ren as one of the primary moral principles which help the individuals for self-establish thus also establish others. The Confucians hold a strong belief that morality is constant for everyone and that it is not one of the things a person can choose to do or not do. One of the founders of Confucianism is Mencius that poses some questions with regards to morality. He argues that everyone who is morally upright has ever experienced a force of
Rather than assuming the good in men and providing adequate education for all who are willing to serve the state in the case of Confucianism, and instead of encouraging withdrawal from hierarchical structure into nature like Daoism, Legalism makes use of strict legal codes and enforcement of such codes to dispel the evil of human nature. Han Fei Zu lays the groundwork for an orderly social and political structure to reroute the bad tendencies of humanity towards the betterment of the state.
Confucianism, often mistaken as a religion, is a philosophical system that helped shaped society during Ancient China from 551-479 B.C. A Chinese philosopher named Confucius developed the idea in hopes of eliminating China’s problem of disorder in society. The ideology of Confucianism helped Ancient China build a foundation to establish institution and social order. Confucius intent was to create social harmony in society, and in order achieve social harmony; individuals must live by moral examples of superiority. This entailed unequal relationship in human society: the father has power over his son, the husband has power of his wife, the older brother has power over his younger brother, the eldest son has power over his mother, and of course, leaders had power of individuals. With this idea, Confucius believed that this would create equal balance between the importance of families and the importance of state and nation. Juggling between these the importance of families and state had people question whether or not individuals were able to maintain serving the nation and state while fulfilling their family’s obligations. In this paper, I will be researching whether or not Confucianism benefited Ancient China’s society as a whole, or if the idea of Confucianism leads to social destruction rather than social harmony with the help of two articles. In Cui Dahua “A Weakness in Confucianism: Private and Public moral,” and Wellington Koo
In this Essay I will be discussing Confucianism. By some people’s viewpoint Confucianism is a religion and by others viewpoints it is a philosophy. This is because Confucianism does not worship a God, or higher being, and they do not perform specific practices or many rituals. The famous philosopher Confucius founded Confucianism in the 5th Century BC in China. In this essay I will be focusing on three aspects of religion in Confucianism: Teachings, Rituals, and beliefs of Gods, or Supernatural beings. Confucianism focuses on the person and posses no expression of a God, or higher being. Followers of Confucianism lifestyle consist of schooling and exhibiting a positive, kind and warmhearted demeanor. Although Confucians do not follow certain rituals or practices they express the same importance or values for bettering one’s life and spreading love as other religions.
Confucianism has been around for more than two millennia and has continued to thrive on its values, expand its following, and inscribe itself into our history and beliefs. While Confucianism can be broad, it can also be intricate in the sense where there are five major concepts within this way of life. With this being said, the five concepts were named “The Five Regulations” where it contained the five Confucian virtues. These social and ethical philosophies around the way of life rooted from Confucius and the Chinese heritage where respect and education were highly emphasized to where “the Confucian concept of learning has played an important role in everyday school culture of the East Asian countries since Confucius placed learning at the very center of his teaching” (Kwak, Kato, Hung). While learning and education played a major role in Confucianism, there are also five major Confucian East Asian concepts that the Chinese lived by which included “humaneness” also known as “ren,” “righteousness” also known as “yi,” “ritual and propriety” also known as “li,” “wisdom” also known as “zhi,” and “faithfulness” also known as “xin.” Even though the “Five Regulations” stand as the main Confucian concepts, in Confucianism there are also beliefs called the “Five Bonds,” that exist. To this it states that a, “ruler to ruled, father to son, husband to wife, elder brother to younger brother, friend to friend” are the relationships were the concepts should fall into.
Confucianism, a system of societal and ethical philosophies, was founded on the principles of social rituals (li), and humanism (ren) during a time of social upheaval in the early Zhou Dynasty (476 BCE - 221 BCE). Opposing the commonly practiced Legalist mindset of strict law and statecraft, practitioners of Confucianism attempted to embody an ethical core of Chinese societal behaviors that would root a stable social order. Establishing cultural patterns of behavior and religious rituals that were to be personified through generations of human wisdom, an era of “civilized society” had begun. Thus the success of Confucianism was, and still is, directly contributed to its strong foundations in socio-ethical teachings.
Confucianism promotes virtues policy, and believes that to achieve a harmonious social is through self-cultivation, become virtues and doing one’s utmost to others, instead of having a specific law which regulates people with the consequences of rewards and punishments. Because once you choose to become a person of merit, then they will naturally become a role model to others. people would look up to the exemplary person and become good, therefore there is no need for the law and punishment. However, to become an exemplary person is ver hard. It requires the person to the commitment to appropriate conduct, ritual propriety, and humanity.
The Analects explore the teachings of Confucius. This source explores the reconstruction of contemporary Confucianism. The importance of this reference in regards to the essay is that it is a real-time indicator of how influential the teachings of Confucius are despite the time gap of when it was first implemented within the society. This source dives into the affect that Confucianism has on traditional Chinese culture and is particularly important as a form of knowledge in the traditional Chinese culture. This source supports the fact that the teachings of Confucius had a great enough impact on every dynasty, and society after the Han Dynasty, and why unification would be made easy since nearly everybody is abiding by the same set of rules, there are little to no wildcards in this harmonious
Confucian thought is dominated by the integral idea that each man is fundamentally good, and that man only devolves from this state if faced with outside forces. Confucius emphasized these points when reviewing how best to solve the incessant disorder within China during the Spring and Autumn period. This period of disorder was the primary cause of Confucius’ teaching, with him seeking to remedy the chaos by encouraging people within China to live life according to his doctrine. According to Confucius, “there has never been a man who is not disrespectful to superiors and yet creates disorder. A superior man is devoted to the fundamentals (the root). When the root is firmly established, the moral law (Tao) will grow” (Chan p. 20). Here, Confucius emphasizes
The Analects, a record of the words, acts and discussions of Chinese philosopher Confucius and his disciples, has been said to be the “Bible” of the Chinese people. 2000 years on, it is still setting the standards for individual conducts, administration of governments and communities. How has his teachings inspired a way of life that has been so dominant until today? The growth and success of Chinese societies worldwide have bore testament to his teachings. Confucian culture has outperformed others in more ways than one. When people see a correlation between gaining positive results and outcomes, and the practice of his philosophy, the belief grows. As a result of this, people continue to believe and attempt to live by his philosophies, in the hope of attaining the same success.
Traditional Confucianism focuses on social ethics, encouraged and exemplified by the government. Benevolence towards each other and strong will for the well being of others was greatly motivated by the teachings of Confucius. The emphasis on the education by the “ru” was an important aspect in creating the ideal cadres and rulers of