Confucianism: Morality and Confucius

To be a human you must practice the four virtues, benevolence, righteousness, propriety and knowledge. Mencius said, “Since all men have these four principles in themselves, let them know to give them all their development and completion” (Plato, 47). One can practice good virtue by correcting oneself after every failure, eventually developing their true potential. Mencius taught the golden rule, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” as a sure path to achieving goodness. Mencius’s philosophy of human nature consists of obtaining the pure instincts you were born with as a child throughout your life and eventually achieving good virtue humans are capable of

According to the Tao Te Ching 3, Laozi said people should not be praise man’s wisdom to avoid arguments between peoples and should not think highly of goods to prevent theft. The reason why the world is in such a disarray is that people deem highly of the wisdom, scholarship, and the goods. Laozi doesn’t like class society based on people’s difference in terms of ability. He dreamed of a society without rank. He tried to make an equal society. Historically, the Analects of Confucius has been often mentioned when supporting the absolute monarchy in feudal system. Sometimes it has been used by high class in order to hide a social inconsistent as justifying social hierarchy. The difference between two texts is that philosopher Laozi doesn’t support class-society but Confucius accented the hierarchical order. However, the true value of Confucius idea is based on politics of human. In other words, he emphasized that leaders should restore their humanity to avoid society disruption. To be specific, he expected the society to follow this phrase: “Lord should behave like a lord and his retainers should remain faithful to

Confucianism teaches that each person should accept his or her role in society. According to document number five, Confucianism became the basis of order and respect in China. It was central in governing China. The teachings of Confucius were even studied for civil service exams. Essentially, Confucius believed that younger people should show respect and obey anyone who was older, so respect your

The Influence of Confucian Culture on Chinese Culture Introduction Confucian culture, also known as Confucianism, was founded by Confucius during the Spring and Autumn Period, which was developed gradually after the Han Dynasty with benevolence as the core. Since the Han Dynasty, Confucianism was the official ideology and the basis of mainstream ideology in the vast majority of historical periods of China, and it also influenced many southeast Asian countries in history. After a variety of shocks, Confucianism was still the core values of China's social public, and represented the Chinese culture and national tradition in the world (Littlejohn, 2010). In the contemporary society, the Confucian culture in China increasingly spread, at the

This quote from Confucius, to me, applies to both myself and society as a whole. It bears relevance to all people as it is truthful, wise words to follow, and can even serve as a cautionary warning to the young and reckless like myself. Looking at it from really any perspective can prove the quote can be applied by any person, for any person can learn but not use the information, act without thinking, or live as they discover. I ,especially, feel it applies to myself as a person that stubbornly refuses to use information to positively affect myself more often than not.

Confucianism is a belief system of thoughts taught by Confucius in China during the 5th and 6th century BCE during the Zhou dynasty. During this time, China was dealing with serious political conflicts, moral chaos, and intellectual conflict and order were almost non-existent. During this political struggle, Confucius believed that going back to the “traditional ways” was the only path for society to get back on track and developed his thought into what is known as Confucianism. It has existed for over two millennia and has changed over time. Some people refer to Confucianism as philosophy while others view it as a religion. Confucianism is a belief system which can be incorporated into other religious beliefs and forms of religion. This belief system has heavily influenced politics and life in China and neighboring places.

According to Reid, a few of the major “Confucianism” ethos and practices involve ‘Ren’, ‘yi’ and ‘li’ which represents the concept of ‘altruism’ along with clear depiction of the humanness for other individuals (Reid 29-66).

Mencius is known for his view that human nature (xing) is good, while Xunzi is known for his view that human nature (xing) is evil. This paper will demonstrate the substantive differences between Mencius’ and Xunzi’s ethical thinking that are conveyed through these two slogan-like statements, while also considering the implications of such differences for other aspects of their different views like the self-cultivation process. This paper will begin by explaining Mencius’ reasoning for why our human nature is good followed by his view on the self-cultivation process. Additionally, this paper will conclude with Xunzi’s argument for why our human nature is evil and his view on the self-cultivation process.

Both St. Augustine’s Confessions and Confucius’s Analects are significant teachings that have influenced people around the world not only in ancient times but in current history as well. Both doctrines provide discussion on the ethical values of society back in the ancient time they were written and lead us to discover similarities between the two beliefs. Although we find these connections, there are significant differences between St. Augustine and Confucius’s views on life and beliefs since they were living in different time periods and environments. Their experiences are the influencers that have impacted to the way that philosophies and traditions have grown today between the West and the East. I agree that Confucius celebrated social

When Western people think of Confucianism, they often think of it in a past sense- as something only relevant to ancient China that cannot be applied to modern day society. However, what these people fail to realize is that Confucianism’s roots have been so integrated into China’s society that the

Confucianism and Its Implications in Modern China Confucianism is a time enduring philosophy that has stood up to invading clans, war, resentment, enforcement and infringement of new philosophies, and eventually, revival. For almost 80 years, up until the late 1970’s, Confucianism and its ideas and values have been all but

     Confucius’s counsel and guidance recorded in The Analects instilled wisdom when they were first recorded and continue to provide a thought provoking analysis of life and the checkpoints that guide it. The Master’s commentary on restraint, diligence, decency, and citizenship are well intended and relevant. Politics and the role of government also come under scrutiny as Confucius offers his insights in bettering the organization of power. His proverb-like admonitions use clear examples of everyday life allowing them to be understood and easily digested. Confucius’s own eagerness and willingness to share goodness he experienced makes it easier to apply and practice in one’s own life.

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

Mencius:The Conventional Life Mencius states that “...if one is without the heart of compassion, one is not a human” (Mencius, 2A.6), which is a quote that captivates the essence of Mencius’s conventional life rather well. The conventional life is a lifestyle that focuses on the idea of all humans being born with these natural tendencies to be good, as well as to do good things. However we choose to care for these seeds planted within us will ultimately decide how we as humans treat others in this world. This conventional life contains the most convincing philosophy in my opinion, for it focuses primarily on the concept of humans being born as “good”, and choosing from that point on if they will use their natural born tools to remain “good”, or stray away from that path entirely.

Human Nature in Confucianism The concept of human nature is somewhat debated in Confucianism and its followers. In the absence of a personal or supernatural god in this belief system, the question of whether someone is inherently good or evil does not have the same importance as it does otherwise. For example, Christians believe that they are created with sin and must create a certain form of relationship with their god to live a moral life. However, without such a personal god, the focus is more on human behavior than and sort of dogmatic debate. In fact, Confucius hardly ever touches on this issue but noted that "by nature men are similar; by practice men are wide apart" (Confucius, N.d.).