Good Versus Neutral . In The Fourth Century B.C.E., A Fervid

Mencius once again underscores the people’s role in the heavenly mandate and declares their right to either abide by or revolt against a ruler. Mencius claims that “rulers only possessed the Heavenly Mandate to rule so long as they retained the hearts of the people . . . For Mencius, the human heart was ‘endowed with the ability to judge between right and wrong’ and constituted ‘a bridge linking man with Heaven’” (Glanville 331). Mencius’s belief in the ability of the heart to determine right or wrong gives the common people authority and power to identify whether a ruler is worthy of the mandate and the favor of the heavens. Consequently, it is imperative that the ruler retains the people’s support as negative sentiments can lead to dissent and organized revolt amongst the people. This emphasis on the intimate and powerful link between the people and the heavens is translated in Mencius’s concept of the “ultimate supremacy of the people.” Mencius declares that “The people are of supreme importance; the altars to the gods of earth and grain come next; last comes the ruler” (Glanville 332). Mencius prioritizes the

The quest towards developing the ideal human character is sought after in both the Bhagavad-Gita and Confucius’ The Analects. In the Bhagavad Gita, the concept of sacred duty is prevalent throughout the text, as the warrior-prince Arjuna faces a moral dilemma throughout the story. In Confucius’ The Analects, filial piety is a virtue which impacts an individual’s character in relation to the Confucian religion. Sacred duty within the Gita requires the protection of one’s dharma, which is defined as the religious and moral law that manages an individual’s actions. Within Confucian thought, filial piety is a virtue of respect for one’s elders, ancestors, and parents within a community. Despite the differences between the contextual meanings of developing the ideal human, both the Bhagavad Gita and The Analects utilize their teachings towards developing ideal human character within the themes of sacred duty and filial piety with the goal of establishing a set of communal ethics to be maintained through different caste systems, essentially protecting the existing social structure. To argue this claim, I will begin by analyzing the similar intentions of deviating from selfish actions and thoughts to develop ideal human character. I will then express how the nature of this character leads towards the development of one’s sacred duty and filial piety. I will then connect these two ideas to show how together they work to develop a communal set of ethics aimed at maintaining order

At some point in time we have all wondered what it means to human, and what we are supposed to do with our lives. Throughout the centuries, there have been gradual changes in what it means to be human. Through Pico della Mirandola we will how man became the measure and took the place of God, through Charles Darwin we will see how nature and science began to take the place of man, and through the art of Friedrich we can visually see all of these changes.

Both St. Augustine’s Confessions and Confucius’s Analects are influential teachings that have a vast influence on people around the world in the ancient time and currently. Both doctrines discuss ethical values of society back during the time they were written and leads us to find some similarities between the two. There are substantial distinctions between Confucius and St. Augustine’s experiences and beliefs since they are living in different environments and time periods. Their insightful differences are the influences that contributed to mold the distinct philosophies and traditions between the West and the East today. I

Studied and debated for generations, is the conflict of Nature versus Nurture in the development of the human population; nature being the genetics that makes up the new human being and nurture being any other influences in the environment, such as: pre-natal health, care givers, location of development, education systems, and more. Some regard all happenings in a life time to genetics. Everyone is pre-destined by the genes from their parents to do certain things. An example of this would be if the child’s parents are both in jail, then the child would be a criminal as well; or if both parents are saints than the child will be an innocent being. As Berger says, children are innately good or bad in the view of people who see nature as the

Hsun Tzu's philosophy is built from the idea that human beings are by nature inherently evil, and the good they produce will only come through their conscious activity. Hsun Tzu believes that if man follows his nature and indulges in his natural desires, without transforming himself by conscious activity he is doomed to fall victim to his evil nature. "Any man who follows his nature will inevitably become involved in wrangling and strife, will violate the forms and rules of society, and will end as a criminal." Despite the pessimistic tone of Hsun Tzu's message he does propose conscious activity as a solution to man's evil. This paper will examine Hsun Tzu's perspective in light of both Mencius

The Roman Empire is well known for their patriarchal society, and for being a society in which a person’s morals and virtues were a prudent portion of their identity. In ancient times, Roman’s based a majority of their philosophy off of their moralistic standards. The Romans began to distinguish themselves through applying their morals and virtues to their philosophy, and in turn became a society in which an individual’s actions were governed in large part, by their moral compass. A classic example of this application can be seen in the Roman concept of pietas. For Roman citizens, the idea of pietas, or “dutifulness” was a highly important aspect of an individual’s life (Sayre, 2015). Although the concept of pietas was applicable to all Roman citizens, it was especially important to males, particularly fathers, who were to be regarded with the upmost respect and revered to the greatest extent possible. The following essay will discuss the definition and significance of the Roman concept of pietas, and will provide the reader with a example of how Roman’s applied this concept to their everyday lives.

The debate of whether man is born entirely good or evil is a universal discussion that never seems to resolve. Even though a human is a complex individual who cannot be defined by a simple assessment, the people of today are convinced that there is a straightforward explanation as to why acts of wickedness exist. Some believe negative influences taint the naturally innocent heart of man, while others suppose evil men are born with an unavoidable capacity for darkness. This however, suggests that the wicked are created from birth without morals or the ability to be considered righteous. Despite the theories that exist, good and evil are not always separate. Man typically is neither solely good or bad, but a combination of the both. In the

　　Equality 7-2521 conviction in the validity of his societies social values was crumbling. He reflects that “strange are the ways of evil… we are defying the will of our Councils” (Rand, 36) and that “never, not in the memory of the Ancient Ones’ Ancients, never have men done that which we are doing” (Rand, 37). He remarks with some astonishment that his activities caused him no feelings of guilt. He was shocked to realize that “in our heart there is the first peace we have known in twenty years” (Rand, 37).

The governing legal, moral and religious codes of ancient civilizations were written and enforced by a minority that exercised power and authority over the majority. This minority consisted of priests, rulers and elites with established power and influence in society. In these codes of early civilizations, there was an overarching emphasis on maintenance of structure and order in society. Simply put, while these codes reflect the conditions, needs and values of the times in which they were formulated, they also unveil the authors’ agendas to preserve their power by maintaining the status quo. Therefore, these codes acknowledge and uphold the prevailing social, gender and racial inequalities as natural conditions of human existence and reveal the manifold biases present in early civilizations.

Every culture ever known has operated under a system of values. Many varied on exact principles, but most applied the idea of Natural Law. Or, as C.S. Lewis would refer to it in his Abolition of Man, the Tao. In this particular book Lewis discusses the implications that would follow could man overcome this basic value system that has been in place since the development of rational thought. However, paradoxical as his opinion may seem, he holds that to step beyond the Tao is to plunge into nothingness. Simply put, it is his claim that to destroy, or even fundamentally change, man’s basic value system is to destroy man himself.

A few thousand years ago, three sets of laws were composed that show remarkable similarities in their instructions on how to live a moral and righteous life. Although they were written hundreds of miles apart from each other, and in totally different cultures and civilizations, the Edicts of Ashoka, the Bible, and Hammurabi’s Code all elucidate the moral principles of self-control, justice, and abstention from harming living beings.

For the past two-thousand years, the Book of Genesis has served as work of literature to the western civilization. Whether people believed in the Bible or not, the Book of Genesis tell stories they talk about having good morals, teaching live-learned lessons and overall it gives a glimpse of how the first human being acted when the world was developing and how they handle problems and situations. However, even though the book of Genesis shows a tone of life long morals, Genesis also shows the different sides of humans. Genesis shows how human can be deceitful, evil, and disobedient to authority figures. But these traits with humans were rarely displayed by man, but mostly by woman. In

Philosophy can best be described as an abstract, scholarly discourse. According to the Greek, philosophia refers to ‘love of knowledge’. This is an aspect that has involved a great number of clever minds in the world’s history. They have sought to deal with issues surrounding the character of veracity and significantly exploring the endeavors to respond to these issues. This paper seeks to compare and contrast the philosophy of Aristotle with that of Confucius. This is with a clear concentration on the absolute functions of these philosophies and how they take care of the particular responsibility of a person and the broader society and the resultant effects on societies (Barnes, 1995).

Known today as the "Nature versus Nurture" debate, the question of human social conduct and character development has remained a topic of interest for many philosophical discussions. Centered around the natural and socially constructed, ancient Greeks referred to this debate as physis versus nomos – is individual behavior a primary product of custom and convention or absolute natural fact? Greek mythology addresses this dichotomy of mankind through scenarios of interaction between man and the supernatural. The juxtaposition and/or separation of physis and nomos in this way is found in many myths, an overt strategy that is used to convey Greek ideas of inherent moral responsibility.