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Confucius Jee Loo Liu 1 - HUM
Ethics and Culture (HUM103)
BRAC University
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Con ueius KO砀gzi
t e Ana ects
Introduction
In
In the Western world, Confucius (55 1-479 BeE) is generally regarded as
####### the founder of the moral and political philosophy known as Confucian
####### ism. The connotation is that this philosophy is his philosophy. The
name "Confucianism" is less commonly used in China. In the Chinese tradition, Confucius is seen as the pioneering leader of a school of
####### intellectuals known as " Ru-ists (ru-jia)." Ru-ism is the product of joint
efforts by early "Confucians" including Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi,
####### and the author (or authors) of two classics: the Doctrine of the Mean
####### and the Great Learning. Yijing is also standardly taken to be a founda
tional text for Ru-ism. Confucius himself did not write any systematic philosophical work. His thought is mostly preserved in the collection of
####### his remarks (the Analects), supposedly recorded by his students. Some
other philosophical documents were historically attributed to Confucius
####### ( such as the Commentary on Yi). However, the exact authorship of
these documents cannot be established. In this chapter, we will only deal
####### with Confucius as portrayed in the Analects.
Confucius lived in a time of chaos and corruption, and he spent most of his life traveling from one nation-state to the next in an unsuccessful attempt to morally transform their rulers. His loyal students followed him in his travel so as to receive his teaching. In traditional Chinese society, the completion of education normally leads to political careers, since an intellectual's ultimate goal is to better the world. Some of Confucius' students did manage to obtain of昀椀cial positions and did try to put his political ideal into practice. But in a world where rulers were intent on amassing their power and expanding their territory, the chance of success for a Confucian political program was marginal. Confucius was once described by a contemporary as " the one who knows a thing
####### Ancient Chinese Philosophy
cannot be done and still wants to do it. " l This spirit of "persevering in the good" becomes the de昀椀ning character of all Confucians. . In analyzing Confucius' philosophical concepts, we need to realIze that he did not take a de昀椀nitional approach. As Antonio Cua remarks, " One main dif昀椀culty in understanding Confucian ethics lies in the ab sence of systematic exposition of its basic ideas, such as ren (humanity;
####### humaneness), Ii (propriety), and yi (rightness). ,,2 Confucius did not think
that there could be a universal de昀椀nition for a moral concept, which would be applicable to everyone in every situation. When students asked him to explain an ethical principle, Confucius would give an answer appropriate to each one's particular strengths, shortcomings, or per sonal background. Hence, we often see him giving different answers to the same question, when such questions were raised by different stu dents, concerning the meaning of a certain ethical concept such as "昀椀lial piety. " If we try to 昀椀nd a universal de昀椀nition for a moral concept in his usage, we may end up concluding that he did not have a coherent conception. To understand his moral philosophy, we need to go beyond mere analysis of his moral concepts and look at the whole picture. Confucius says that there is a single unifying principle linking all his moral teachings According to one of his leading students, Zengzi, this principle can be explained in terms of two key elements of Confucius'
####### moral philosophy: one is called zhong, literally translated as "loyalty " ;
####### the other is called shu, literally "empathy. ,,4 Why would loyalty and
empathy be regarded as the " single" thread that uni昀椀es Confucius' moral philosophy? How are the two concepts related? In this chapter, we shall see that the basis of Confucius' moral philosophy is his con struction of a moral/social hierarchical structure, and that both loyalty and empathy must be understood in relation to this structure.
Moral Hierarchy and the Notion of Zhong
(Loyalty)
The goal of Confucius' moral philosophy is to construct a moral struc ture for society. Within this structure, individuals are not all equal in relation to one another. This moral structure corresponds to the polit ical hierarchy, with the emperor on the top, the ministers in the middle, and the people at the bottom. It also corresponds to the familial hierar chy of parents and children, husband and wife, and sibling relation ships, as shown in the chart.
####### Ancient Chinese Philosophy
a mistake. ,, 7 In all these quotes we do not see " loyalty" de昀椀ned as a notion suitable only for a political context. Even in a political context, "loyalty" is de昀椀ned as an attitude toward a task, not toward a person. When a student asks about politics, Confucius says, " Over daily routine, do not show weariness, and when there is action to be taken, [perform with loyalty] ."8 Loyalty is not a devotion directed speci昀椀cally toward one's superior; rather, it is directed toward the role one plays - being loyal means doing one's best in whatever one does. in this sense, loyalty can be de昀椀ned as " doing what one is supposed to do" or " being loyal to one's role. " In other words, a social role is not simply a social assign ment; it is also a moral assignment. Being loyal to one's role means being able to act in accordance with whatever moral obligations come with the social role. Loyalty is thus being loyal to one's moral obligations and ful昀椀lling the duty that one's role dictates. When asked about how to govern, Confucius replies: "Let the ruler be a ruler, the subject a sub ject, the father a father, the son a son.,,9 This is not a trivial tautology. It compares the actual social role one adopts with the ideal moral role one is supposed to exemplify, and asks everyone to act up to the latter.
####### Being loyal to one's role in relation to others is the meaning of zhong.
####### David Nivison analyzes the notion ot zhong as merely a relation
" directed toward superior, or at most toward equals. ,,10 A. C. Graham
####### has a similar interpretation of zhong as "especially of devoted loyalty to
a ruler, but also of wholeheartedness on behalf of inferiors." 1 1 But this
####### understanding only grasps one aspect of the virtue of zhong. Subjects
should naturally show respect toward their superiors, since that-is what the role of a subject commands. A ruler or a minister, however, should do their best to govern the people so as to command respect from them. Both ways of ful昀椀lling the duty appropriate to one's role are covered
####### under the notion of zhong. Confucius once discussed someone who
showed no sign of delight when he was three times appointed of昀椀cer and showed no sign of resentment when he was thrice removed from of昀椀ce. When this man was replaced by someone else, he always made sure that his successor knew how to take over his j ob smoothly. Con fucius thinks that we may not say this person is wise (in that he does
####### not know how to keep his j ob), but he does have the virtue of zhong
( loyalty ). 12 This loyalty is not targeted toward whoever appointed or dismissed him; it is directed toward his j ob. At the same time, one should not meddle in any job or social role which is not one's own. Confucius says: "Do not concern yourself with matters of government unless they are the responsibility of your of昀椀ce. " 1 3 This notion can be compared to Socrates' notion of a j ust city, as expressed in Plato's
####### Republic: "A city is just when everyone does his own job. " When
####### Confucius (Kongzi) in the Analects
people meddle in the affairs of others, then chaos and injustice ensue. If eve䨀yone does his own job and does it as best as he can, then the social structure will be harmonized and well ordered. As Chad Hansen puts it, it will be a "correct" structure. The "correctness" of a social structure is obtained when the name of each social role and its actuality correspond. This is what Confucius calls " the recti昀椀cation of names. " Confucius once said that if he were ever offered a governmental position, his 昀椀rst priority would be to rectify names, because,
lilf names are not correct, speech will not be in accordance with actuality; when speech is not in accordance with actuality, things will not be suc cessfully accomplished. When things are not successfully accomplished, ritual practice and music will fail to flourish; when ritual and music fail to flourish, punishment and penalties will miss the mark. And when punish ment and penalties miss the mark, the people will be at a loss as to what to do with themselves. IS
It is obvious that he takes the recti昀椀cation of names to be the 昀椀rst step
####### toward establishing social order. Why is it so important to make name
####### and actuality correspond with each other? Benjamin Schwartz explains
this relationship between social roles and names in this way:
Thus the language of familial and social roles - words that refer to father, ruler, son, or minister - do not refer simply to bare biological or political facts but... every role is the bearer of its own role-norms. The word "father" carries the implication that the father will "act like a father" as well as the assumption that the language will provide information on how to do SO.
In other words, the function of " names" in the Confucian language plays not just a descriptive role, but also a prescriptive role - they establish rules of conduct appropriate to each name. In such a moral language, names of social roles do not just pick out the social assign ment of various roles; instead, they refer to the ideal categories of " father, " "son, " "ruler, " " minister," etc. Once this language is imposed on human society, it regulates society's relations and its members' behavior. Therefore, the recti昀椀cation of names is not about language per se; it is about action and ethics. Using the recti昀椀cation of names as a means of establishing a correct social structure, Confucius de昀椀nes universal expectations for each social role. That is to say, there are some general guidelines on how to be a father or a mother, how to be a husband or a wife, how to be a brother or a sister, etc. If everyone follows these guidelines and aims to be loyal
####### Confucius (Kongzi) in the Analects
can see that in as early as Confucius' times, there was already an expec tation that sons should support their parents in their old age "Sup porting one's parents with reverence," in today's context, would probably mean that we should not simply give our parents money or send them to a nursing home and let others perform our duty for us. We should serve them with reverence for as long as they live. This teaching was instrumental to the development of the large multi-generational family structures in traditional Chinese society.
Shu (Empathy) : A Confucian Golden Rule
####### The other half of Confucius' "single thread " is the notion of shu (em
pathy). The importance of this virtue in Confucius' moral philosophy can also be seen in another exchange he had with a student. When asked to give one word that can serve as the guiding principle for one's
####### entire life, Confucius replied that it is "shu", and further elaborated:
"Do not impose upon others what you yourself do not desire."21 This moral guideline is sometimes called the Confucian Golden Rule, in contrast with the Golden Rule in the Christian tradition: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. " The Christian Golden Rule commands what one ought to do, whereas the Confucian Golden Rule states what one ought not to do. Are the positive and negative formulations morally signi昀椀cant? If so, which one is a better moral principle? According to Allinson, the positive and the negative Golden Rule are different, and the latter is superior to the former in that ( 1 ) it expresses modesty and humility, (2) it does not presume that one necessarily has knowledge of what the good is - what is good for oneself and whether it would be good for other people, and (3 ) it is less likely to lead to abuse or moral harm to others Ivanhoe calls the Christian Golden Rule "the principle of reversibility. " He says:
Reversibility might be regarded as a formal principle which guides me, in the performance of speci昀椀c actions, to only proper actions - that is, if before I perform a given action, I 昀椀rst conduct a kind of "thought experi ment" and imagine how I would feel if I were in the place of the person or persons who will be affected by my proposed action. If I would be willing to be treated in the way I imagine, then I can act in the proposed way. 23
But one problem with this moral principle, as Ivanhoe points out, is that " it can end up being a disguised way of advocating the adoption of one's personal preferences. For example, 'the principle of reversibility
####### Ancient Chinese Philosophy
would seem to urge a masochist to become a sadist - to adopt the motto: ' hurt others as you would have others hurt you'. ,,24 The Confu cian Golden rule, on the other hand, does not seem to have this prob lem. At 昀椀rst appearance, the negative formulation seems to be a better moral principle. But to see a deeper comparison, we need to consider their applications. Both the Christian and the Confucian Golden Rules concern actions, not j ust preferences, in interpersonal interactions. They are not asking others to adopt an individual's maxims or moral preferences; they are simply asking for the individual's sanction of her own behavior. Both
####### principles are stated as a form of categorical imperative, that is, they
are to be followed not because of some other desired consequences for oneself. Both principles presume that I do not act in a certain way toward others simply because I want them to do the same for me. Both principles are based on the assumption that people's wants and desires are similar and thus we can use ourselves as the measure to gauge other people's minds. Furthermore, any moral consideration for mulated in accordance with the Christian Golden Rule can easily be converted into a moral consideration in the spirit of the Confucian Golden Rule, and vice versa. For example, " wanting others to treat us
####### with respect" can be rendered "not wanting others to treat us with
disrespect" ; "not wanting to be robbed by others" can be rendered "wanting others to show consideration for our property. " Therefore, a good case can be made that the two formulations are basically identical. But a case can also be made to show that the two principles are slightly different. If the Golden Rule is to be used as the only moral principle for our action toward others, then there is no universal guideline for us other than our own wishes. Whether our judgment is morally permissible thus depends on what kind of people we are. The positive formulation of the Golden Rule commands us to do unto others what we would have them do unto us. What would we have other people do unto us? At a mini mal level, we would want others to respect us, to help us when we are in need, to show us love and concern, etc. It is a reasonable demand on us that we do the same for others. However, if we are of the greedier type, then we might want more from others. We might like it that others give us their money, that others forgive all our shortcomings, that others do us great favors with no strings attached. But at the same time, we 昀椀nd it dif昀椀cult to do so unto others. In this case, the Christian Golden Rule becomes an impossible command. A reclusive person may simply want to be left alone. Following the Christian Golden Rule, that person would not do anything for anyone else. Other conceivable problems
####### Ancient Chinese Philosophy
social harmony unless it is accompanied by everyone's empathetic understanding of other people's wishes. In this way, the two notions,
####### zhong and shu ( loyalty and empathy), are equally essential to the estab
lishment of Confucius' ideal society.
Moral Cultivation and the Establishment of
the Moral Ideal: From the Superior Person
(Junzi), to the Man of Humanity ( Ren),
to the Sage (Sheng)
In the Confucian moral society, people are categorized into different groups according to their varying degrees of moral cultivation. One
####### who is morally exemplary is called "the superior person" ( junzi, some
times translated as "the gentleman" ). Those who not only have superior moral characters themselves, but also help others to cultivate them
####### selves, are men of humanity (men of ren); and 昀椀nally, those who can
extend benevolence to all people and bring succor to the multitude, are
####### the sages (sheng)Y The complete moral self-cultivation is a process that
one is committed to undertake throughout one's life. Very few people
####### can actually attain the 昀椀nal state of sheng. If moral perfection is the
end-state of our being, then we are not born perfect. Under Confucius'
####### view, however, we are perfectible.
How to de昀椀ne human nature IS one of the most vital issues in Confu cianism. But unlike later followers, Confucius himself seldom discusses human nature. He focuses more on the pursuit of moral cultivation
####### instead. In other words, Confucius is more interested in what we can
####### become than in what we are born with. But before we understand our
moral goal, we need to have a look at what we are born with. One thing Confucius af昀椀rms about human nature is that people are alike by nature. "Men are close to one another by nature. They diverge as a result of habituation. ,,26 If we are similar by nature, then what is our nature? Confucius holds the view that we are born with righteousness, but we have many desires that can lead us astray. Even he himself could not claim to have all his desires stay within the bounds of propriety until he had reached the age of 70Y Therefore, in his view, we are not
####### born perfect, but we can become perfect.
Confucius uses " habituation" to explain the varying degrees of good ness and badness in people. Habits are formed through repeated prac tices. What kind of practice leads to goodness and what kind of practice
,
####### Confucius (Kongzi) in the Analects
####### leads to badness? In Confucius' distinction of junzi (the superior per
####### son) and xiaoren (the petty person) we get a clue: the concern with
what is right or virtuous itself leads to superior personhood, while the concern with pro昀椀t or possession leads to inferior personhood. As Con fucius says: "The superior person is concerned with virtue; the petty person is concerned with property. The superior person is concerned with sanctions; the petty person is concerned with personal favors. ,, Confucius is not necessarily against wealth or pro昀椀t, but he is against wealth accumulated, or pro昀椀t made, through improper ways. If one wishes morally to cultivate oneself, one needs 昀椀rst to set one's priority on doing the right thing, not on amassing one's own pro昀椀t. When the priority is on pro昀椀t, it is tempting to forgo principles j ust to make a few more bucks. If someone is intent on getting rich, then she may feel ashamed the 昀椀rst time she embezzles money. But through repeated prac tices, she will eventually become habituated in gaining wealth improp erly. Hence, without a secure moral principle, one can easily sink into
####### the category of the petty people.
Confucius also says: "The superior [person] seeks the Way and not a mere living.... The superior [person] worries about the Way and not
####### about poverty. ,,29 To learn the Way (Dao) is the ultimate goal in life;
furthermore, the pursuit of the Way is a never-ending process. If we desire material goods and physical comfort, then we cannot pay full attention to the cultivation of our moral attributes. Confucius says: "A fellow who is ashamed merely 漀昀 shabby clothing or meager food is not even worth conversing with. ,,30 To pay full attention to one's moral growth is constantly to examine oneself. Have I failed to cultivate my virtues? Have I failed to delve more deeply into what I have learned? Have I been able to move in the direction of what I just learned to be right? Have I been able to rectify my own misdeeds? A person interested in the pursuit of the Way is thus always diligent and never self-excusing. As Benjamin Schwartz puts it: "The moral cultivation is a long and
####### dif昀椀cult process, not everyone can accomplish the 昀椀nal goal. ,,31 Those
####### who aim for the 昀椀nal goal are called junzi, the superior person. They
are supenor not by nature, but by their constant practice of self examination and self�reform. Why must we seek to learn the Way and to morally cultivate our selves? Why can't we rest content with our physical comfort? For Con fucius, the goal in life has to do with the meaning of being human. He has an all-embracing moral notion that depicts what it is to be human:
####### ren (humanity). It is dif昀椀cult to 昀椀nd a single moral concept in Western
####### ethics comparable to the notion of reno Ren is not a moral principle that
gives us speci昀椀c guidance in life; nor is it accomplishable by a single act.
####### Confucius (Kongzi) in the Analects
others establish their characters or obtain their goals) rely heavily on the individual's subjective judgment. An obvious dif昀椀culty is this: if we are not born with perfect knowledge of the Way, if the pursuit of the Way is a never-ending process, then we cannot know what we should be doing at any given moment in our life. It seems that we do need some external guidance from time to time. This is where another important
####### Confucian moraI concept, Ii (propriety, rituals), comes in. Li is about
propriety, about what is the right thing to do in a given context. The
####### formalized aspect of Ii is rituals and rites, but there has to be more to
it than this. Rituals and rites are a matter of social conventions, and sometimes they can become inflexible and frivolous. Herbert Fmgarette
####### wrongly interprets Confucius' notion of Ii to represent some kind of
" sacred ceremony" or " holy rites" that have a magical power to shape people's daily behavior Confucius could not possibly think that we should simply do whatever social conventions prescribe without any personal moral judgment. As Antonio Cua points out, " it is ritual, as comprising customs, conventions, or formal rules of proper conduct,
####### that provides the starting point of individual morality. ,,38 In fact, textual
####### evidence shows that Confucius does not interpret Ii to consist merely of
formal ceremonies, and he does not think that morality simply lies in observing the rites. He says: "The superior person regards righteousness as his essence, and practices it in accordance with propriety. ,, 39 In other words, the observance of propriety has to come from an internal moral sense - righteousness. Confucius only uses rituals as an external amend
####### ment to one's subjective state of mind. It is the ideal mental state, ren,
####### which bestows value on rituals. Confucius says: "A man who is not ren
- what has he to do with the ritual? ,,40 It is because a person has ren as her goal that she would want to do what is proper in each context. She would " refrain from looking at that which is contrary to propriety, from listening in a way that is contrary to propriety, from saying things that are contrary to propriety, and from making any move that is con trary to propriety. ,,41 For example, it would not be proper to look at what other people do, or listen to what they say, in their private quar ters. It is not because we have no means to do so; we should simply choose not to do it. I may have a strong urge to peep or to pry, but I should use self-restraint so that all my actions are in accordance with propriety. The essence of propriety comes from self-restraint. The sense of propriety should be established from within a person, not from a rigid set of public rules and social conventions. In our society today, many people do not consider propriety as a standard for their conduct. They might use obscene language in public simply because they feel like it. They might insult others for no reason
####### Ancient Chinese Philosophy
other than that they are in a foul mood. They might act vulgarly simply because they consider it their " right" to do whatever they please. They don't observe social contexts or assess whether their behavior is im proper. They regard self-restraint as a restriction on their personal free dom, and they believe that self-expression takes precedence over social etiquette. However, Confucius teaches that to restrain oneself as a way
####### to return to propriety is simply ren itself. He says: "To master oneself
####### and return to propriety is humanity (ren). If a man (the ruler) can for
one day master himself and return to propriety, all under heaven will return to humanity. To practice humanity depends on oneself. ,,42 Social standards of propriety and social conventions of rites and rituals serve a different function from that of the law. There are many ways in which propriety can be violated. However, for one reason or another we prefer not to establish laws that would ban them altogether. If everyone were concerned with whether or not his or her actions were proper in all situations, there would be less indecent behavior around us. The for malized aspect of propriety - rites and rituals - should serve merely as a reminder of the importance of propriety itself. Through propriety, we
####### preserve human decency - that is how we maintain our humanity (ren).
Therefore, for Confucius, to establish a society that has all its members ful昀椀lling their moral ideals, an emphasis on propriety would be much more effective than the employment of laws and punishments. Here we turn to the 昀椀nal topic, the political ideal for Confucius.
From the Self to the State: The Confucian
Political Ideal
An ideal political state is one that is governed by a ruler who has reached the ultimate goal of moral cultivation. This ideal ruler is called the sage king. In Confucius' opinion, the proper role of government is not j ust to keep its people materialistically grati昀椀ed and physically secure, but also morally to cultivate them. Confucius says: "To govern is to rectify. ,,43 That is to say, the ruler's job is primarily to rectify his people's conduct. To do this, the rulers themselves must 昀椀rst be morally correct. Virtue and rulership are thus inseparable in Confucius' political philosophy. Raymond Dawson describes the Confucian model of gov ernment in this way: " [I]t is an agency for ensuring that the influence and example of men of superior moral qualities is brought to bear on the population. ,,44 Confucius thinks that this ideal of a sage king is not a mere ideal that can never be realized (unlike Plato's "philosopher
####### Ancient Chinese Philosophy
own moral sense and will want to do the right thing of their own accord. Confucius says:
If you try to lead the common people with governmental regulations and keep them in line with punishments, the law will simply be evaded and the people will have no sense of shame. If, however, you guide them with virtue and keep them in line by means of [propriety], the people will have a sense of shame and will moreover reform themselves. 50
Confucius' political philosophy can be sharpJy contrasted with that of Machiavelli. According to Machiavelli, a ruler need only be virtuous when aoinK so will be to his advantage, and sometimes the rufer must learn how not to be virtuous. Machiavelli also says: " It's far better to be feared than loved if you cannot be both."sl He argued that the ruler cannot be idealistic and · must deal with the actual conditions of the world. People in general are sel昀椀sh, 昀椀ckle, forgetful, and greedy. When the ruler's behavior is bound by virtue, he cannot always use the most ef昀椀cient means to deal with his people. But if he uses harsh law and stiff punishment, then he can at least be sure that they would not dare to VIolate his rules. Confucius' political philosophy is exactly the opposite of this kind of Machiavellian politics. He does not see the reality and the ideal as two separate realms. For him, the goal for an individual as well as for a state is always to strive for the ideal. As we saw earlier, this af昀椀nity toward the good is innate in us. When properly inspired, everyone will want to be good and to act in the correct way. It is only when we rest content with the present state and concede the impossibility of improvement that we fail to follow the Way. If, under the moral model of a sage king, everyone were constantly to practice self-examination to see if he were
####### truly loyal to his roles (zhong), if he were to extend himself to empa
####### thize with others (shu), if he were to help others attain their moral
####### ⠀ersonhood (ren), it he took care to observe propriety in all situations
####### (Ii), then the Way (Dao) would prevail and we woufd have an ideal
眀漀rld.
Conclusion
Confucius depicted a lofty ideal for individuals and for the state. His ideal human being is one who never lapses in the pursuit of self improvement. Our moral cultivation is like climbing a virtue ladder - we can always become better since there is always room for improvement.
####### Confucius (Kongzi) in the Analects
####### . Learning to know the Way (Dao) and to lead a life in accordance with
the Way are the ultimate goals in life. Knowledge is for the moral growth of the individual learner; education is for building moral charac ter. But at the same time, Confucius also focused on the moral duty to make others better. A Confucian always thinks of himself or herself as a member of human society. To better oneself is not as good as bettering the whole human race; to have a happy life oneself is not as 'good as making everyone's life happy. The most ef昀椀cient way to accomplish these ends is to improve the po氀椀tics of the state. Therefore, the i deal
####### Confucian is one who is inwardly a moral sage, outwardly a humane
king. By setting up a " moral king" as the ideal, the Confucian political pnilosophy treats virtue and politics as inseparable from each other. On the personal level, what · Confucius teaches is an adherence to virtue in the way one conducts oneself on a daily basis. A virtuous person does not seek recognition from others. As Confucius says, "Do not worry that you are not known to others; worry rather that you
####### yourself lack ability. ,,52 Hence, Confucians should scrutinize themselves
constantly. What one should care about is only whether one's words and deeds correspond to each other, or whether one's reputation matches the truth. Some people only appear to be virtuous and thus earn the respect from their peers, but Confucius calls such a person "the thi�f of
virtue. ,,53 Later on, Mencius would give a nice explanation of thi� phrase:
If you try to condemn them, there is nothing you can point to; if you try to censure them, there is nothing to censure. They are in agreement with the current customs; they are in harmony with the sordid era in which they live. That in which they dwell seems to be loyalty and [faithfulness]; that which they do seems to be blameless and pure. The multitude delight in them; they regard themselves as right. But you cannot enter into the Way of Yao and Shun with them... [Confucius] says, "I hate that which seems but is not. ,,
We can thus conclude that a Confucian is a person who is true to virtue, true to the Way, and true to him- or herself.
Further discussion questions
1 What is the moral justi昀椀cation for a Confucian hierarchy? Is democracy compatible with such a hierarchical structure? 2 What are the different implications between the positive Golden Rule in Christ; �n ethics and the negative Golden Rule in Confucian ethics? Both principles demand that we gauge others' preferences or dislikes on the basis
Confucius Jee Loo Liu 1 - HUM
Course: Ethics and Culture (HUM103)
University: BRAC University
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