Confucius and Ethics

7/29/2019 Confucius and Ethics

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/confucius-and-ethics 1/22

L11: Confucius

• Confucius is a latin form of K‟ung Fu Tzu (551-479 BCE)

• Lived during the Zhou Dynasty but it was during

the Han Dynasty that Confucius‟s and Mencius‟s(Mengzi) teachings were incorporated in thesystem of governance.

• All government officers had to study Confucius‟s

thinking in order to be a government servant.This was replaced only when the Communisttook over in China.



• Lecture 11

• The views of Confucius regarding Ethics

• Ren

Xiao (fillial piety)

• Chun-tzu

• The views of Mencius regarding Ethics &

Morals



Confucianism

• In Confucius ethics, An action is moral if

done for its own sake.

• No consideration for its consequences

• Thus action is to be done: a categorical

imperative.

• Few actions considered to be of thisimportance : Jen / ren [goodness,

benevolence]; yi, li and xiao.



Confucius and Ethics

• Actions which are characterised by ren, yi,

li and xiao are those actions to be done for

its intrinsic value.

• Ren (jen) : benevolence, goodness, love

for others, altruism (regard for others and

humanity)

• Yi : righteousness, correct action or duty

or obligation to do the correct action.



Confucian Ethics

• “Behind Confucius‟s pursuit of the ideal

moral character lies the unspoken and

therefore unquestioned assumption that

the only purpose a man can have and alsothe only worthwhile thing a man can do is

to become as good a man possible. This is

something that has to be pursued for itsown sake and with complete indiference to

success or failure” [Lau, The Analects]



Ethics and Morals

• “Since being moral one can neither beassured of a reward nor guaranteed

success, morality has to be pursued for its

own sake. This is perhaps the mostfundamental message in Confucius‟s

teachings, a message that distinguishedhis teachings from other schools of

thought in ancient China”

• [Lau, The Analects]



Jen / Ren

• Confucius says: “A person who is loving

(ren) will do the actions which are humanly

because he wishes to do it while a person

who is wise will only do the humanly actbecause he believes he will get the benefit

from that action”



Xiao (Fillial Piety)

• “Yu Tzu said, „It is rare for a man whosecharacter is such that he is good as a son and

obedient as a young man to have the inclinationto transgress against superiors; it is unheard of

for one who has no such inclination to beinclined to start a rebellion…Being good as ason and obedient as a young man is perhaps

the root of man‟s character”

• [Analects]• Xiao : Obeying everyone who is superior to us,

including older persons and those of higher social standing.

• Also obedience to the rulers or emperor.



A Moral Action

• An action to be considered moral must

satisfy two main conditions:

– (a) done for its own sake or they are

categorical imperatives

– (b) they are based on principles which are

universal



Universal Principles

• There are two main conditions for

universality to be valid for the moral action:

– No one is exempted from the rule

– The rule is applied equally to everyone who is

the object of the action i.e. no bias or

preference.



Textual Evidences

• Confucius said: “Every human being hasto regard virtue as his responsibility/duty.He cannot pass it to someone else though

that person is his teacher” • “In regards to education, we should not

divide men to different classes”

• “I have never denied instruction to anyonewho of his own accord has given me somuch as a bundle of dried meat as a gift”



Chun-Tzu & Chung

• Two further concepts equal importance inConfucian system are junzi (chun-tzu) andchong (chung).

• “Chun is the most general term for „ruler‟ and a

chun-tzu is a „son of a ruler‟. The term wasapplied to descendants of the ruling house inany state and so came to mean „gentleman‟,

„member of the upper classes‟. But thegentleman is bound by a particular code of

morals and manners, so that the word chun-tzuimplies not merely superiority of birth but also

superiority of character and behaviour”



Chun-tzu & Chung

• “He who follows the way of the Chun-Tzu

is a chun-tzu, while he who follows the

way of “small” i.e. common people is

common (xiao ren).” [Confucius]

• A chun-tzu would have all the moral

qualities discussed before i.e. ren, yi, li

and xiao.



Mencius

• “The heart of compassion is the germ of

benevolence [Ren]; the heart of shame of

dutifulness [Yi]; the heart of courtesy and

modesty of observance of the rites [Li]; theheart of right and wrong of wisdom. Man

has these four germs just as he has four

limbs. For a man possessing these four germs to deny his own potentialities is for

him to cripple himself” [Mencius, II, A6]



Mencius

• We are all born with the potential for

morally good action.

• The capacity for moral action is Innate and

is part of human nature (Xing).

• We are all born with the capacity to feel

certain emotions that cause moral actions



Mencius

• Most important emotions to moral actions:

– (i) Heart of compassion : Ren

– (ii) Heart of shame : Yi – (iii) Heart of courtesy (respect) : Li

– (iv) Heart of right and wrong : Wisdom

• Ren, Yi, Li and Wisdom are four cardinalvirtues according to Mencius.



Mencius

• “One swallow does not make a summer”

• Just by having these emotions do notmake a person a good person or a person

who has acquired the 4 virtues.• These emotions or impulsions CAN

motivate behaviour.

• They need to be developed and nurturedfurther until it becomes a permanentfeature i.e. become a virtue.



Taoism

• Protest against Confucius rejected the

conservatism, literalism and moral rigidity.

• Taoist also share with Confucius in the positive

view of human ethical potential.• In Lao Tzu‟s Tao Te Ching, moral power (te) is

regarded as so integral and natural to humans

that to seek, to nurture, instruct it is to injure it.

• Imposition of moral values upon people will

obscure their innate sense of what is right.



Taoism

• In reality dao is a form of an ethical code

in Taoist teachings.

• Tao is the way of ultimate reality “Those

who know don‟t say, and those who say

don‟t know”

• Tao is immanent (it is the way of the

universe, the driving power in all nature)

• Tao the way man should order his life



Taoism

• Rejects all forms of self-assertiveness and

competition. Taoism has little use for

ambition of wanting to be somebody etc.

• They prefer humility and not arrogance

• “Surrounded by treasure, You lie ill at

ease, proud beyond measure, You come

to your knees, Do enough without vieing,

Be living not dying”



Taoism

• Man should avoid being strident andaggressive not only toward other man butalso towards nature.

• “Those who would take over the earth, andshape it to their will, Never I noticesucceed. The earth is like a vessel sosacred that at the mere approach of theprofane it is marred and when they reachout their fingers it is gone.”



Yin and Yang

• Notion of relativity of all values, thispolarity sums up life‟s basic oppositionsgood-evil, active-passive, light-dark, male-

female etc.• These principles balance and

complements each other.

• Life turns and bends back upon itself untilthe self comes full-circle and knows that atthe centre all things are one.

Documents

Confucius and Ethics