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CONFUCIUS AND AFRICA: REN AND MAAYA ON THE MEANING OF HUMANISMBY

Seiko Ouoioguem (Ph.D Candidate)

AbstractIn agreeing that humanism is a universal value, Confucian andAfrican philosophicalthought conceive man as entirely part of society-man's primary life objective is notlimited to self-fulfilment, but rather to the attainment ofthe well-being ofthe communityas a whole. In the Chinese and African perspectives respectively, the source of thepower thatallows man to assume this social responsibility is Ren and Maaya. In bothphilosophical contexts, Ren and Maaya are considered the essence of the humanbeing. As such, every individual in society is expected to dedicate his life to attainingthe well-being of the community through the practice of his daily life. From thisviewpoint I suggest that in pursuing individual interests, members of society are notinevitably contradicting community interests. In other words, individual interestsare notnecessarily the antithesis of public interest. Such an understanding of humanismprovides ample possibility to humanize today's highly individual-centered societies andhasthe greaterpotentiai ofallowing human beings to reclaim their humanity.

IntroductionI

' From a geographical context, Africa and China seem worlds apart. However, an Interestingconvergence becomes apparent when It comes to fundamental ways of the expression of the conceptof humanity in both societies. In the Chinese context, Ren (•) translates to humaneness or humanity,and Is conceived as the essence of man. Ren is not only the core of Confuclus's moral and politicalthought, but also the fundamental element of his position on humanism. He envisions man as acompletely Integrated and subordinated element of society, playing a specific role to assure theharm^y of the community. Therefore, the Individual has to work towards the realization of aprosperous and harmonious society. Maaya, the core of Mallan conception of humanism, alsoconcelyes man as an integral part of the community. The Individual has to behave according to therules established in the community, since the fate of the Individual is tied to that of the community.Hencej the Individual's prosperity and happiness must be Inserted Into those of broader societaihappiness. The will to achieve this emanates from the love man has for fellow human beings, whichdraws ts existencefrom Maaya.

IDespite the similarities between Ren and Maaya on their conception of man as wholly part ofthe community, there are some divergences about how members of society should Hve their daily lives

5 h^3nlstlc' manner. The main aim ofthls study, is to show the humanist values embodied in Renand Maaya, and to explore the ways In which they can contribute to the humanlzation of anincreasingly'dehumanizing'world.

Renand Maaya: Essence of Human Being,Ren (•) like other Chinese ethical terms, has no proper correspondent vrard In English or

other western languages. This has led scholars to translate Ren by different words such ashumanity, 'goodness' and so on. Since Ren (•) contains all these different words, for purposes ofease ofreference theauthor has decided to utilize the piylh translation ofRen.

It Is Important to clarify that, although Ren is the core of Confuclus's thinking, he is not thecreator of the word. Ren already existed In Zhou classics such asZuozhuan (••) and Guoyu (••). Inthese cla^lcai books the meaning of Ren Is the love of the king or superior for his followers orsubjects. Confucius has given to the word Ren a richer sense, assigning It a universal ethical andphilosophical ^ntent. Ren's components are the character (read ren) which indicates a person, andthe character (reader) indicating the number two. From this, it appears clearly that, Ren is not only theessence of a numan being, shared naturally, by everyone, but also a relational moral value. Tounderstand ^e real meaning of Ren as the essence of the human being, we have to appreciate thatConfucius s interpretation of the word Ren was founded on the origins of the word. Ren's origin is Tian(•) whidh IS the origin of everything including human beings. The Master said, "By nature manresembles each other, by habit they are far apart" (Analects, BK. XI. II). In this assertion Confuciusannounces that Ren is an Inborn quality. This contention however fails to explain the existence ofbadness in some members of society, for if Ren is an inborn quality, how do such individuals comeinto existence? The conviction that Ren is an innate quality is explicit in Mencius though, which leadshim to argue that 'Anybody can become Yao and Shun'. It should be mentioned here that in order to

Sophia; ArH«.Trican Journal of Philosophy and Public Affairs, Vol. 9No. 2. April, 2007. pp 87-94

understand the innateness of the characteristic Ren, one should begin first, by understanding thedifferent forms that'Ren manifested itself in Confucian thinking.

Ren, in Confucian thought exists in two forms: the potential existence and the complete, fullydeveloped or achieved existence. The potential existence-form of Ren is the one shared by everyonenaturally. This form of Ren gives everyone equal condition to become a responsible, full fledged moralagent or gentleman, junzi (••). By giving the possibility to everyone to perform and become agentieman through the practice of propriety li (•), Confucius discarded the prevailing thinking in theZhou dynasty that only members of the aristocratic class can perform the role of gentlemen. Inarguing that the potential existence form of Ren is innate in every member of society, Confucius thuspresented a radical alteration to the meaning of gentleman.

Before' Confucius, the word junzi only had a social and political content. It was used todistinguish socially, politically and economically higher ranking people from commoners without anyrelation to their morality. From Confucius point of vievy however, Junzi means a well cultivatedindividual with high moral standards. His meaning de-links social or political rank from the definition,which effectively means that anybody can achieve the status of Junzi. The Master said, "I have neverseen a person who devoted himself to Goodness, but I have seen many who detested wickedness.The person who devotes himself to Goodness thinks nothing but Goodness. Those who detestwickedness, but I have seen many who detested wickedness would, for the sake of Goodness,prevent wickedness from approaching them... Have I ever seen a person who would complain that noone lacks the strength for this effort? Perhaps there is such a person, but I have not seen one."(Analects BK. IV. 6). From this assertion we come to understand that no one lacks the strength torealize the complete Ren and become junzi, renzhi (•-)or even a saint shengren (••). Bysaying thathe had never seen anyone given up such an attempt because one had not the strength to go on,Confucius proves and emphasizes firstly, the potential existence form of Ren as a natural ability toperform all moral values in order to become a good man, and secondly that this form is inherent inevery individual. The firm belief in the above argument leads Confucius to argue that, "There is adifference in instruction but none in kind" (BK. XV. 13). Confucius essentially emphasizes that,through instruction and education anyone can equally attain the goal of becoming a gentleman orsaint. Thereby, we come to understand that the potential form of Ren is naturally shared by everyoneincluding the commoners, xiaoren (••).

The second form of Ren, is the fully realized, developed, and complete one. To reach thishigher form of Ren, one should behave according to the rule of propriety li (•). Propriety is anotheressential ethical and political term in Confucian thought. The jaropriety is the sine quanon condition ofthe existence of any human community. This is because .propriety determines various kinds ofrelationships among members within any community, incluiding familial, social, and politicalrelationships.

When Duke Ching ofCh'l asked Confucius about statesmanshipConfucius replied, bysaying,"Let the prince be a prince; the minister a minister; the father a father; and the son a son; howevermuch grain I may have, will I be able to eat it?" (BK. XII. II). Hence, Confucius pointed out that,everyone as a member of the community has a function determined by propriety li (•) and has to actin accordance with the rule of propriety, this is essential for the existence of a society.

However, it should be ernphasized that the propriety is not independent element from Ren.On the contrary, the propriety is actually the externalisation of Ren because the latter is 'internal,'existing innately in all mankind and can be externalised only through the propriety. Van Hui askedabout Goodness, the Master answered, "Goodness is self-restraint and observing propriety. Onlywhen a ruler can restrain himself and observe propriety will the people under his rule abide inGoodness. Doing good must begin with oneself." "is it good to expect others to do good while heexcludes himself?" Van Hui asked, "May I be given the important items of Goodness?" The Mastersaid, "To look at nothing which defies propriety; to listen to nothing which defip propriety; to speak ofnothing which defies propriety; to do nothing which defies propriety." Van Hui replied, "Though I amnot bright Iwill try to practice what you said" (BK.Xil. I). It is only through the practice ofpropriety, thatone can fully develop Ren and become a complete man. At the sametime, Confucius argues that onewho lacKS Ren cannot behave according to propriety, and cannot practice music. Here Confuciusused the term music for its ethical meaning, and not for its more common meaning.

According to Confucius, social and political troubles, in the Autumn and Spring periods, weremainly caused by the decay of morality due to the loss of the ethical substance of propriety and music- Ren. In this regard, Confucius said, "A man who is not good, what can he have to do with ritual? Aman who is not good, what can he have to do with music?" (BK.III. 3). It appears clearly that, the prepossession of Ren is a sine quanon condition to practice the propriety (•) and music (c). This asalready pointed out, is because without Ren (•), propriety li (~) becomes ah empty 'stool'. Therefore,

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the fully developed, complete Ren can only be achieved through the practice of propriety. Conversely,Ren is the substance of propriety without which, it becomes ethically empty and meaningless.

Concerning the relation between Ren and //, David L. Hall and Roger T. Ames pointed outthat, "Propriety is the ethical etiquette which constitutes human culture as distinct from mere nature,and without it there would be no human society. Ren, however, is the necessary corrective which is toprotect the conventional ethos against degenerating into a superficial and exploitable formalism onceagain." (123)." therefore, the fully developed Ren is inseparable from propriety li, and theircorribination and concrete existence are observed by the gentleman. Those who fail to get to thishigljer level of Ren become the so-called xiaoren (••).

Essentially, Ren is the essence of the human being, making him a unique moral age: amongother beings, with the capacity to show love and sympathy toward others purely for ttu; s.-ke ofGoodness. Maaya is a Bamankan word, the national language of Mali. Mali is located la vvosternAfrica. Maaya means humanism, however there has not been any systematic study of Maaya as yet.There is a report of a symposium organized by the Ministry of Culture in 1997on Maaya, but thedo^ment has never been published. In this document, Maaya was defined as, "The whole moral,spiritual and intellectual values which make an individual a social being who knows his duty and right.Maaya is knowing what is good behaviour, and actually practicing that good behaviour" (15)

The term Maaya is composed of Maa, which means human being and -ya the suffix.In their daily lives, Malians use the term Maaya to make differences first, between human bomgs andanimals, and secondly, between good people and bad ones. Maaya as a quality that dist "c;uisheshuman beings from animals is self-evident and natural. Seen from this point of view, Uanya istherefore an innate quality shared by all human beings. However, Maaya as an innate quality -x-'eds tobe tieveloped through education. In the framework ofAristole's thinking, if Maaya is an innate quality,we 'are not naturally good Maa.

In Malian thought, education is the only maeans by which a human being can develop hisinborn quality to become a responsible moral and social agent. But the success of the educationdepends on two factors: "Lamoyoro", and "Lamoko". Lamoyoro refers to the environment of theeducation process, Malians consider the family as the fundamental unit in which the individual'sinitiation into all moral and social values begins. Lamoko refers to the beginning and the end ofeducation, which is to form a man who is the embodiment of personal, moral and social responsibility.The education has to be achieved through rituals which regulate the behaviour of everyone in thecommunity. In this process of education, Malians believe that women play a crucial role. Women havethree fundamental functions: the function of a mother as a birth giver for the continuation of the humanracb, referred to as woloba. Secondly, they perform the primary function of educator of goodbehaviour in children called lamoba; and thirdly, the function of guide for the culture of moralexcellence, called ladonbe. However, the success of these different functions depends on twodetermining factors: lamoyoro and lamoko.

According to the Malian understanding of humaneness, if during the process of educationthefe is inadequacy in the teaching of the two determining factors, lamoyoro and lamoko, theindividual will become a man without any moral and social substance. Individuals who haveinadequate learning of the determining factors are called batramogo or maakountan. Maakountanliterally means a person without a head. It doesn't mean a real person without head, otherwise hecannot be called person, but rather one who does not posses a sense of humanity. In other words,maakountan refers to an ethically empty person.

I In summation, the term Maaya is essentially an innate quality which makes human beingsdiffjerent from animals- therefore, Maaya is the essence of the human tjeing. At the same time Maayaindicates a higher ethical meaning, which needs to be cultivated through education. Maaya is also themajor criterion to determine human actions or the goodness or badness of a person. It should bepointed out that, Maaya as humanness or humanity as the essence of human beings exists indifferent words but with the same meaning in all sub-saharan African communities. For example, theZulu in South Africa use the term Ubuntu/ Botho to refer to what we Malians call Maaya. LesibaTefoposits that, "Ubuntu or humanness implies a basic respect for human nature as a whole" (135).Ge'nerally speaking, all black African people share a very similar conception of man as a member ofthe community with a specific role. Man is not perceived as an individual with rights or freedoms tochoose the kind of life he wants to live in any way he wants to live it at the expense of the collective.

Ren and Maaya as a Way of Life:It is well known that, when Confucius spoke about man, he generally referred to the concrete

man in his daily living environment. He spoke little of man as an abstract concept. Also, when Maliansspeak about man, they refer to the concrete man as a member of the community in which he lives out

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his life. From this, we come to realize that, Ren and Maaya as a way of life involves all aspects ofpeople's lives. However the scope of this paper will analyze these concepts through two principalaspects. First, Ren and Maaya as respect and obedience to parents, adults and authorities; andsecondly, as compassion and courtesy.

Confucius devoted his whole life to seeking to realize a harmonious society. According to him,the realization of the harmonious society requires from every member of the family and society theself-cultivation of morality. Confucius believes that one who has adequate self-cultivation of moralitywill obey and respect parents and adults, therefore; one who respects and obeys parents and adultscannot disobey authorities. Master Yu said, "It is rarely the case that a person who pays filial piety tohis parents and is respectful and kind.to his brothers will want to disobey his superiors. It is rarely thecase that a person who does not care to disobey his superiors will be rebellious. Atrue gentleman willdeal with the fundamentals. When the fundamentals are established the Tao prevails. Will filial pietyand brotherliness be the fundamentals of humanity?" (Analects, BK. 1.2). For Confucius, the family asa basic structure of broader society provides an environment in which the socialization of man begins,in the family each member has a role to play and a function to fulfill according to the propriety li (•).

As already mentioned at the beginning of this paper, Ren and Li are inseparable simplybecause the propriety is the externalization of the intrinsic Ren. In the same vein, a society in whichthe structure and harmony of the family is respected will be harmonious since according to Confucius,the society is an extension of the family. This view of the society as the extension of the family leadshim to argue that it is rarely the case that a person who pays-filial piety to his parents and is respectfuland kind to his brothers will want to disobey his superiors. Also, if the king shows kindness towardshis followers and subjects as a father shows love for his son, they will not want to disobey him. DukeChing of Chi asked Confucius about statesmanship. Confucius replied, "Let the prince be a prince; theminister, a minister, the father, a father, and the son, a son." The Duke said, "How true this is! If theprince is not a prince; the minister, not a minister; the father, not a father; and the son, not a son;However much grain Imay have, will Ibe able to eat it?" (4).

Accordingly, it comes out clearly that, the higher level of Ren requires from each member ofthe society without any consideration of their social ranking, that they live their lives in accordancewith the propriety orritual 11 (•). The respect of the way of life indicated by propriety is a sine quanonecondition, not only for the harmony of the family, but also for the harmony and stability of the societyas a whole. Respecting one's siblings, observing filial piety, loving one's children are the foundation ofstrong family structures which provide fertile ground for the building of harmony in society.

However, in order for one to be able to practice a way of life as pointed above, it is necessarythat one cultivates vital moral values such as compassion, honesty, and loyalty, among other virtues.Tseng tzu said, "I examine myself everyday on three important points: whether I have betrayed myfriends, whether I have kept my word given to others, whether I have not practiced what my Masterhas taught me" (BK. 1.9). Duke Ting asked, "How should a Duke employ his ministers, and how is aminister to serve his superior with perfect devotion" (BK. 111.19). The Master said "ShenI I have onlyone principle guiding my conduct." Tseng Tzu replied "Yes" When the Master left the disciples asked,"VVhat did he mean?" Tseng Tzu said, "Our Master's principle is that we should be conscientiouswithin and considerate towards others" (BK. IX.15). Thus, compassion, honesty, loyalty and othersimilar moral values are indispensable to any one who seeks to be a good man in the family as wellas within broader society.

On the subject ofcompassion, Confucius's whole life was dedicated to helping other peoplecultivate morality, so they could go beyond their own selves and help others strengthen their morality.To some degree it can besaid that compassion is a moral obligation for all members of society. Thereason may be found in the fact that, compassion, as an expression of morality or moral action, hasits essence in Ren as love. Therefore, to help a person who is in need is a moral duty for a gentleman(•) or Good man (•). But we have to emphasize that, when Confucius speaks about compassion hismeaning is not just limited to giving less fortunate people material aid, as is highly prevalent in theworld today, but also includes helping someone to cultivate and strengthen their morality andgoodness. Moreover, compassion should be the manifestation through which one shows he lovesother persons likehe loves his ownfamily.

Confucius also emphasizes the importance of honesty and loyalty as a foundation and.cement of any kincTof relationship. Loyalty and honesty are the essential ingredients for a strong andlong term relationship. Lack of honesty and loyalty sows the seeds of mistrust amongst people.Children disobey parents, the young disobey the elders and followers their superiors, by the end of itall, the whole community will be in disharmony and societal collapse inevitable. It is from this anglethatConfucius believes that the decayof morality is the main cause ofdisorder in society.

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The primary purpose of Maaya, Is to make everyone a good man and to build a stable andpfjosperous society. But achievement ofthis goal is possible only through a long process ofeducation.Education can be made effective by way of specific and appropriate methods. Such methods arebasically the rituals, which determine the kind of life every member of the society has to live in order tob^ome a complete A/tea. All these elements constitute the so-called lamoko. Literally lamoko meansthe way ofeducating people into good behaviour. Thefirst step oflamoko is a teach each individual tounderstand and appreciate the fact that everyone is a member of a family, the community, as well asthe society as a whole. Being a member of a family or the community-essentially means that theindividual's past, present and future is inextricably interlinked with the life and survival of thecommunity. In other words, the fate of any individual is dependent on the whole community. There is aB^manan maxim that says, "Maa de be Maa ke Maa ye", this translates to, "a man is a man throughothers". There is a similar Zulu maxim, "umuntu ngumuntu ngabanye" {One is person through others.).J.jS. Mbiti points out that "The individual commonly says: Iam, because we are; and since we are,therefore I am (15). Accordingly, we come to understand that, the community is inalienable to theindividual, moreover, the meaning of the life of each individual should be dedicated to serving thewell-being of the communityas a whole.

Besides the above mentioned aspects of Maaya as a way of life, there is another aspect of itcalled Sanakunya. There is no correspondent word in English for sanakunya. It is a typically Malianhumanist value. Sanakunya is a kind of joke often shared by cousins; nonetheless its moral valuetranscends this. In spite of the fact that, the joke between cousins is a widely powerful social valuearound Africa, it is still limited among a few persons. For example, the cousins with which one canmake such a joke is the children of your paternal aunt and those of your maternal uncle. But onecannot do such kind of joke with your first cousins. The joke is based on friendly relationship whichallowed one to criticize the wrong doing or the bad behaviour of his cousins. Also, this friendlyrelationship makes sure that there is no taboo between cousins and they share the pain andprosperity ofeach other. Jhe sanakunya circle is more larger than the one ofjoke between cousins. Itmanifests between different ethnical groups and it's social power is far stronger and serious than theone between cousins.

! There are different explanations about when and how sanakunya came into existence. Somesources say in the past, the founder ofone ethnic group saved the life ofthe founder ofanother ethicgroup, and then, they signed an alliance swearing that they will never do anything to harm each other,anc| also swore to give their lives for the other if and when necessary. Other sources argue that this'blood alliance' came into existence following a period of conflict between the founders of the twoethnic groups and was agreed upon in order to institute eternal peace between the two. In spite of thefact that there is divergence on the origin of sanakunya, one thing is certain, there is convergence onthe fact that it has a powerful social function and is of high humanist meaning.

Sanakunya manifests its social function and humanist value in various ways in the daily livesof Malians. Firstly, one of its most significant social functions emanates from the fact that each ethnicgroup has a sanakun group. The efficiency of the sanakunya in practice can be observed in people'sdaily life. From antiquity to today there has never been conflict or war between two ethnics groupswhich share sanakunya. Besides, if within the same ethnic group conflict occurs and the twobelligerents fail to make peace, resolution of the conflict will fall upon their sanakunya groups tointeivene and resolve the conflict. From this perspective, it can be said that, sanakunya plays the roleof law or 'justice' in that it is an important factor in maintaining peace and stability in society. Thefunction of sanakunya is still relevant in modern day society, and still influences people's lives. This isbecause people believe that it is an important factor for social stability and peace amongst differentpeople. Throughout their long history, Malian people avoided numerous conflicts through the use ofsanakunya. Its capacity to maintain peace and stability between different people is the main reasonsanakunya still has a powerful sociaf function. Secondly, Malians believe that since sanakunya is aresult of the alliance between 'founding father's, such an alliance is therefore sacred. So, by notrespecting this alliance one betrays the spirit of their ancestors and thus will be punished throughbeing befallen by misfortune. Thirdly, sanakunya is viewed as proof that human beings have theability to live prosperous, harmonious and happy lives even if they are of different culturalbackgrounds. Thus, it is somewhat apparent that sanakunya's main purpose is to prevent conflictbetv/een different people and it also gives society an efficient means to resolve conflict.

j Maaya as a way of life contains other humanist values like compassion, solidarity, courtesyand ^onesty. One of the major moral and humanist qualities which are still working well in present dayAfncpn societies is compassion and solidarity. These are expressed by moral, psychological ormaterial support for each other. In Malian thought the good and brave man is the one who is ready tohelp other people any time and anywhere. As Lesiba Teffo points out, "Compassion is a quaiity in

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man which goes a long way in binding people together. It cements relationships and friendships It ismanifest through people's desire to reach out of themselves, and in turn they find self-fulfillment andsolf-accomplishment. In giving they receive" (16). Compassion therefore is a moral duty and a.;^ictical way to express the humaneness imbued in everyone. Other virtues such as honesty and.,\irtesy are a different kind of manifestation of Maaya. Honesty requires that every member of

society is sincere in his/her relationship with others, and also that one should respect others as theyrespect themselves. Concerning courtesy, this virtue is deemed the expression of love for fellowhuman beings. It requires the showing of love and respect towards other peoples as you love yourself, and require love from others.

From the above analyses of Ren and Maaya as a way of life, it can be argued that these twointrinsic concepts grant members of society the opportunity to become completely developedindividuals of high moral quality. However, in order to achieve and maintain such a status in societyone needs to be cultivated through education, and by practice of contained virtues through their dailylife. Ren and Maaya as practical moral qualities can be achieved by behaving according to the variousvirtues illustrated above. Only through such conduct will one live an ideal life.

Ren and Maaya as Ideal LifeThe main aim of Ren and Maaya is to educate and make every individual a responsible moral

agent within his status and corresponding role in a harmonized society. Frorri Confucius's point ofview, the good man's self-cultiviion of morality is not only a good thing, but is necessary.Furthermore, self-cultivation is notan end by itself, -moving from self-cultivation of morality to helpingothers cultivate morality and build a harmonious society is the ultimate end. The Master said, Whenthose in high positions are fond of propriety they can easily enlist the services of the people (BK.XIV.45): and Tseng Tzu said, "If the prince pays filial piety to his parents, the people, following suit, will beincited to Goodness; if he does not discard his relatives and old associates, the people following suitwill not become selfish. Only when the prince conducts the burial ofhis parents in accordance with therites and only when he takes care of his remote relatives, the people following suit will restore theirgood virtues" (BK.1.9). From these two viewpoints emanate two aspects, which constitute the core ofConfucius's moral praxis. The first aspect is that of self-cultivation as the foundation of all moralpractices, the purpose of which is spiritual enlightenment of the individual. The second aspect extolsthe virtue of individuals who transcend self-spiritual enlightenmentto illuminate other people.

As already mentioned, the so called 'xiu shen' (••) is the basic step to becoming a good man{Renzhe (••)). If one fails to cultivate and illuminate his own spirit, he cannot help others to do so. So,the self-cultivation of morality is a necessary step, which should be achieved in sufficiency. However,it is important to emphasize that, self-cultivation is not done for it's own sake, but for the sake of thespiritual enlightenment of the community as a whole. Therefore, to help other people attain spiritualenlightenment through self-cultivation of morality is the duty and mission of a good man. Thisconception of self-cultivation for the sake of the enlightenment of the community as a whole, is relatedto Confucius's perception ofman. He conceives man as entirely part of the community, and thus self-cultivation by the individual to getspiritual enlightenment without helping others to do so, will merelybe partial cultivation of morality. Therefore, the real self-cultivation starts from the individual andfinishes with the spiritual enlightenment of the entire community. When this happens, such communitywill be spiritually illuminated by the Rendao (••), snd finally be completely harmonized with theuniversal Tian Dao (••). Thus, the quintessence of Ren is the ideal life. This enables each individualto appreciate the fact that, self-cultivation and getting spiritual enlightenment is only the foundationtowards being a good man (••). The fully realized good man is one who has achieved spiritualenlightenment through self-cultivation and more importantly, has attained the spiritual illumination ofthe community as a whole. A true Maa, is one who through the practice of ritual becomes aresponsible moral and social agent. He knows he is entirely part of the community and has a role toplay within this community. In other words, when an individual comes to realize that the main purposeof the culture of goodness is not only for the well-being of the moral agent as individual, but also forthe well-being of the community as a whole, then he can be called good man. Hence, afterunderstanding the main purpose of Maaya, the good man dedicates his life towards the realization ofthis purpose. To get the level of goodness in which every individual feels responsible for theachievement of the spiritual enlightenment of the community is a sign that one has achieved theMaaya ideal life. .

From the above analyses it is evident that, in as much as the individual is inextricably linkedto the community, the self-cultivation of morality and the spiritual enlightenment of the comniunity as awhole are inseparable in order to attain the Ren and Maaya ideaiHife. The community^ spiritual

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enlightenment is impossible without that of the individual, at the same time, the individual's moralcultivation is incomplete if he does not seek his community's spiritual enlightenment.

Through the analyses Ren and Maaya from different aspects, it is apparent that humanism isthe core of both of them. This can be observed from the aim purpose of both Ren and Maaya, such asin Christianity or Islam, but is purely for the sake of human welfare. Throughout the Analects,Cor|ifucius points out that fact. For example, when Tzu-lu asked how one should serve ghosts andspirits. The Master said, "Till you know about living, how are you to know about death" (BK.XI.2). Also,it isi said in the Analects that, "The Master never talked of prodigies, feats of strength, disorders orspirits" (BK. VII.20).

' It is clear that, Confucius's Ren is focused on serving man and not ghosts, spirits or othermetaphysical entities. Besides, Confucius was mpre interested in resolving people's daily lifeprolplems than in speculating on a posthumous world- wjijch he doubts Is possible to know about.Marjcel Granet adds that, "What Confucius and his discipl^ try4,Q find- is not an abstract science ofman, but an art of life which embodies psychology, morality and politics. This art comes from theexperience, observation and knowledge handed down by older generations, and provides currentgenerations with guidelines on how to perceive human relations. To this, art or knowledge isappropriated to give the name of humanism" (398). Also, by saying, "I am, because we are; and sincewe are, therefore I am', the Maa is not merely indicating his unalienable membership to thecommunity, but emphasizing the fact that he his dedicating his life to the well being of the community.So, a Maa's goodness and his will to help other people, does not arise from his obeying of any divineorder or religious moral responsibility, but for the sake of the well-being of fellow human beings. Inother words, being good is primarily for the sake of goodness and is a duty for everyone to attain itbecause we are human beings. Maaya requires that the end of all our actions must be towa- • owell being of humanity.

Throughout the analyses of Ren and Maaya it is clear that there are some simiianiiesbetween them. For example, both conceive man as naturally able to perform goodness and become agood person. Also, they perceive the individual as entirely part of the community rather than a freeagent. Accordingly, the cultivation of goodness is not only for the sake of self-spiritual enlightenment,but jfor the spiritual illumination of the community as a whole. Nevertheless, there exist somedivergences between Ren and Maaya. For example, in Confucius's thought there is an inseparablelink between knowledge and humaneness. One who doesn't know cannot be good man (••).However, in Maaya there is no necessary link between knowledge and goodness, because Maliansbelieve that a person can be highly knowledgeable, and yet exhibit bad behaviour in his/herinteraction with others. Malians often say, "Do be ko kalama, nga a ta yere kalama."Th\s translates tosompone can know many things, but may not necessarily know how to behave. This reality is moreobvious in the modern world, where, for instance, great scientists are not necessarily good men.Besides, knowing moral norms is one thing, behaving according them is another.

Furthermore, Confucian thought is more paternalistic, emphasizing the father-childrenrelationship; on the contrary, Maaya is less paternalistic, citing a mother's love for children as themost efficient means in the process of cultivating humaneness. Malians generally say, "Muso yeMaaya sun ye". This translates to, a woman is the root of humaneness.

Conclusion

Despite the above mentioned divergeneces between Ren and Maaya, their conception ofman and humanism are similar and can enrich each other. This study will help, I hope, both Chineseand African people understand more of each side's conception of man and the perception of thehuman being. And perhaps also that it will contribute to clarifying that there is not always acontradiction between individual interests and the community's. Therefore, man can be conceived aspart of the community without being completely consumed by the latter. Hence, no one can be happyin an unhappy community. This can be extended to the present global community where it can beargued that no people or country can be in true happiness if others are in the doldrums of misery.Also, faced with to the failure of the individualistic society and the challenge of the globalization ofworld economy, the conception of man as an individual entirely part of the community can beextended to the level of country as entirely part of the global world. This conception of man and thefollowing humanism can be source of inspiration for us to understand the fact that, we are all part ofthis world and the problems of one of the members have to be considered as the bne the wholecommunity.

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Works Cited

•.'circel. La Pen see Chinoise. Albin Michel, 1988/1999.

.ivid L. and Ames, RogerT. Confucian Ethics of the Axial Age. Albany: State University of NewYork Press, 1993.

Maaya: Pourreapprendre a etre, Ministere de la culture at du tourism du Mali, 1997.

Makgoba, M. W. (ed.).African Renaissance. Mafube: Tafelberg, 1999.

Mbiti, J. African Religionsand Philosophy. London: Heinemann, 1969.

The Confucian Analects: A New Translation of the Corrected Text, by Shih-Chuan Chen. Confuciusand Mencius Society Book Series, 1986.