Lecture 10: ConfucianismKongzi – The Analects

JeeLoo Liu – “Confucius (Kongzi) in the Analects”

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Agenda

1. Confucius

2. Zhong or Loyalty

3. Shu or Empathy

4. Ren or Humanity

5. Li or Ritual Propriety

6. The Confucian Political Ideal

7. Compare Confucianism

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Confucius

• 551-479 BCE

• Wrote The Analects.

• Lived in a time of political upheaval with many competing nation-states.

• Traveled from one nation-state to the next in an attempt to morally educate rulers.

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JeeLoo Liu

• Professor at CSU Fullerton

• Works in analytic Chinese philosophy, in particular Chinese metaphysics, Confucian moral psychology, and Neo-Confucian virtue ethics

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Confucius

• Confucius “did not take a definitional approach… Confucius did not think that there could be a universal definition for a moral concept, which would be applicable to everyone in every situation” (Liu 48).

• Four Key Concepts:

1. Zhong or Loyalty

2. Shu or Empathy

3. Ren or Humanity

4. Li or Ritual Propriety

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Zhong or Loyalty

• Moral hierarchy

• “Loyalty is not a devotion directed specifically 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 defined 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 assignment; it is also a moral assignment” (Liu 50).

• Filial piety

• Confucianism is very much a partialist ethic.

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Zhong or Loyalty

• 1.2 “Youzi said, ‘It is unlikely that one who has grown up as a filial son and respectful younger brother will then be inclined to defy his superiors, and there has never been a case of one who is disinclined to defy his superiors stirring up a rebellion. The gentleman applies himself to the roots. Once the roots are firmly planted, the Way will grow therefrom. Might we thus say that filiality and brotherly respect represent the root of ren?’” (3).

• 4.18-4.20 Specific prescriptions on how to be filial: You may gently criticize your parents, but you should obey them even if they do not accept your advice. You shouldn’t travel far away from your parents. You should follow the ways of your father for three years after his death.

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Zhong or Loyalty

13.18 “The Lord of She said to Kongzi, ‘Among my people there is one we call ‘Upright Gong.’ When his father stole a sheep, he reported him to the authorities.’

Kongzi replied, ‘Among my people, those we consider ‘upright’ are different from this: fathers cover up for their sons, and sons cover up for their fathers. This is what it means to be ‘upright.’” (36)

Is Kongzi right here? Should one cover up for one’s family member even if they have done something wrong (like stealing)? Should ethics be impartial or partial? 8

Zhong or Loyalty

• What might be some criticisms of Confucius’ notion of zhong?

• Why does Confucius think loyalty is so important?

• When everyone fulfills their roles, there is social harmony and no chaos. “It will be a ‘correct’ structure” (51).

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Shu or Empathy

• Confucian Golden Rule: “Do not impose upon others what you yourself do not desire” (Liu 53).

• See 5.12, 12.2, and 15.24.

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Zhong and Shu

• How do zhong and shu work together to establish Confucius’ ideal society?

• 4.15 “The Master said, ‘Zengzi! All that I teach is unified by one guiding principle.’ … Zengzi said, ‘All of what the Master teaches amounts to nothing more than zhong, ‘loyalty,’ tempered by shu, ‘sympathetic understanding’” (Kongzi 11).

• With shu or empathy, one can imaginatively place oneself in the social roles of others to understand their wishes and desires.

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Ren or Humanity

• Junzi (gentlemen) Men of ren Sages

• Junzi have superior moral character. Men of renhelp others to cultivate their moral personhood. Sages help all people and the multitude in their moral self-cultivation (6.30).

• Morality requires habituation.

• “Ren is not a moral principle that gives us specific guidance in life… Ren is not about action; rather, it is about a state of being. … ren represents an ideal state of being” (Liu 57-8).

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Ren or Humanity

• 1.3 “The Master said, ‘A glib tongue and an ingratiating manner are rarely signs of ren’” (3).

• 2.4 “The Master said, ‘At age fifteen I set my heart upon learning; at thirty I took my stand; at forty I became free of doubts; at fifty I understood the Heavenly Mandate; at sixty my ear was attuned; and at seventy I could follow my heart’s desire without overstepping the bounds of propriety” (5). 13

Zhang Huan – Q Confucius No. 2 (2011)

Ren or Humanity

• 10.3 The virtuous exemplar acts effortlessly, naturally, (even gracefully?).

• 14.13 Gongming Jia describing his master (not Kongzi), “My master only spoke when the time was right, and so people never grew impatient listening to him. He only laughed when he was genuinely full of joy, and so people never tired of hearing him laugh. He only took what was rightfully his, and so people never resented his taking of things” (38).

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Ren or Humanity

• 7.30 “The Master said, ‘Is ren really so far away? If I merely desire ren, I will find that ren is already here” (22).

• Compare to 4.6 (Kongzi has never met someone who truly loved ren) and 5.8 (Kongzi is unsure whether various moral models are ren). Ren is both a regulative ideal that one always strives to achieve and a capability inherent in everyone.

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Li or Ritual Propriety

• “Li is about propriety, about what is the right thing to do in a given context. The formalized aspect of li is rituals and rites, but there has to be more to it than this” (Liu 59).

• Li provides external guidance, but also “the observance of propriety has to come from an internal moral sense – righteousness” otherwise we may be blindly following inflexible or arbitrary social convention (Liu 59).

• “The essence of propriety comes from self-restraint. …to restrain oneself as a way to return to propriety is simply ren itself” (Liu 60).

• Is etiquette a part of morality?

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Li or Ritual Propriety

Examples of li:

3.1 Using eight rows of dancers is inappropriate because it is the prerogative of the emperor.

9.3 Using a silk cap is okay even though the rite say to use hemp. Bowing after ascending the stairs is not okay. One should follow the rites in bowing before ascending.

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Li or Ritual Propriety

The flexibility of rituals:

• 1.12 “If you merely stick rigidly to ritual in all matters, great and small, there will remain that which you cannot accomplish. Yet if you know enough to value harmonious ease but try to attain it without being regulated by the rites, this will not work either” (4).

• 11.22 Kongzi gives different advice to different students because of their different temperaments (30). Compare to virtue ethics on moral education.

• 15.37 “The Master said, ‘The gentleman is true and correct, but is not rigid when it comes to fulfilling the details of his promises’” (42). Compare to Kant on honesty.

• 19.11 “Zixia said, ‘As long as one does not cross the line when it comes to the grand principles, it is permissible to be flexible when it comes to issues of minor import’” (49).

• See also 4.10 and 4.16 on the importance of yi (rightness or appropriateness).

Does adhering to rituals require an element of practical wisdom? 18

Li or Ritual Propriety

Acting rightly is not simply about following rituals, but requires the right character and affective comportment.

• 3.8 The unadorned background must be present; the rites come after.

• 6.18 “The Master said, ‘When zhi, ‘native substance,’ overwhelms wen, ‘cultural refinement,’ the result is a crude rustic. When cultural refinmenet overwhelms native substance, the result is a foppish pedant. Only when culture and native substance are perfectly mixed and balanced do you have a gentleman’” (17).

• 17.11 “The Master said, ‘When we say, ‘the rites, the rites,’ are we speaking merely of jade and silk? When we say, ‘music, music,’ are we speaking merely of bells and drums?” (45). See also 3.3.

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The Confucian Political Ideal

• Ideal ruler is the sage king. The virtue of a ruler sets an example for the people to emulate.

• The virtuous ruler is compared to the Pole Star (2.1). Also, the virtuous ruler is compared to the wind and the people to the grass. When the wind blows, the grass bends (12.19). See also 19.21.

• Rejects strict laws and harsh punishment. Instead govern by rituals, which will mold and shape people (2.3, 4.13). 20

The Confucian Political Ideal

2.21 “Someone asked Kongzi, ‘Why is it that you are not participating in government?’

The Master answered, ‘We read in the History;

Filial, oh so filial as a son, a friend to one’s brothers,

both younger and elder; [in this way] exerting an

influence upon the government.

Thus, in being a filial son and good brother one is already taking part in government. What need is there then, to speak of ‘participating in government’?” (6).

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Compare Confucianism

• Emphasis on duties and not rights

• No straightforward applicable rules

• Ritual propriety (similar to etiquette) and politics are of a piece with ethics

• Social/moral structure, hierarchy, and harmony are important

Is Confucianism more like deontology, consequentialism, virtue ethics, or its own distinct brand of moral theorizing?

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Confucianism

• 9.19 “The Master said, ‘[The task of self-cultivation] might be compared to the task of building up a mountain: if I stop even one basketful of earth short of completion, then I have stopped completely. It might also be compared to the task of leveling ground: even if I have only dumped one basketful of earth, at least I am moving forward” (26).

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