Ethical paper: Confucianism - Essay Example

Teacher Summary of my ethical perspective My ethical perspective is Confucian in nature. Confucianism is a moral philosophy and ethical perspective based on the teachings of the great teacher Confucius. Confucianism is prevalent not only in China and Asia but also in other societies around the world. Confucius came from China, and lived in small region located in Eastern China around 2,500 years go. The moral philosophy of Confucius was developed in the midst of political turmoil and internecine factions during the Zhou dynasty (www.biography.com) whose reign can be compared to what is happening in the Middle East today.

Having this political strife on his background, Confucius developed a moral philosophy of creating a society that is founded on harmony and balance as a departure of the political turmoil during this day. As it turned out, his moral philosophy is valid and very much applicable as a way of life that his teachings spread across China after his death at the age of 73. Today, Confucianism is not only pervasive in China but in other parts of the world as well. As an ethical perspective, Confucianism encourages one to pursue moral excellence.

It posits that everyone of us has the ability to improve and become self-governing or autonomous by developing the Ren (Wong). Confucianism also follows the Golden Rule which popularly states “do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you”. Simply put, it only means that treat everybody the way we wanted to be treated which is a very practical ethical perspective applicable not only among Chinese but also to everybody. In sum, Confucianism provides the moral ecosystem that benefits everybody because it seeks to improve the individual and to treat everyone with consideration.

Following Confucianism as an ethical perspective requires its followers to be good and to be better to treat everyone nicely which in effect creates an ecosystem of goodness. Its strength lies in its philosophy of requiring its followers to be better in all aspects of life. As a result, it would make an individual more successful in his or her career and other endeavors. Its weakness is that it could be perverted into something negative. Since the rule states that do others what they want to do unto you, masochists (people who likes pain) may use it to justify their intention to hurt others.

Or it could be perverted into something else such as “he who has the gold makes the rule”.What others think of Confucianism? Others may think of Confucianism as something mythical or esoteric that is difficult to understand and practice. They also thought that Confucianism is an exclusive domain of the Asians and that westerners could not practice it. They also oversimplified Confucianism as a mere set of Golden Rules. Of course all of these are misconceptions. Confucianism is not only applicable to the Chinese but also to entire humanity since everyone has to improve themselves and everybody should be treated with consideration.

Work CitedConfucius. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22, 2015, from http://www.biography.com/people/confucius-9254926Wong, D. (2008, January 10). Chinese Ethics. Retrieved January 22, 2015, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-chinese/#VirEthDaoJunRen