Daoism and Confucianism - Essay Example

There is also due consideration for physical conduct which is affected by emotions, passions, and desires for cultivating the mind. Thus there is a need for reflection and study to nurture the philosophical contemplation required of the follower of Confucianism which in turn develops public spirit. DaoismDao is the road, the path, the way. Daoism is a holistic view of life that does not foster practices to influence forces of reality and reorder life, which is seen in Confucianism. Daoism deems that ritualistic practice disturbs the natural flow.

Daoism instead emphasizes practice and developing experience. Change is reality and there is thus no need to reorder it. However, this does not entail a philosophy of nothingness. It only implies that there should be no disturbance of nature by humans and natural actions should allow transformation through effortless activation. Daoism believes that reordering will be carried out by spiritual forces which will ensure that eventually good will prevail. As opposed to Confucianism, Daoism emphasizes that distinctions between good and evil cannot be made by humans but will emerge naturally as the complexities of life are resolved and self-realization sets in.

Harmonious conduct through natural behavior is thus essential and not reordering reality. On the other hand, Confucianism is proactive and does not avoid disturbing the natural way to achieve transformation. The difference thus is the Confucian belief in reordering reality through action while the Daoist insistence on nature taking its course as it is believed that restructuring would only lead to frustration. Reordering nature as per Daoists will ultimately lead to the destruction of humanity. Philosophical PreferenceThere is much to commend in both Daoism and Confucianism for these are the distillation of many centuries of the wisdom of sages.

However, Daoism is much too idealistic and impractical for implementation by the people at large, who need a guide, a practical direction to decipher and understand the complexities of life. While both aim at achieving perfection in society, there is a need for a human reordering which is essential as nature alone cannot be held, "responsible" for transformation. Humans are also a part of nature and hence to that extent have a responsibility to reorder nature. This is what Confucianism seeks to achieve through its rituals and philosophical injunctions.

Thus it is felt that Confucianism is relatively more practical and hence superior to Daoism.