Views of Virtues by Confucius and Aristotle - Term Paper Example

Views of Virtues by Confucius and Aristotle Humanities 101 Straver Coppelli Instructor November 23, 2009 Certification Pledge CERTIFICATION OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that I am the author of this paper and that any assistance received in its presentation is acknowledged and disclosed in the paper (with both in-text citations and a Works Cited sheet at the end of the essay). I have also cited any sources from which I used data, ideas, or words, quoted, paraphrased, or summarized. I also certify that this paper was prepared specifically for this course and has not been used for another course (and will not be) either in whole or substantial part. Name November 23, 2009 Views of Virtues by Confucius and Aristotle Introduction Virtues are the characteristics that make what a person is. Two great Philosophers hold different views of these virtues that have been held in thoughts of people for a long time. These views shows the timelessness of the adage of Confucius that holds dear in China and that of Aristotle’s to the intellectuals who kept references to them Purpose of this topic is to see if there are any differences on the interpretations of virtues by the two great philosophers, Confucius and Aristotle. I will refer to the Analects and Nicomachean ethics of both and draw an analysis. Discussion Confucius believes that a healthy and harmonious life could only be achieved if a man practices the virtues of “gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness and kindness everyday”.(Wright House ) He gave us a view of what virtues are in five situations which is referred to as “REN, the virtue of benevolence, charity and humanity; YI is the virtue of honesty and uprightness, and broken down to zhong – doing one’s best, conscientiousness and loyalty and zhi – the virtue of reciprocity, altruism, consideration for others, and his version of the Golden Rule, ‘what you don’t want yourself, don’t do to others.’ Zhi, is virtue on knowledge, XIN, the virtue of faithfulness and integrity, and Li, correct behavior, or propriety, good manners, politeness, ceremony and worship.”(Analets-ink.com) Because of the strong relations of these virtues of goodness to one’s character, the teachings of Confucius have been continued by his disciples even after his death and have sustained the interest until today. And here is what Aristotle has to say on this: In Book 1 of Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics, distinctions of virtues has also been drawn. Aristotle relates his virtues to the activities of the soul, which is one part non-rational and the other part has reason. (Irbe, George 2001) This understanding of the soul draws a categorization of virtues of thought and virtues of character. Virtues of thought are those philosophic wisdom and understanding while virtues of character are generosity and temperance. For example, Book I cited, that when referring to a man’s character, you do not say that the man is wise or has understanding, but it is correct to say “that the man is good tempered or temperate; but when we praise a wise man with respect to his state of mind, it is called a praise virtue”.(Irbe) Comparing Aristotle and Confucius, I found the virtues of character to be allied with one another. Confucius puts emphasis on the characteristics of man in his virtues while Aristotle has both wisdom and character as virtues of a good man. This is how I describe REN in the reign of humanity Taking this into consideration, I will base my comparison on virtues of character, first, as a ruler of a country. Confucius, in his analects refers to the character of a man that must show love, sincerity, knowledge of business and finance in ruling a country. He said (1-5 Book 1) "To rule a country of a thousand chariots, there must be reverent attention to business, and sincerity; economy in expenditure, and love for men; and the employment of the people at the proper seasons." (Dominguez) From Aristotle, love of country is a moral virtue which comes as a result of habit. Aristotle argued that one gets the virtue by exercising it, so one gets to know how to love, be sincere and knowing by being one in itself. In book 2, of Aristotle’s Nicomachean ethics, he said “Legislators make the citizen good by habituation”. This means, one gets the virtue by practicing them. Knowledge of these factors are only theories and does not make one a virtuous person if he does not practice for the good of man. But how do the virtues of Zhong, Shii, Zhi and Xin applies in the contemporary settings of the world today? Let us take hold of the view of Aristotle on justice. He said that “this is a state where everyone talks of justice and do just actions, and in same terms, injustice is a state where one acts unjustly and wish for something unjust. By parallelism, an unjust man, to Aristotle, is greedy, one who wants to hold of goods and fortune through bad actions. He said that it is correct to pursue goods for themselves in a correct way and to wish for others to do the same. It is therefore correct for the laws of the land to aim at the benefits of the majority of men in the land, and so it produces happiness in the community. Aristotle refers to actions that will produce happiness. Therefore, Aristotle’s virtues of justice are analogous to Confucius’ Shii, giving consideration for others. (Irbe) YI to Confucius is the virtue of honesty, as he said "Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles. "Have no friends not equal to yourself. "When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them." (Analects 1-8) He defines the character of a person that looks upon oneself and the good of others, as he believes on the Golden Rule that “what you don’t want yourself, do not do to others”. So his disciples were enshrined by this rule, that in Book 1 of analects, Philosopher Tsang said he examined himself daily on whether he has been sincere and practiced the virtues of Confucius. (Wright House) This reflection of character lives today as character of goodness in the Golden Rule is a virtue that is timeless. Aristotle believes that goodness of a person leads to the state of happiness that is a result of habituation and many of the verses in his Analects points to happiness as a result of the moral virtues of man. Zhi virtue of knowledge. Aristotle’s’ view of virtue of knowledge is something acquired from birth and is developed through growth of teaching over time One gets the virtues by exercising them”, for example, one gets to be friendly by just being a friend Knowledge then is something acquired and instilled to oneself not just overnight, this long process that is acquired and practiced in one’s life. So, how does one know if someone has knowledge? To this, in 2-10 Analects, Confucius said that one must observe “what a man does, mark his motives, examine in what things he rests; find out how a man can conceal his character” He spoke of the importance of acquiring new knowledge and continuous learning so that he may also be a teacher to others. He referred to a scholar in a parable that an accomplished one is not a “utensil.” (Dominguez) In the analysis, both philosophers holds virtue of knowledge as something to be acquired and practiced Possibly in a jest, and to answer what knowledge is, Confucius said “, "Yu, shall I teach you what knowledge is? When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it; -this is knowledge." (2-17) To Confucius, Xin is virtue of faithfulness and integrity. A faithful person is someone who is reliable and trustworthy, while faithfulness is the hallmark of relationship. Aristotle puts friendship as a benchmark of faithfulness because he said that a man is comfortable with friend that he can think and act with them. He describes relationship in friendship as something like faithfulness to each other, in such a way that each one wish well for one another. (Irbe) Faithfulness in friendship, he said is being equal and similar in being virtuous. In this sense, reference is made to analects 1-8 wherein Confucius stated the importance of equality, sincerity and faithfulness in developing friendship. Conclusion. The general point of view expressed in the works of Confucius and Aristotle is the development of character of a person that builds up the virtues of a man. Although the content has some similarity, the method of organizing the substance of the verses has subtle differences. Aristotle establishes a point at the beginning of the verse, then continues to discuss it to arrive at conclusion. He drives a point by illustrating it as the mean of two things, the excess and deficiency, and too much or too little of something is always wrong. For instance, he says with respect to spending money, generosity is a mean between the excess of wastefulness and the deficiency of stinginess. Words of Confucius are straightforward and easy to understand, easy to follow and direct to the point. However, some of the words in his Analect are interpretations of his disciples that retain the essence of the original verse. When I read the verses, it struck to me as more of inspirational with a touch of history and values REFERENCES Analects-ink.com “Confucius’ Five Virtues. Retrieved 23 November 2009 from www.analects-ink.com/.../Confucius_Five_Virtues.html Dominguez. J. ‘ Notes on Confucianism, Confucius, Symbols and the Jen’. On the basic attributes of this Philosophy. Retrieved 23 November from Irbe, George . (March 2001) ‘Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics.’ Retrieved 23 November 2009 from Read More