Ethical Dimensions of Confucianism - Essay Example

?CONFUCIAN ETHICS I. INRODUCTION II. ETHICAL DIMENSIONS OF CONFUCIANISM A. Confucianism and the self B. Confucianism and the family C. Confucianism and the government D. Confucianism and heaven III. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONFUCIAN ETHICAL CONCERNS AND CONFUCIAN SOCIAL AND POLITICAL VISION IV. CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL PROBLEM FROM A CONFUCIAN PERSPECTIVE Name Instructor’s Name Religion and Theology 5 April 2013 Confucian Ethics 1. Introduction The traditional Chinese culture is founded on Confucianism (Hoobler, D. and Hoobler, T. 10). Hoobler, D. and Hoobler, T. define Confucianism as “a system of thought based on the teachings of Confucius, who lived from 551 to 479 B.C.E.” (10). For the last two millenniums, the Chinese way of life has been guided by Confucian ideas and system of rites. Confucius, the founder of Confucianism believed on a golden rule based on the belief that people should do unto others, what they would like to be done unto them His ethical code was based on humanity, love, and morality. Rather than being based on religious beliefs, Confucianism is based on a system of social and ethical principles. In East Asia, Confucianism touches on all aspects of life (Slote and De Vos 5). These include the family, education, society, and government. Although Confucianism has most of the times been grouped together with other religions such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Judaism, it is not a systemised religion. According to Slote and De Vos, “a viable way of life for so many and for so long, Confucianism has sometimes been viewed as a philosophy and sometimes as a religion” (5). 2. Ethical Dimensions of Confucianism Morality has been the principle feature of Confucian belief and way of life. Yao points out that “it was on the foundation of Confucianism that various codes of moral life, rules of propriety, patterns of behaviour and guidelines for social and daily life were produced and enhanced” (32). The fundamental structure of the society and community is emphasised through Confucianism. Many aspects of Confucianism are similar to those of other moral systems around the world. For example, when judging a person, the ethics of Confucianism stress that intrinsic intentions and visible behaviour must be considered. Confucius stressed that despite the fact that strict observation of traditional rituals is important, a devoted spirit and a sincere heart are even more important. He found no value in performing rituals, while a person was inhuman or lacked humanness. According to him, taking a keen look at person’s actions, motives, and preferences, then his or her real character is revealed and cannot be concealed. Confucian ethics revolve around associations among human beings. The philosophy mainly “revolves around family relationships, especially around the relationships between parents and children, between elder and younger brothers, and between husband and wife” (Yao 32-33). The Confucian belief is based on the grounds that fulfilment or responsibilities in these relationships should be done with a complete and genuine heart. However, despite revolving around the family, the Confucian moral philosophy is not restrained within the family, but also the society. Emphasis is placed on the family because it is the foundation of peace around the world and order in the society. According to Yao (33), the Confucian “logic is that the family is the basic unit of the human community and that harmonious family relationships will inevitably lead to a harmonious society and a peaceful state”. The virtues of leaders within their families are very vital and determine how they rule organisations and a nation, since the basis of their actions, motives, and preferences is found within their family units. This consequently has an effect on a whole nation. A ruler who has intense love and devotion for his relatives, parents, friends, wife, and children is humane to the common people in the society and treats them with honour and consideration. Such kinds of rulers are believed to uphold Confucian beliefs. 2.1. Confucianism and the self The Confucian perception of the human condition is exclusive. Brodd points out that “rather than emphasising the individuality of the self, Confucianism regards the self first and foremost as a centre of human relationships” (133). This is recognised in the principle of Five Constant Relationships, which upholds the idea that there is need for appropriate order among significant relationships for a society to enjoy stability (Marcus 67). The five relationships consist of relationships between a ruler and subject, husband and wife, father and son, elder and younger brother, and elder and younger friend (Marcus 67). According to Confucian belief loyalty should guide the relationship between a leader and his followers, communication and good listening should guide the relationship between spouses, and respect guides the relationships between father and son (Marcus 67). Brotherly respect should exist between an elder and younger brother and this is what guides their relationship, while sincerity is upheld between an elder and younger friend (Marcus 67). In each relationship, there is a virtue expected to be practiced by the socially inferior individual. However, reciprocation of the virtue despite the position in the relationship is expected of each individual. The status of a person is what determines his or her self identity and therefore social terms are what mainly encompass the human condition. According to Confucian belief, a person’s self keeps changing in a continuous process of self development. “Through learning to be human, one continues to grow, attaining deeper and more fulfilling levels of maturity” (Brodd 133). The world acts as a classroom where individuals learn to be human, as the self stays engaged on the world. Development of the self helps in improving the society, and among all units of the society, the family receives paramount attention. 2.2. Confucianism and the family Confucianism holds high regard for the family. This can be seen from the fact that among the five relationships that make up the Doctrine of Five Constant Relationships, three of them are based on members coming from the family unit. Shin and Sin (40) support that “the family is viewed as the forum in which all humans learn to live virtuously and dutifully, because it is in their families that humans observe the proper rites of conduct through interactions with their elders, superiors, subordinates, and peers”. During the rise of Confucianism, the family was already the focus of the Chinese society, and its significance was strengthened by Confucian beliefs. According to Brodd, “one’s relationships with family members are defined throughout life in Confucian society” (134). The Confucian family has profound respect for elders, and the older a person gets, whether a man or a woman, the more he or she is respected. Unlike in the Western society where old age is given negative perception, in the Confucian society, people do not dread getting old since they earn more respect, their social standing increases, and they get a chance to share the wisdom that they have gained throughout their lives. 2.3. Confucianism and the government Confucius believed that leaders should act as examples to the ordinary people. Rainey points out that Confucius believed that “if people saw their sincere and honest hard work, ordinary people would become sincere, honest, and hard working” (51). He compared the virtues of government officials who are gentlemen to the wind and said that just like the grass bends to the direction of the wind, so is the influence of leaders over their followers (Rainey 51). A gentleman would cause ordinary people to follow his direction. The same thing applies to leaders who are dishonest and corrupt, who would influence the ordinary people to do the same. Rainey gives an example of a case that was presented to Confucius that “when a government official in the state of Lu complained to Confucius about the rising number of robbers, Confucius told him that if he got rid of his own desires for luxury, ordinary people would not steal, even if they were paid to do it” (51). The government official had acted as a bad example to his people by showing them that the fine things of life are very valuable, while they could not afford them, and so resulted to stealing in order to obtain them. If the government official had no desires for the fine things in life, the ordinary people would not wish to have them and robbers would cease to exist. Confucius therefore believed in governments that rather than ruling by force, ruled by morality. Use of morality is far much more effective than use of coercion, punishments, and laws. According to Rainey, “good government can earn the trust and support of the common people. Should war come, ordinary people would be willing to fight for it” (51). In his discussions about governments, Confucius has no advice for military issues. According to him, the success of ruler did not lie in his success during a war, but rather his good governance. According to Confucius, just as people escape from evil and corrupt governments, they be happy with and would flock to virtuous governments. Confucius pointed out that the factors required of every government “are that there be a sufficiency of food, a sufficiency of military equipment, and the faith of the people in their government” (Hsu 130). Faith of the people is of utmost importance, followed by food and military equipment respectively. Confucius was therefore trying to emphasize that the most significant component in any political organisation is people’s faith in their government. People who have faith in their government trust in everything that the government does and believe that it is done in order to benefit them and not for the selfish intentions of the leaders. With the faith of the people in hand, the government is able to progress and the opposite of this is true. 2.4. Confucianism and Heaven Among his concepts, it is clear that Confucius acknowledged Heaven as an important element of reality. According to him, Heaven symbolised a general moral coercion. Brodd points out that “the workings of the human world are believed to affect heaven. In turn, Heaven as the ultimate moral force, guides and nurtures humanity” (136). Therefore, balance among the relationships defined by Confucius extends beyond human life. However, Confucians little discussion about the afterlife and divinity has usually led to questions about whether Confucianism is a religion. 3. Relationship between Confucian Ethical concerns and Confucian Social and Political Vision According to DeBary, Chaffee, and Birge (143), “the Confucian social vision’s emphasis on the ritual of human interaction addresses the way we naturally and inevitably act upon each other in a sharable discourse”. Confucian believed and laid out that morals are what should guide all aspects of the human life and when followed, all other things fall in place. According to the values stipulated by Confucian, people are social beings and are not autonomous, and their relationships with other people and the society as a whole is what defines them. Due to this fact, the responsibilities, duties, and rights of a person are defined in terms of the connection between a person and the society, and not in terms of him or her as an individual. Shin and Sin point out that as a way to prevent conflicts in the society “early Confucians advocated civic life as a crucial component of citizenship in the belief that any polity, either democratic or nondemocratic, cannot be sustained without citizens caring for each other and their community” (8). The Confucian political vision is guided by the idea of a humane government. According to DeBary, Chaffee, and Birge, the powerful admission “in the inseparability of morality and politics and in the correlation between the self-cultivation of the ruler and the governability of the people renders it difficult to accept politics as a mechanism of control independent of personal ethics” (142). Leaders are therefore supposed to lead by example and guided by morals for people to have faith in their judgement and in their governments. Solidarity among citizens and towards their leaders and government is only possible when the leaders are virtuous. Subjects and followers are inclined to following the direction of their leaders, so when leaders are virtuous, the followers are also virtuous, since they serve as examples to them. Good governance and ruling by morality therefore characterises good leader s, while poor governance and ruling by force characterises bad leaders. 4. Contemporary Social Problem from a Confucian Perspective In the contemporary society, there has been a rise in the use of drugs and crimes. This can mainly be attributed to lack of morality, which is the foundation of Confucianism. Today, morality lacks in the self, the family, and the governments. Today virtues are not held in high regard and are therefore also not reciprocated in the society. Families are also not held in high regard and the rates of divorce have been very high, while the elderly, instead of being respected are seen as a bother and not even consulted to give advice. Most governments today also contribute to the rise in crimes, due to the fact that very few leaders serve as good examples to their followers. Leaders today are driven by selfish desires and this reflects on their followers who can only gain some of the things they desire by engaging in crime. Works Cited DeBary, W.T., Chaffee, John W. and Bettine Birge. Neo - Confucian Education: The Formative Stage. California: University of California Press, 1989. Print. Hoobler, Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler. Confucianism. 3rd ed. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009. Print. Hsu, Leonard Shih-lien. The Political Philosophy of Confucianism: An Interpretation of the Social and Political Ideas of Confucius, His Forerunners, and His Early Disciples, Volume 1. Oxford: Routledge. Jeffrey, Brodd. World Religions 2003: A Voyage of Discovery. Winona: Saint Mary’s Press, 2003. Print. Marcus, Paul. Ancient Religious Wisdom: Spirituality and Psychoanalysis. Westport: Praeger Publishers, 2003. Print. Rainey, Lee Dian. Confucius and Confucianism: The Essentials. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2010. Print. Shin, Doh Chull and To-ch?ol Sin. Confucianism and Democratization in East Asia. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012. Print. Slote, Walter H. and De Vos, George A. Confucianism and the Family. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1998. Print. Yao, Xinzhong. An Introduction to Confucianism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Print.     Read More