Confucian Moral Theory and Practice - Essay Example

Confucian Moral Theory and Practice Morality issues as a central theme of Confucianism. Either an individual or society conceives morality as a set of codes of conduct that are acceptable. In other words, morality refers to a code of conduct that all rational individuals within a group or society would support. The traditional Confucian morality is highly concerned with how individuals ought to live. More specifically, Confucian morality is primarily concerned about what constitutes a worthwhile life, how individuals should weigh their duties towards family against strangers. Confucian morality also has to do with how individuals should relate with the non-human world. More importantly, Confucian morality tends to concentrate on the degree to which individuals should be involved in straightening out the society as well as its political structures. Finally, Confucian morality concerns how individuals in position of power or influence ought to carry themselves. Concisely, there is a significant link between personal, social and political aspects of morality in East Asia. The fundamental concepts of Confucian morality include the merging of social-political reform to self-cultivation, the pursuit of Dao, the ethical system of jen, yi and li, the moral ideal of chun-tze, and the wu-lu. In fact, the traditional Confucian moral ideals have been thought to children across generations. However, the Confucian moral theory, even though thought to children as they grow up, does not match actual practice of the morality (Lai 21). This discussion explicitly describes the Confucian theory and practice by first offering a brief background on the key concepts of Confucian morality and then delineating the cardinal codes of conduct that merge the morality concepts before culminating with a statement on the disparity between the Confucian morality theory and actual practice. The fundamental constructs of Confucian morality, in their independent nature, cannot comprehensively describe Confucian morality unless there is some form of connection between two or more of these constructs. As such, the five critical constructs have to be considered independently to form the basis for introducing the Confucian moral theory and practice in East Asia. First off is the concept of merging social-political reform to self-cultivation. According to Confucius’ belief, the establishment of political order on social order was essential and personal cultivation coined this social order, albeit among the members of the society: “From the Son of Heaven down to the mass of the people, the cultivation of the self is the foundation of everything besides” (Lai 24). Confucius contends that the self-cultivation of individuals will translated into the rectification of the hearts and, therefore, the spillover effects would see the other people get cultivated as well. A cultivated society would lead to families that are regulated, and thus, the whole State would be justifiably governed. Rightly, governed States would give rise to a kingdom that calm and glad (24). Intrinsically, the connection between personal cultivation and the social-political reform is overly strong and this sets ground for Confucian morality. The second concept of Confucian morality is the pursuit of dao. Dao refers to a method, doctrine, path of truth or in accordance to the moral teachings. Sometimes, this term is interpreted as “an all encompassing state of affairs embracing the ‘outer’ socio-political order and the ‘inner’ moral life of the individual” (Yao 229). The sovereign metaphysical drive controls the functioning of all things in the world in accordance to the universal moral order. As such, Confucius advocates that the responsibility of humans be to seek the understanding and pursuit of life in conformity to Dao. Confucius conceives Dao as the act following human nature, which is imparted on human by the Heavens and goes on to enunciate that “If a man in the morning hears the Dao; he may die in the evening without regret!” (Yao 231). In essence, Confucius intended to express how Dao was critical to the life of an individual. Thirdly, the fundamentals constructs of ethics: jen, yi, and li offer a great deal of insights in a bid to comprehend Confucian moral theory and practice. Jen has been interpreted to mean humanity, benevolence, true manhood, human heartedness and virtue. Besides, jen is also regarded as a tool to signify the perfect relationship between humans. On the other hand, yi is interpreted to mean justice, appropriateness, obligation and righteousness. Largely, yi is the precept that sets things proper and right (Yao 284). Nonetheless, li is interpreted to mean decorum, rites, rites, etiquette and rules of propriety. At a glance, li is conceived as a ceremonial order; however, in its entire sense it is implies the sociopolitical order. Given this, jen and yi are perceptibly the intimate core of Confucian morality that serves as guidance to the humans’ pursuit of Dao whereas li is construed as the external form and touchstone of Confucian morality for humans to conform to in the societal context (192). These three ethical concepts are crucial in comprehending Confucian moral theory and practice. The fourth construct of Confucian morality has to do with the moral ideal of chun-tze. The term chun-tze is used to denote a man of prominent moral accomplishment and is perpetually attempting to cultivate and ameliorate him, to attain the respective degrees of perfection. Actually, the moral character of such an individual ought to exhibit qualities of autonomy, such as self-determination, self-cultivation, self-reliance and self-activation. Besides, a chun-tze should present qualities of a relational individual in the sense that he or she is committed to other individuals on grounds of altruism and morality. The primary concern of a Confucian ideal man is to grant peace and security to other individuals in the society; however, one has to attain the position of a chun-tze and this necessitates unremitting moral personal cultivation (Tiwald 57). In essence, this concept clearly describes what Confucian followers ought to do in order to accomplish the level of morality associated with an ideal Confucian man. Lastly, the concept of the wu-lun is also critical in understanding Confucian morality. Confucius emphasizes filial piety and family values by presenting the five fundamental human relationships. These relationships include; between minister and ruler, between son and father, between wife and husband, between younger brothers and elders, and among friends. Essentially, wu-lun gave a sense of form to social institutions as well as the East Asian societies, including transactions carried between individuals. Given this, Confucius believes that provided there is sound family breeding, then, it is automatic that there is a sound societal intercourse as well. He remarks, “A superior man is devoted to the root. When the root is firmly established, the moral law will grow” (Lai 26). In concluding this concept, Confucius affirms that the basic root of humanity consists of brotherly respect and filial piety, that is, humanity is a mere extension of familial ethics. Concisely, the concept of relationships in the society is of the essence about Confucian morality. Having discussed the key concepts of Confucian morality, the main principles of Confucian morality are paramount. To begin with, respect for autonomy, that is, free will and self-legislation, issues a central principle of Confucian morality. In developing this principle, Confucius oppugns the essence of utilizing punishment and law to remediate the conduct of individuals, something that he considers inappropriate for its failure to grant the victims a sense of honor and shame. However, if rules of property (li) and virtues regulate people, Confucius asserts that victims will not only avert wrongdoing but will also have a sense of shame. The principle of respect for autonomy is manifested in Confucius’ teachings on humaneness (jen), which he conceives as the respect and love that an individual ought to furnish to other individuals. Moreover, the concept of the Confucian ideal man (chun-tze) stresses the qualities of an autonomous individual as well as the dignity and value of coming off as an individual. Confucius maintains that an ideal man should aim “to be an end of oneself, not a means of others” (Liu 178). In essence, the objective of Confucius’ teachings on morality is to cultivate autonomous individuals. Additionally, the principle of justice is central to the Confucian morality. Justice (yi) is concerned with restricting the interminable pursuit of individual profit and governing of the self-interested desires. Justice (yi) furnishes a criterion of deciding whether to pursue a profit or not. Confucius postulates that if the pursuance of the profit in question does not entail a conflict between self and public interest, then, it is moral correct to pursue it; however, if such a conflict exists, the public interest deserves priority over self-interest. In addition, the principle of justice applies to the five basic human relationships (wu-lun) in the sense that the hierarchical pattern that guides these relationships between: son and father, wife and husband, young and old, and minister and ruler, have both a superior authoritative side and an inferior subordinate side. Intrinsically, there is some sort of inequality; however, the purpose of this inequality is to restitute and preserve social order (Liu 183). Even so, every party has to fulfill its defined responsibility and exercise mutual respect, otherwise, the inequality of the autonomy and rights of the autonomy will exploited by the superior authoritative side. The net effect, therefore, will be the subverting of the justice of the subordinates. Nevertheless, since fraternal love and filial piety issue as the roots of human morality (jen), Confucius puts forward that in instances where justice conflicts with filial piety, the latter holds first owing to the loath of damaging the roots to carry on the branches (Yao 279). The bottom line here is that the principle of justice is cardinal to the Confucian morality. In addition, the maxim of beneficence is an all-important component in Confucian morality. Beneficence refers to a moral ideal on which a Confucian ideal man (chun-tze) is devoted. The concept of humanness (jen) stresses love. Considering this concept in its entire sense, it has everything to do with the concept of reciprocity (shu), a concept that exonerates beneficence. Confucius’ argument is that “I received benefits from others therefore in return I promoted their welfare” (Tiwald 61). What is more, the Confucian concept of humanness (jen) is professed in both a negative and positive form. The negative form maintains that one ought not to do something to others that he or she cannot want them to do to him or her. The positive form holds that a desire by an individual to establish his or her character a similar desire to establish the character of others should follow. In other words, an individual’s wish to be outstanding also assists other individuals to be outstanding. As a rule, the negative form serves as the standard rule in the sense that it is the minimum standard for practicing morality of Confucianism followers in East Asia. However, the love emphasized by humanness (jen) stems from biological bond in that it originates from the respect shared and intimate affection among family members, after which the love exerted to the outside world. The implication of this fact is that the love is neither universal nor partial, but rather it is gradational. The gradational approach to love affords the precept of beneficence a practical and ethical scheme of realizing it (Liu 172). Altogether, the principle of beneficence is indispensable in the Confucian morality. However, the Confucian moral theory comes forth as a challenge to implement in the modern East Asian societies. The Confucian moral theory has proved knotty for contemporary Confucianism interpreters (Tiwald 63). For instance, the Confucian moral theory that defined the social interaction in East Asian societies, such as conforming to the three-years of mourning the parents of a person, bowing before superiors, as well as appropriate gestures for kinship and social status for a person, have been abandoned in the modern Confucian society. This defection is attributed to the backward pull that is associated with the traditional Confucian moral theory. In fact, the Confucian moral theory does not hold among the East Asian societies with the same intensity like it used to hold in the traditional times (Yao 271). Unmistakably, the Confucian morality is losing grip among the East Asian societies. In conclusion, the Confucian morality applies the concepts of merging sociopolitical reform to self-cultivation, the path of truth (Dao), the ethical ideals of humaneness (jen), justice (yi), and rituals (li). The vital principles of Confucian morality include the respect for autonomy, which has to do with regulation of people, by virtues rather than the government and punishment. The principle of justice is also essential and concerns the pursuit of public interest as opposed to self-interest. However, filial piety has priority over justice when a conflict exists. Lastly, the principle of beneficence is critical and has to do with reciprocity, albeit in its positive and negative form. Even so, the backward pull associated with the traditional Confucian morality has rendered it relatively irrelevant in the modern society. Without doubt, Confucian morality will continue to lose its influence on the East Asian societies with the passage of time unless Confucianism followers respect and appreciate the importance and grandness of traditions. Works Cited Lai, Karyn. “Understanding Confucian Ethics: Reflections on Moral Development”. Australian Journal of Professional and Applied Ethics, vol. 9(2), 2007, pp. 21-27. Liu, JeeLoo. “Confucian moral realism”. Asian Philosophy, Vol. 17 (2), 2007, pp. 167-184. Tiwald, Justin. “Confucianism and virtue ethics: Still a fledgling in Chinese and comparative Philosophy”. Comparative Philosophy, Vol. (2), 2010, pp. 55-63. Yao, Xinzhong. An Introduction to Confucianism. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2005. Print. Read More