Aristotle Vs Confucius Essay
Confucius versus Aristotle and the similarities between Dao, or as it is presently known, Tao against eudaimonia, (happiness), and why these ideas are important to the study of ethics today.
Aristotle was one of the greatest philosophers in history. He was solely judged in terms of his philosophical influence and his only peer was Plato. Aristotle’s writings have proven to be difficult to understand to most novice readers, although his teachings in the Nicomachean Ethics and that of eudaimonia, happiness, are fairly easy to understand. Aristotle hallows happiness as the vital purpose of human life and a goal in itself. His definition of happiness from the Nicomachean Ethics is “the function of man is to live a certain kind of life, and …show more content…
He was better known in China as “Master Kong”. He was first and foremost a moral philosopher (Smith 60). He was instrumental in molding the Chinese minds and way of life. Ethical concepts are at the heart of Confucius’s teachings. He taught that the goal for individuals was to develop your personality until a perfect, true person was reached. He was a humanist in that his main focus was on practical human concerns and said very little about spiritual or the ultimate nature of reality (Basham 30). It has been said that Confucius’s thoughts start with human life and reaches up to the Way of Heaven, but it has been proven that it was more about his ethical system where he works out the basic principles for his Way of Man, Tao (Smith 61). Dao is defined as Way, the meaning of one’s life. Daoism is a religious or philosophical Chinese tradition, which emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao. Daoism denotes the principle that is the source, pattern and substance of everything that exists. It boasts of effortless action being natural, simple and spontaneous. To go further, it also characterized by a positive, active attitude toward the occult and the metaphysical or the theories on the nature of reality. It has also been defined as “Nature”, which means the whole universe, including everything within the universe as it proceeds on course uninterrupted (Bahm
Aristotle was one of the greatest philosophers in history. He was solely judged in terms of his philosophical influence and his only peer was Plato. Aristotle’s writings have proven to be difficult to understand to most novice readers, although his teachings in the Nicomachean Ethics and that of eudaimonia, happiness, are fairly easy to understand. Aristotle hallows happiness as the vital purpose of human life and a goal in itself. His definition of happiness from the Nicomachean Ethics is “the function of man is to live a certain kind of life, and …show more content…
He was better known in China as “Master Kong”. He was first and foremost a moral philosopher (Smith 60). He was instrumental in molding the Chinese minds and way of life. Ethical concepts are at the heart of Confucius’s teachings. He taught that the goal for individuals was to develop your personality until a perfect, true person was reached. He was a humanist in that his main focus was on practical human concerns and said very little about spiritual or the ultimate nature of reality (Basham 30). It has been said that Confucius’s thoughts start with human life and reaches up to the Way of Heaven, but it has been proven that it was more about his ethical system where he works out the basic principles for his Way of Man, Tao (Smith 61). Dao is defined as Way, the meaning of one’s life. Daoism is a religious or philosophical Chinese tradition, which emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao. Daoism denotes the principle that is the source, pattern and substance of everything that exists. It boasts of effortless action being natural, simple and spontaneous. To go further, it also characterized by a positive, active attitude toward the occult and the metaphysical or the theories on the nature of reality. It has also been defined as “Nature”, which means the whole universe, including everything within the universe as it proceeds on course uninterrupted (Bahm