Confucian virtue denoting the good feeling a virtuous human experiences when being altruistic. 仁 is exemplified by a normal adult's protective feelings for children. It is considered the inward expression of Confucian ideals…
Confucianism argued that social harmony could only be restored through the moral example of superiors. Confucius emphasized that, because human society (both within the family and in public life) consisted primarily of unequal relationships, social harmony relied on the superior party in these relationships behaving with sincerity, benevolence, and genuine concern for others. Only then would the inferior party be motivated to respond with deference and obedience.…
To Confucius, good people lived good lives, which in turn caused good societies to be formed from the deeds of these individuals. He believed that education should focus on shaping individuals into good people; people with “virtue and excellence”. One of his ideas, called ren, is directly translated into “human excellence”, “benevolence” and “love”. According to Confucius ren is not something that is inherent in every individual, however, humans are able obtain ren through cognitive thinking and effort. Confucius believes that every person has certain qualities inside of them that can make them good. For instance he believed that every individual possessed wisdom, kindness, respect and piety.…
Created by Confucius, the Confucian ethical system there are thought to be six different basics known as xi, zhi, li, yi, wen, and ren. Xi is, ‘the original good, evil or nothing’ that man is born with. In Confucianism, xi does not contain any original goodness or badness because of this Confucius believes that people must learn to act ethically since it is not an original part of their nature. Zhi is the natural substance of which a person is made, but it is not naturally received, people is acquire zhi through education.There is an inference that an individual acquiring li has a sense of fairness or equity. Li not only shapes character, but motivates the individual to behave. Yi is the standard by which all acts must be judged, yi represents mortally. Wen is something that one does for fun, such as music, poetry, and art. Ren is considered the highest virtue in Confucianism, a person who acquires ren is mastering the way of virtue, morality, compassion and love. This person is reaching the highest levels of moral perfection in a specific aspect of life.…
Confucius believed that the Ideal Person should live according to the principles of Jen, Li, and Yi, Chih, and Hsin. These five principles are also known as the Five Virtues. Confucius believed if people followed these virtues in their daily living that they were working towards the perfection that was already inside them. Jen means to live with goodwill and sympathy towards other people. Jen also includes being generous and polite to others. Yi means to respect your position towards others and towards nature. Li means practicing expressing the person’s inner attitude through their outward expressions. Chih means wisdom. By demonstrating Jen,…
From the Mencius’s argument on "benevolence”. It can be seen that there is not much difference between basic content and Confucius "benevolence" such as未有仁而遗其亲者也. They are both piety and seems to satisfy the moral norm of Confucianism. But Mencius apply benevolence to politics, "benevolent governance" is put forward, revoke the high achievement of personal moral cultivation. This brought great effect on Chinese political thought.…
With the many customs of the Chinese Empire, the practices of Confucianism came along. The teachings of Confucius preached behavior based upon the five relationships (doc.1). The values of the five relationships were respect, obedience and care taking. The teachings of Confucius included a huge belief in education (doc.2). The teachings of Confucius created the bases for the Chinese value of Respect because they were taught to respect their superiors. The teachings of Confucius created the value of education in china. For example, Chinese boys studied from age 7 until they took the civil service exam to attain a government position which brought wealth and power to their families (doc.4).…
According to the Analects, or the scripture within the main Confucian book, benevolence is the most principal of the religion's virtues, including empathy, humanity, love and thoughtfulness (ibid, 137, 144). The faith states that men who wish to consider themselves of superior nature should not only carry out these attributes through right actions, but also be properly motivated with the correct mindset while executing them (ibid, 144, 145).…
3.) Page 42: The passage that begins “I take no action and people are reformed” is from the Confucian writings. I feel this way because Confucius believed that whatever the leader did, his people would follow. The passage that begins “The gentleman cherishes virtue” is from the Confucian teachings because he emphasized the…
Confucianism is a religion based on peace and equality. It centers on worshipping ancestors, it is the respect of deceased ancestors whose spirits are believed to control the opulence of others. Filial piety is also another trait that Confucianism centers on, which is the faithfulness to respect the elders of the family by the younger members. Confucianism has 6 main primary principles which is the golden rule, the gentlemanly man of virtue, the proper playing of society’s role, the power of virtue, the ideal standards of conduct, and peaceful arts. Confucius founded Confucianism. Confucius referred to himself as an examiner who deliberately tried to claim the meaning of the past by breathing vitality into seemingly outmoded…
Finally I argue that the evidence produced and discussed at length within the thesis provides abundant evidence for strong similarities in Aristotle and Confucius’s outlooks concerning ethics. Emerging from the point that both of their works can be classified as examples of virtue ethics and building upon the numerous areas of convergence between them too it is clear that both Aristotelian and Confucian virtue ethics can be discussed in terms with each other and are not exclusionary of the ideas or concepts, nor the internal workings, of the other. With this, then, two very different cultural and historical contexts are shown to be able to give rise to ethical systems which are in no way mutually unintelligible despite not having all the same…
2. How do these values affect your ethical decision-making? Which type of “ethical thinker” would you classify yourself as based on your chosen values? I really believe all the five values help me make an ethical decision. For example I would want a person that has ambition, compassion, loyalty, respect, and understanding to work for me. I think these values are important for everyday life.…
Confucianism has a core of morality, ethics, and activism. It encourages social harmony and mutual respect. Confucianists sought to perfect their character by living a virtuous life and seeking goodness. They valued ethics, respect for elders, and propriety. Confucius, the originator of Confucian thought, believed political order would be found by the proper ordering of human relationships, and so did not bother himself with the structure of the state. He stressed that a good government must fill their positions with well-educated and conscientious people, called Junzi. Confucius was followed by his disciples Mencius and Xunzi. They also possessed the same optimism that humans could improve themselves to perfection.…
Confucius was one of the most influential people on East Asian culture. Born in the sixth century, Confucius committed himself to spreading morality and inspiring people to do good (Ebrey, 42). Confucius linked moral behaviour to traditional roles and hierarchies in both social and political life. One of his main teachings was filial piety, the reverent respect for people in higher standing than you, such as parents and older people. His ideal world was one where hierarchy created harmony and conventions governed actions (Ebery, 42). The highest virtue for Confucius is called Ren, or “perfect goodness, benevolence, humanity, co-humanity, human heartedness, and nobility” (Ebery, 43).…
Benevolence is reference many, many times by both Confucius and his followers throughout the Analects. In book XII alone, benevolence is mentioned in a quarter of all the chapters. Gentlemen are considered benevolent so this fits in well with the overall theme of the book, but I did notice a little bit of a contradiction. Throughout the analects, Confucius seems to be concerned for the well-being of the people of China which makes sense because he pushes benevolence so heavily, but, in book XVII chapter 25, he states that women and men born of lower rank will become hard to deal with if you treat them too well. I think this can be…