ConfuciusA way of life:“I want you to be everything that’s you, deep at the center of your being.” ConfuciusWhat is at the center of your being?

Confucius (Kung Fu-Tzu)*(551-479 BC)

& Confucianism

Reading from the Analects

(Text, pp. 1-14)

*Family name = Kung (Kong) Personal name = Zhong-ni Kung Fu-Tzu (Kong Fu-zi) = “Master Kung” “Confucius” = Latinization of “Kung Fu-Tzu”

Revised, 8/30/08

The Ancient State of Lu

ancient State of Lu

That’s where Confucius was born & spent most of his life.

Confucius claimed to derive his teachings from “the Ancients,” whose

wisdom is embodied in “The Five Classics” (Wu Jing)

The I Jing (“Book of Changes”)The Shu Jing (“Book of History”) The Shih Jing (“Book of Odes”

[poetry])The Li Ji (“Book of Rites”)The Ch’un-ch’iu (“Spring & Autumn

Annals”)

The primary sources of Confucian philosophy

The further expression of Confucian philosophy

Analects (Lun-Yu)The Doctrine of the Mean

(Zhongyong)The Great Learning (Ta-hsueh)The Book of Meng-Tzu

“The “The Four Books” (Ssu-chu)

Four

(Mencius, 371-288 BC)

Central concepts in Confucian thought

Dao (“Way”) - the Ultimate; the One; the Absolute; the underlying Power; the Source

Yin/Yang - the dual expression of Dao; neither is superior to the other

The Plural World - the universe; Heaven & Earth; an ever-changing expression & blend of Yin & Yang

Metaphysics

Ontology & Cosmology

(Heaven is Yang in relation to Earth; and Earth is Yin in relation to Heaven; but each is, in itself, a blend of both Yin & Yang.)

Yin & Yangfemaledarkcoolmoistpassivenegativeevil

malebrighthotdryactivepositivegoodEarth &

moon

Heaven & sun

"A basic difference between the“Chinese conception of yin and yang and other classical philosophical dualisms…is that whereas most dualisms are forever in conflict, yin and yang always act in harmony, and both are considered to be necessary to maintain the order of the universe." (Bilhartz 262)

Theology

Shang-Ti (God), the original ancestor (after the 11th century BC)

Heaven (Tian, T’ien) - the divine realm (Human beings who have died live on with Shang-Ti as ancestors (ti) in Heaven.)

Continuity & interchange between Heaven (the divine realm) and Earth (the human realm), i.e., between the ancestors & those living on Earth.

Confucian metaphysics, continued

(T(The ancestors are to be worshipped, and sacrifices are to be offered to them; they, in turn, will guide and protect us, especially with regard to our futures (divination

practices). When we die, we will join the ancestors in Heaven and become ancestors ourselves.) and become ancestors ourselves.) [No hell(s)?].]

Spiritism (spirits every- where, good [shen] & evil [gui]).

Anthropology(Human Nature & the Human Predicament)

Human nature:◦naturally &

inherently good - need for cultivation via education

◦naturally social & political - development & perfection of human nature within the social & political realm

The human predicament:◦suffering as a result of

failure to follow the “Way of the Ancestors”

◦Disharmony & conflict between Heaven & Earth, between the ancestors & us; and between humans here on earth

◦Solution of problem of suffering: reestablish harmony

Confucian metaphysics, continued

Confucius’s primary goal:

order, harmony, peace, & happiness in this life here on earth

(He had only a secondary interest in “transcendental” salvation.)

Central themes in Confucianethical theory:

The Chun-Tzu - the ideal of the Superior (self-actualized, virtuous, perfected) Person

The Chun-Tzu is an exemplification of ideal virtue, of Yi, of Ren, of Li, and of Hsiao –

Yi - righteousness, just and appropriate conduct

According to Confucianists, there is an objective, absolute, and unconditional moral obligation on all of us to work for universal human well-being, the common good, the general welfare (which will include one's own true good):◦ Objective = not subjective; not

relative; the obligation is independent of culturally and individually variable states of opinion, preference, feeling, or response.

◦ Absolute = it extends throughout the whole sphere of moral obligation and cannot be suspended or overruled by any more basic or ultimate moral principle with a wider range of applicability.

◦ Unconditional = this obligation does not depend on the fulfillment or non- fulfillment of any particular set of facts or circumstances which may or may not happen to occur - facts, for example, about our desires, aspirations, or goals in acting one way rather than another.

• Ren (jen) - virtue– Positive formulation:

cultivation of feeling (respect, empathy, compassion, love) for all humanity (Text, pp. 3-5)

– Negative formulation: the Silver Rule (Text, p. 7, vv. 85 & 86)

*

*Sometimes translated as “humanity”

See Hackett, Oriental Philosophy, pp. 29-31.

Li - Propriety (proper conduct)

The Rectification of Names (Zheng-ming) (proper use of language)

The Doctrine of the Mean (Zhongyong)

The Five Constant Relationships:◦parent-child◦husband-wife◦elder sibling-

younger sibling◦elder friend-

younger friend◦ruler-subject

Confucian ethics, continued

Filial Piety (Xiao, Hsiao)

(devotion to & reverence for parents & family)

The institution of the family is the foundation of a well-ordered & civilized society (grounded mainly on respect of children for parents)

Respect for age (experience & wisdom)

Confucian ethics / Li, continued

Religious Propriety

proper practice of traditional rites(worship of God, ancestors, Heaven, Earth, spirits; funeral services & sacrifices in honor of parents)

Confucian ethics / Li, continued

Wen(learning & the arts)

The importance of culture in the creation & maintenance of a well-ordered society

Studying & learning

The arts - especially music

Confucian ethics (& aesthetics?), continued

(Confucius composed a “Book of Music” [Yueh Jing], which is sometimes referred to as a “sixth classic.”)

Confucius’s Political Philosophy

Te - the union of power & virtue

The characteristics of a good ruler (or civil servant):◦moral goodness (virtue & propriety)◦rationality◦moderation◦benevolence

Confucian axiology, continued