IV. Main Concepts of Confucianism:
the twin concepts of jen
and li are often said to constitute the basis of Confucianism. |
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A. Jen (wren): human
heartedness; goodness; benevolence, man-to-man-ness; what makes man distinctively human
(that which gives human beings their humanity). |
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1. The virtue of virtues; Confucius said he never
really saw it full expressed. The other virtues follow from it. He never gives and defends
a definition of it although he does characterize it. |
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2. It is dearer than life itself--the man of jen
will sacrifice his life to preserve jen, and conversely it is what makes life worth
living. |
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3. Jen is a sense for the dignity of human
life--a feeling of humanity towards others and self-esteem for yourself. |
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a. Such feeling applies to all men--not just one
nation or race. It is the foundation of all human relationships. |
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b. There is the belief that jen can be obtained;
indeed, there is the belief in the natural perfectibility of man. Hence, he rejects
the way of human action where one satisfies likes and avoids dislikes. |
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c. The first principle of Confucianism is to act
according to jen: it is the ultimate guide to human action. |
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4. We should seek to extend jen to others. |
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B. Li (lee): principle
of gain, benefit, order, propriety; concrete guide to human action. |
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1. Two basic meanings to li: (1) concrete guide
to human relationships or rules of proper action that genuinely embody jen and (2) general
principle of social order or the general ordering of life. |
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2. Confucius recognized that you need a well
ordered society for wren to be expressed. |
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3. First Sense: the concrete guide to
human relationships. |
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a. The way things should be done or propriety:
positive rather than negative ("Do's rather than Don't's). |
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b. The main components of propriety emphasizes
the openness of people to each other. |
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(1) The reification of names: language
used in accordance with the truth of things. |
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(2) The Doctrine of the Mean: so important
that an entire book is dedicated to it in the Confucian canon: the proper action is the
way between the extremes. |
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(3) The Five Relationships: the way things
should be done in social life; none of the relationships are transitive. (Note that 3 of
the 5 relations involve family; the family is the basic unit of society). |
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(a) father and son (loving / reverential) |
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(b) elder brother and younger brother (gentle / respectful) |
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(c) husband and wife (good / listening) |
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(d) older friend and younger friend (considerate /
deferential) |
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(e) ruler and subject (benevolent / loyal) |
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(4) Respect for age: age gives all things their
worth: objects, institutions, and individual lives. |
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4. Second Sense of li: principle of social order;
ritual; ordering of life; conforming to the norms of jen (the limits and authenticity of
li). |
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a. Every action affects someone else--there
are limits to individuality. |
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b. Confucius sought to order an entire way of
life. |
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c. You shouldn't be left to improvise your
responses because you are at a loss as to how to behave. |
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d. A. N. Whitehead's quotation of a Cambridge
vicar: "For well-conducted people, life presents no problems." |
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C. Yi (yee);
righteousness; the moral disposition to do good (also a necessary condition for jen
or for the superior man). |
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1. Yi connotes a moral sense: the ability
to recognize what is right and good; the ability to feel, under the circumstances what is
the right thing to do. |
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a. Not chih, moral wisdom per se, but intuition. |
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b. Most of us live under the sway of different
kinds of "I's." In this case, the identification is with an impersonal ego.
(In Freudian terms, almost like the super-ego.) |
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c. The impersonal ego is the assimilated or
appropriated values of our culture--the Confucian true self. |
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2. Some actions ought to be performed for the
sole reason that they are right--regardless of what they produce; not for the sake of
something else. |
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a. The value in the act is the rightness of
the action regardless of the intention or the consequences of the act. |
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b. Hence, yi is a different way than either stoicism
(intention with soft determinism) or utilitarianism (consequences with free will). |
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c. Confucianism is similar to Kant's ethics of
duty: the action is done as a good-in-itself, not as a means to an end. |
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3. Acting from yi is quite close to
practicing jen. Compare the two situations: |
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a. A person does all actions for the sake of
yi because they are the right thing to do (i.e., the behavior forms the disposition).
This example is the way we learn; it is not an example of yi. |
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b. A person does all actions for the sake of
jen because respect for humanity implies the right human way to act (i.e., be
concerned about who you are, not the individual things you do). This example is practiced
until it becomes second-nature, then it is right. |
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D. Hsiao (showe): filial
piety; reverence |
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1. Parents are revered because they are the
source of your life. They have sacrificed much for you. |
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2. One should do well and make the family name
known and respected: bring honor to your family. |
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3. Consider someone you respect and admire who
saves your life or someone who has sacrificed his life for you--as, indeed, your parents
did. Hence, the reverence. |
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4. Hsiao implies that you give your parents not
only physical care but also emotional and spiritual richness. When the parents die, their
unfulfilled aims and purposes should be the purposes of the children. |
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5. What do you do if your values are different
from your parents? I.e., in a changing society? |
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6. The beginnings of jen are found in hsiao
(family life). |
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a. Once the reverence and respect is understood
for parent, hsiao can be extended by generalization to family, friends, society, and
mankind. |
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b. Respect for the sake of reverence affects who
you are. |
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E. Chih (chee): moral
wisdom; the source of this virtue is knowledge of right and wrong. Chih is added to
Confucianism by Mencius (muhn shoos) who believed that people are basically born good. |
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1. Since we draw the difference between right and
wrong from our own mind, these ideas are innate. |
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2. Man is a moral animal for Mencius. Man has the
potential to be good for Confucius. |
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3. How, then, does Mencius account for the origin
of evil? |
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a. From external circumstances: nature and
the needs for survival. |
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b. From society and culture being is disarray:
it would be to our disadvantage to be moral. |
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c. From lack of knowledge: we do not seek
to find out the options we have. We fail to develop our feelings and senses. |
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F. Chun-tzu (choon dzuh): the
ideal man; the superior man; gentle person in the most significant sense. |
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1. He is at home in the world; as he needs
nothing himself. He is at the disposal of others and completely beyond personal ambition. |
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2. He is intelligent enough to meet anything
without fear. |
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3. Few people can attain this ideal; the central
virtue is, of course, jen. |
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a. Personal relationships come before anything
else (i.e., before thinking, reasoning, studying). |
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b. The five virtues come from within the
impersonal ego: (1) kindness, (2) rectitude, (3) decorum, (4) wisdom, and (5) sincerity. |
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G. Te (day): power by
which men are ruled; the power of moral example (the whole art of government consists in
the art of being honest). |
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1. The patterns of prestige are used in the
service of governance of the country. |
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2. Government is good if it can maintain (1)
economic sufficiency, (2) military sufficiency, and (3) confidence of the people. |
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Check your understanding
with a Quiz on the Main Concepts of
Confucianism.
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