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Jackie Searle

Shannon Atkinson

Philosophy 1000

June 28, 2017

Confucius

When most people hear the name Confucius, they think of the phrase Confucius say

Confucius was so much more than a simple phrase. Confucius is one of the most influential

thinkers of eastern philosophy. He had a goal of changing the way people live and in turn we

would live better lives. In this paper, I will tell you about Confucius philosophy. How he

believed if we all used te with li, it could make a better life for all and maybe even show us the

Golden Mean and Tao.

Confucius was born (551479 B.C.E.) in the small state of Lu on the Shandong peninsula

in northeastern China (http://www.iep.utm.edu/confuciu/). Confucius was a civil servant in his

home province of Lu until the age of fifty-six. For the next thirteen years he searched for a ruler

that would heed his advice and achieve political and social reform. He failed to find such a ruler.

Confucius returned home and continued to teach, write and edit until his death. Legend says he

was the first man in Chinese history to dedicate his life to teaching (Soccio, p.34).

Confucius lived during a period of what is known as the Warring States (Soccio, p.24).

During this period, princes fought against each other in a struggle for power. The moral rules

regarded during war were ignored and the war became extremely violent. One side of the war

always trying to one-up the other side in terms of violence. The war would continue for two

hundred and fifty years.

Confucius referred to these moral rules as li. Li encompasses rites, customs, and
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conventions ranging from ritual sacrifices honoring ones ancestors to everyday etiquette and

good manners (Soccio, p.37). I also view li as feeling or empathy. An example of this would be a

hunter. When a hunter kills an animal, they feel both thankful and regretful. They regret that a

beautiful animal has lost their life, but in return thankful they are given a chance to sustain

themselves. A hunter with feeling will not kill or take unnecessarily. I feel this is what Confucius

means to use li. If we follow what Confucius says about li, we will have good manners, taste,

morality and social order (http://www.iep.utm.edu/confuciu/).

There is still more to li than just good manners. He also viewed it with a sacred quality

(Soccio, p.37). If we practice good li our interactions will change to fully human. Without li all

our actions will lack sincerity. Thereby becoming barbaric or in-humane. Li is also a huge aspect

when it comes to understanding te.

The meaning of te is the power to affect others without physical force. Confucius also

expands it to mean the capacity to act according to Tao and to bring others to Tao. In that use,

Tao and te cannot be separated (Soccio, p.37). Te is the morally neutral state of all things. All

things can be used for good and bad intentions. For example, water is required for life in all

living things but it may also be used to take life away. Another great example of this is the

saying if mom isnt happy, nobodys happy. This phrase shows the force that one person can

have on many.

This is where te and li should always go hand in hand. Using te without li would be doing

things out of necessity instead of sincerity (Soccio, p.37). Like helping someone cross the street

just because you know you should. Not because you truly care if they make it across safely.

Confucius' vision of order unites aesthetic concerns for harmony and symmetry (li) with moral

force (te) in pursuit of social goals: a well-ordered family, a well-ordered state, and a well-
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ordered world. Such an aesthetic, moral, and social program begins at home, with the cultivation

of the individual (http://www.iep.utm.edu/confuciu/). By using te and li Confucius would say

you are closer to Tao than others who do not.

In ancient Chinese cosmology, everything was influenced by heaven and earth working

together in harmony. This was also referred to as Tao of all existence. Literally, Tao is the way

or the path. Tao unfolds and influences all of nature while remaining hidden from empirical

(sensory) experience (Soccio, p.23).

Heaven and earth are two opposing, but not separable forces. These are also known as

Yin and yang. Yin element represents earth, passive, weak, negative, dark, destructive, female

side. While yang represents heaven, active, strong, positive, light, constructive, male side. When

one thinks of heaven, they think of relatives they have lost or a spiritual place. When you think

of earth, you think of physical items or nature. These two display there is not a firm division

between realities. The realities include spiritual and physical, divine and human, natural and

supernatural or reason and intuition. Yin and yang are a harmonious balance working together

according to Tao (Soccio, p.23).

Confuciuss humanistic notion that man can make the Way (Tao) great was a radical

departure from the traditional Chinese emphasis on nature spirits. (Soccio, p.35). Humanism is

the belief that humans are the most important (class notes, Handout 2). Confucius thought he

could preserve the declining culture. He emphasized the idea of social preservation over

individual creation (Soccio, p.35).

Confucius talked about learning the way of chung-yung. Chung-yung is the Golden Mean

or moderation (class notes, Handout 2). He said that if an individual learned the Golden Mean

they could use that knowledge to better their lives and in turn making a better life for all.
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There are two types of men according to Confucius. First there is the hsiao-jen. The

hsiao-jen is a small or vulgar man (Soccio, p. 38). Hsiao-jen thinks of himself before humanity.

He is always competing to be the best. He disrespects li and loses sight of the Mean. The greedy

hsiao-jen told Confucius that he was worried about the high number of robbers in his province.

Confuciuss reply was blunt: If you yourself dont love money, you can give the money to

thieves and they wont take it (Soccio, p.38).

The second and opposite of the hsiao-jen is the chun-tzu. Before Confucius chun-tzu

meant the lords son or superior man (Soccio, p.38). Confucius altered the meaning to morally

superior man. The morally superior man incorporates every meaning of li and thinks of humanity

before himself. He does not see others as above or below himself, but tries to help others by

becoming a noble person. Confucius would say One who really loves humanity will not place

anything above it.

The chun-tzu is not special for all the typical reasons of the time (ethnicity or political).

He had a special character and humanity or jen. Jen means that empathy makes you a real person

(class notes, Handout 2). Jen is achieved by learning the Mean between humanism and holism.

Holism is the notion that everything is connected as a giant whole. The whole is primary

and often greater than the sum of its parts (http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/glossary/holism.html).

Confucius was a believer of holism. I believe this is evident when one looks at each of his

philosophies. All of them have an opposite (chun-tzu and hsiao-jen) or work together in unison

(te and li). Each philosophy is a small part of the whole. Part and whole cannot be

understoodmuch less existwithout each other. How could they? The very essence of being a

part requires a whole to be a part of, and there can be no whole without parts (Soccio, p. 23).

Confucius was a very wise man. There is a quote that I feel represents todays society
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very well. Confucius said, I know why the Way is not pursued. The intelligent go beyond it and

the stupid do not come up to it. I know why the Way is not understood. The worthy go beyond it

and the unworthy do not come up to it. There is no one who does not eat and drink, but there are

few who can really know flavor (Soccio, p. 36). Everything is very fast paced and its

impossible to keep up. Nobody takes time to live in the moment. We are always consumed by

what is coming next. It makes me wonder if we can ever truly understand just how lucky we are

in our own ways. Its like that saying, you dont know what youve got till its gone. Confucius

obviously felt this way too. Unfortunately, we didnt realize the knowledge Confucius had to

share until it was too late. I wonder where society would be today if we would have taken his

advice. Use te with li and find the Mean (moderation). Strive to be a chun-tzu with jen and not a

hsiao-jen.