PS 112: Modern and Political Contemporary Political Theory

Confucianism
- A worldview, a social ethic, a political ideology, a scholarly tradition, and a way of life. Sometimes viewed
as a philosophy and sometimes as a religion.
- May be understood as an all-encompassing way of thinking and living that entails ancestor reverence
and a profound human-centred religiousness.
- Both the theory and practice of Confucianism have indelibly marked the patterns of government,
society, education, and family of East Asia.

 Confucius or Kong Fu Zi or “Master Kong” (551–479 BCE)

- Considered himself a transmitter not a maker (Lunyu 7.1) who consciously tried to reanimate the old in
order to attain the new.
- Proposed revitalizing the meaning of the past by advocating a ritualized life.
- Confucius’s love of antiquity was motivated by his strong desire to understand why certain life forms and
institutions, such as reverence for ancestors, human-centred religious practices, and mourning
ceremonies, had survived for centuries. His journey into the past was a search for roots, which he
perceived as grounded in humanity’s deepest needs for belonging and communicating.
- He had faith in the cumulative power of culture.

 Lunyu or Analects
- Confucius' teachings and his conversations and exchanges with his disciples

 Confucius taught that people should know their place in life and society. They should respect people
above and below them.
 The Five Relationships
1. Ruler and Ruled
2. Father and son
3. Husband and wife
4. Older Brother and younger brother
5. Friend and Friend

 Confucian Political Theory: Role of Government

- Confucianism endorses a politics of virtue: politics in Confucianism aims to promote certain virtues and
social relationships it defines as good and Confucianism conceives that politics can be successful only if
the people in power are virtuous, a kind of perfectionism which says that the state should promote the
good life
- The politics of virtue as conceived in Confucianism naturally tends to endorse rule by the wise instead of
rule by the many; it tends to stress the need for people to cultivate virtues rather than to enjoy rights and
liberties; and it sees people’s care for the poor and needy as stemming from virtues or duties rather than
imperatives of social equality or justice.
- “Li” - a system of how one should conduct themselves in society.
- Filial Piety - involves showing respect for the ways of fathers and their fathers and so on.
- As for government, the three requisites are: “sufficiency of food, sufficiency of military equipment, and
the confidence of the people in their ruler” (Analects).
- The most important is the people’s faith in their rulers. This is the foundation of the state and it cannot
exist without it. (Chapter 7 of Analects in a conversation between the Master and Tsze-kung.)
- The ways of governing can be seen in the traditions of forefathers. By returning to these, society can be
virtuous and harmonious. Government is seen as a tool to help bring out the best of its people.
- Government must be looked upon by its people for leadership and be respected. It must not lose the
faith of its people.
Prepared by: Lacanaria, Gene Antonette G.