Analysis Of Hsun Tzu's Encouraging Learning

In his essay, “Encouraging Learning,” Hsun Tzu presents many ideas that are associated with learning. He talks about how learning is a never-ending process and that people are constantly learning up until they die. Tzu discussed the fact that it is impossible for a man to become educated alone and must be with others in order to learn. He also talked about the idea that a man’s education helps to shape his virtues when he said, “The learning of the gentleman enters his ear, clings to his mind, spreads through his four limbs, and manifests itself in his actions.” (Jacobus 550). He believed that what a man learned was reflected in his actions. Even though Tzu presents many good ideas and critical thoughts, he does have a weakened argument due to the fact that he used the “appeal to authority” fallacy. As a philosopher, Tzu’s audience would consist of mainly, teachers, students, and scholars. His writings are appropriate for his audience, as he is discussing learning and the importance of a life-long education. Tzu uses colorful language to present his point, which can make it a little hard to understand. In order to make his writings better understood, Tzu uses many analogies to get his point across. Analogies can help in …show more content…
The structure was well organized and thought out and provided clear, precise points. His ideas sounded logical and he provided a lot of information to back them up. Tzu wrote the essay in a way that was easy to comprehend for both scholars and students. There was no jump from being logical to illogical; however, his transitions from one idea to another were a little rough. He would finish with one idea and go into the next without a smooth transition. For instance, he went from the idea of doing good, right into the idea of where learning begins and ends. (Jacobus 549). Even with this small error, “Encouraging Learning” made sense in the aspect of the ideas