Confucius is one of the most influential teachers in Chinese history and his philosophy has shaped much of China’s culture. He was an Ontologist, who are individuals that deal with the nature of being. He spent a majority of his life asking and trying to find the answers to two main questions: Who are we and what is the best kind of human being? In this paper I’ll be sharing some brief history of Confucius life and explaining his philosophy.
Kong Qui or K’ung Fu-tzu, or Confucius as he is known in the western world, was “ugly, awkward, and shy, but a prodigy”. He was born in 551 B.C. in Lu (present-day Qufu, Shandong Province). Confucius was not of noble birth and suffered most of his life from poverty and rejection. Kong He, his father, …show more content…
Mozi was born in 470 BC founded the school of Mohism in opposition to Confucianism and Daoism. Like Confucius, Mozi was trained in classical literature. He saw the Confucianists of his time as overblown and selfish aristocrats. Mozi argued that Confucianism was simply striving to obey the establishment, which was further evidence that Confucius did not support equality or democracy. He condemned Confucian preoccupation with religious ritual, and he ridiculed Confucianists for putting family and class above the welfare of common people …show more content…
He did recognize that tradition was important, but it should not hinder the progression of the future. He did not believe family, self-discipline and good actions could change the life of a person. Instead he believed that a person 's ability to sense the world around them, judging and calculating causes, and historical bases, along with a person 's own innate self worth and abilities, a person 's life could be changed. This sort of idea was appealing to many who were tired of the over attachment to family and tradition-people who wanted to make a real change for the future. Tradition is alright, but as time passes by tradition becomes inefficient and irrelevant. By focusing on the causes and effects, and failures and success of a person 's actions new ways of handling situations can be created, instead of settling down with tradition, which offered minimal change if any. Mozi seemed to be more of an Axial thinker than Confucius, because he wanted a new way of doing things, instead of settling for the old way of handling the world (Osborne).
Confucius is one of the most influential teachers in Chinese history and his philosophy has shaped much of China’s culture. He was an Ontologist, who are individuals that deal with the nature of being. During his lifetime traditional Chinese values began to
Kong Qui or K’ung Fu-tzu, or Confucius as he is known in the western world, was “ugly, awkward, and shy, but a prodigy”. He was born in 551 B.C. in Lu (present-day Qufu, Shandong Province). Confucius was not of noble birth and suffered most of his life from poverty and rejection. Kong He, his father, …show more content…
Mozi was born in 470 BC founded the school of Mohism in opposition to Confucianism and Daoism. Like Confucius, Mozi was trained in classical literature. He saw the Confucianists of his time as overblown and selfish aristocrats. Mozi argued that Confucianism was simply striving to obey the establishment, which was further evidence that Confucius did not support equality or democracy. He condemned Confucian preoccupation with religious ritual, and he ridiculed Confucianists for putting family and class above the welfare of common people …show more content…
He did recognize that tradition was important, but it should not hinder the progression of the future. He did not believe family, self-discipline and good actions could change the life of a person. Instead he believed that a person 's ability to sense the world around them, judging and calculating causes, and historical bases, along with a person 's own innate self worth and abilities, a person 's life could be changed. This sort of idea was appealing to many who were tired of the over attachment to family and tradition-people who wanted to make a real change for the future. Tradition is alright, but as time passes by tradition becomes inefficient and irrelevant. By focusing on the causes and effects, and failures and success of a person 's actions new ways of handling situations can be created, instead of settling down with tradition, which offered minimal change if any. Mozi seemed to be more of an Axial thinker than Confucius, because he wanted a new way of doing things, instead of settling for the old way of handling the world (Osborne).
Confucius is one of the most influential teachers in Chinese history and his philosophy has shaped much of China’s culture. He was an Ontologist, who are individuals that deal with the nature of being. During his lifetime traditional Chinese values began to