Traditional Chinese culture, under the influence of Confucius and the long domination of Confucianism, has never claimed belief in an omnipotent god nor conceived the idea of a creation of man and the world by God neither experienced this insatiable need to believe in the immortality of the soul or in the existence of another world after death. For the Confucian school, the most important is the life of humans, their existence in the real world and in society, which relies primarily on his own actions. This idea offers perhaps the best definition of the conception of human life in Chinese civilization. The doctrine of ren or benevolence is, for Confucian school the heart of his philosophy of man. This notion is regularly present in the Analects of
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But the general sense of benevolence is worth noting. Responding to the question of the disciple “Fan Chi asked about ren. The Master said, “Cherish people.” When he asked about knowledge, the Master said, “Know people,” (Analects, 12.22) This is undoubtedly the most precise definition ever given by Confucius. "To cherish all men" is the supreme principle regulating the relations between people, which makes it possible to define the very essence of the doctrine of benevolence. This kind of love begins with love of relationships (love of children for their parents), then extends to others, and ultimately to all. For Confucius, benevolence, deeply anchored in human nature, is inherent and innate. Hence his remark: “Is Goodness really so far away? If I simply desire Goodness, I will find that it is already here” (Analects …show more content…
It thus seems to endorse the thesis of natural equality, stipulating that men are born endowed with a similar nature, and that the differences within the domain of the acquis result from factors related to the environment and personal efforts. The Confucian school strongly emphasizes the role played by education, which it considers as the most important means of enabling human nature to flourish. This human nature being fundamentally the same, an opportunity must be given to every man to receive an education. In learning, Confucius said, there should be no distinction of classes (Analects 15.38). Even if, in practical life, equality of educational opportunities proves difficult to achieve, Confucius affirms the theoretical equality of human nature, by virtue of which all men have an equal chance of becoming of high morality and great talent through education and personal learning. This great plasticity of human nature, one of the fundamental ideas of the Confucian school, had a profound influence on the development of Chinese
But the general sense of benevolence is worth noting. Responding to the question of the disciple “Fan Chi asked about ren. The Master said, “Cherish people.” When he asked about knowledge, the Master said, “Know people,” (Analects, 12.22) This is undoubtedly the most precise definition ever given by Confucius. "To cherish all men" is the supreme principle regulating the relations between people, which makes it possible to define the very essence of the doctrine of benevolence. This kind of love begins with love of relationships (love of children for their parents), then extends to others, and ultimately to all. For Confucius, benevolence, deeply anchored in human nature, is inherent and innate. Hence his remark: “Is Goodness really so far away? If I simply desire Goodness, I will find that it is already here” (Analects …show more content…
It thus seems to endorse the thesis of natural equality, stipulating that men are born endowed with a similar nature, and that the differences within the domain of the acquis result from factors related to the environment and personal efforts. The Confucian school strongly emphasizes the role played by education, which it considers as the most important means of enabling human nature to flourish. This human nature being fundamentally the same, an opportunity must be given to every man to receive an education. In learning, Confucius said, there should be no distinction of classes (Analects 15.38). Even if, in practical life, equality of educational opportunities proves difficult to achieve, Confucius affirms the theoretical equality of human nature, by virtue of which all men have an equal chance of becoming of high morality and great talent through education and personal learning. This great plasticity of human nature, one of the fundamental ideas of the Confucian school, had a profound influence on the development of Chinese