Analects

important to have an understanding of the philosophers themselves. The Philosopher Confucius was born in 551 B.C.E (Craig 35). Throughout his life Confucius formulated many philosophies. However, the only record we have of his sayings are through the Analects, a book of his sayings collected by his disciples (Weiming). Confucius, through his philosophies, sought to resolve the turmoils of his time. He worked to achieve this by urging people to return to “the good old ways” (Craig 36). In terms…

The Three Chinese Philosophies The Zhou dynasty was one of the earliest dynasties of China. It started in 1045 and ended in 256 B.C.E, making it one of the longest lasting dynasties in Chinese history. The Zhou rulers used feudalism to help their role. This allowed the king to have most of the power, but he gave some to others called lords, to help manage other things. This worked very well until about 700 B.C.E. At this time some of the lords had gained so much power that they had near the same…

In his essay “Moral Luck, Self-cultivation, and Responsibility: The Confucian Conception of Free Will and Determinism,” Kyung-Sig Hwang of Seoul National University seeks to demonstrate from a practical stance why Confucianism fits best with a compatibilist view on free will and then, by analyzing this conclusion from a theoretical stance, argue that a deterministic view could also be accepted. He begins by discussing moral luck and responsibility, which segues into the problems with both a…

The Scripture in Forty-Two Sections is a collection of parables, traditionally considered as the first Buddhist scripture translated into Chinese. However, there are also aspects of the text that suggests that the scripture is actually a Chinese product. The reason why it is hard to distinguish one from the other is because the scripture is both. Physically, the text most likely have been compiled in China. Yet, it consists of Buddhist teachings translated in a way that makes it both appealing…

that “man’s ethical behavior should be effectively grounded on compassion, nurture, and social bonds. What is moral is not of the divine, but rather a purely human matter, albeit the most important of all human matters” (Einstein). Confucius, in Analect 12.2, stated “what you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others” (Confucius). Many philosophers, including the ones noted above, all seem to agree on the general concept of the Golden Rule. In other words, treat others as you wish to be…

One of the key components of any successful civilization throughout history is political control. It has proven itself absolutely necessary when it comes to maintaining order in any society. Political organization began to become much more elaborate during the Classical period, offering government leaders more control over the population. We see many different approaches to maintaining this control throughout the classical period civilizations. The Classical period Han and Mauryan dynasty…

utilitarianism, this is moral. Somehow, I doubt with the above argument. Most people would feel guilty once they realize the fact that they live by sacrificing somebody’s lives. Having compassion towards others is one of humans’ instincts, as listed from the Analects. Whenever we see or notice somebody else is suffering, we would be empathetic…

integrate the philosophies of Confucianism with Legalism to rule his people. The 2 philosophies come together rather harmoniously due to the fact that they support and justify the ideas expressed in one another, here is an excerpt from the Confucian Analects that express both Legalist and Confucian values: “Lead them by means of regulations and keep order among them through punishments, and the people will evade them and will lack any sense of shame. Lead them through moral force (de) and keep…

Around three hundred BCE to thirty CE the powerful and globalizing Han and Roman Empire began to flourish. In East Asia, the Han Empire was built on the building blocks of Qin, which established a bureaucratic imperial model and social order. Similarly, to the Han Empire, at the other end of Afro-Eurasia, the Roman Empire became an influential superpower exerting far-reaching authority. Both empires encountered enemies in violent war and resulted victorious. Each respective Empire encompassed…

responsibility of the group to change this in order to reverse the harmful effects. These heinous acts are indicative of the whole 's word not matching up to the actions. As virtue must be acted upon to be fully realized, Kongzi describes in The Analects virtuous people of ancient times, “People in ancient times were not eager to speak, because they would be ashamed if their actions did not measure up to their words” (Kongzi…