What Is The Difference Between Legalism And Confucianism

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Recommended: Compare and contrast Confucianism and Legalism

One way Confucianism and Legalism would not work well together in a society because of their different beliefs of human nature. Confucians believe humans have the potential to be good, whereas legalist believe humans are naturally evil. These are not compatible because evil and good are opposites. Confucianists believe people must practice the Way so they can be good. In selection 3 from the confucianism primary sources it says, “Confucius said, “If you set your mind on humanity, you will be free from evil.” This is saying that humanity is the opposite of evil, and therefore humanity is good as long as you believe so. On the other hand, Legalists think they have to have rewards and punishments for people to behave. Part of selection 5 reads, …show more content…

Another reason why Legalism and Confucianism would not succeed together is because their beliefs on Government differed. Legalists believed that people were greedy and selfish, and therefore needed to have a leader that used rewards and punishments in order for people to behave. They created laws that if were broken, there would be a punishment. If they followed the laws, they would be rewarded. This is from Selection 1: “When a sage governs a state, he does not rely on the people to do good out of their own will. Instead, he sees to it that they are not allowed to do what is not good. If he relies on people to do good out of their own will, within the borders of the state not even ten persons can be counted on [to do good]. Yet, if one sees to it that they are not allowed to do what is not good, the whole state can be brought to uniform order. Whoever rules should consider the majority and set the few aside: He should not devote his attention to virtue, but to law.” This quote is saying that people won’t be good because of their own goodwill, but because they have a system of rewards and punishments. Confucians, however,

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