Confucius
Confucius believed that knowing oneself is the most important thing when concerning the apprehension of more knowledge. There is difference between knowing that something is not within comprehension and pretending that something is while actually believing that they actually comprehend it. There is primary ignorance is when an individual knows that they are ignorant to a certain thing. Then there is secondary ignorance, which is when an individual is so ignorant that they are not aware of their ignorance. This is the reason why knowing oneself is a vital part of having knowledge, if one is ignorant without knowing the knowledge received would not be of the higher level that humans are entitled to.
“Confucius explicitly linked pedagogy to intelligence by maintaining that instruction should take place in accordance with each student’s aptitude; as he put it “To those whose intelligence is above average, you can tell them profound knowledge. To those whose intelligence is below average, you should not tell them profound knowledge. When different students asked him questions about benevolence, intelligence, etiquette, government, and
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administration, he gave different answers depending on what he believed was most suitable for each asker.” An important aspect of human intelligence is the ability to make healthy personal decisions. A person’s intelligence could not truly be genuine if their actions did not also reflect a high level of thinking. Another indicator of high an intelligent thinker would be the ability to have flexible thinking. It is believed that creativity was a subset of intelligence and that one who is able to think with great amounts of flexibility could be able to understand numerous things fast and better than those whose intelligence was rigid and were unable to think creatively. There are three levels to human intelligence, the high, the average, and the low. Confucius believed that there are those who are simply born with higher intelligence and that there are those who are born with below average intelligence, it was also said that those that were born with the predisposition of lower intelligence would not be able to rise to the level of higher intelligence. But those who fall in the plain of average intelligence had the opportunity to rise beyond mediocracy, they also had the risk to fall to the lower levels of the human intellectual spectrum. “If he does not study when he is young, when he matures he will have no abilities.” Confucius believed that another aspect of higher intelligence was the ability to identify the intelligence level of others. Confucius and his followers came up with five hierarchical categories of intelligence, the mediocre man, the scholar, the gentleman, the worthy man, and the sage. The mediocre man is unable to speak in any form of reasonable or helpful words, can not behave decently, and also they are not able to identify scholars or gentleman, the mediocre man is only able to do things by following instinct. While scholars, even though they lack full mastery, attempt to follow all rules, scholars do not worry over the amount of knowledge they hold by rather if that knowledge is genuine. Gentlemen are those who are confident in their knowledge and do not concern themselves with others, they are often leaders and role models. The worthy men are rigid and guided by rules and regulations, worthy men are known to keep their word and are very generous with their wealth. Then there is sage's, those who hold the highest form of intelligence, sages are masters in all domains, common people are not able to understand how or why sages do things. Plato In the human soul there is a superior and furthermore a more awful standard; and when the better has the worse under control, then a man is said to be a master of himself; and this is a term of acclaim: however when, attributable to fiendishness instruction or affiliation, the better rule, which is also the smaller, is overpowered by the more noteworthy mass of the more awful - for this situation he is faulted and is known as the slave of self and unscrupulous. “Plato claimed that we have to literally leave our bodies behind in order to truly experience the divine.” Plato believed that if humans would indulge in the desiring part of human nature may pull man toward the world of sense, this would be where humans are urge to satisfy every single desire despite the cost that may come with that. But fortunately to humans, there is another aspect to human nature, the reasoning part, this part is what overrides the desiring aspect. There is also a third part to human nature, the “spirit” or as Plato said the “anger” part, this part is separate from both the desires and the reasoning parts, even though the spirit more often than not aligns itself with the reasoning part the spirit,in itself, is an individual, completely separate part. The spirited element is also what gives humans the courage of their convictions. Plato had an ideology of something called the ‘tyrannical man’, an individual whose soul was said to be much like a tyrannical city. The tyrannical man’s soul is often ruled by his unnecessary appetites, the man is ruled by sexual desire, and by a lust for power. The ‘tyrannical man’ was said to be a man who is simply ruled by the desire aspect of his nature, this caused the man to not have “complete” control of himself, and therefore not be the master of his own nature. It is describe that the ‘tyrannical man’ is seen as a ‘drone’, a drone is characterized as the useless people within society, the people the serve no real purpose, ones with no jobs. These drones only served to harm society, with being separated into two categories, the merely useless, such as beggars, and the actively dangerous, like criminals. The latter have, as Plato called it, ‘stings’, this gave them the ability to corrupt the young within society. “ As Socrates describes things, the tyrannical man’s increasingly shameless criminal behaviour eventually results in the removal of the last vestiges of restraint in his soul.
Lawless desires now begin to emerge even during his waking hours, and to forcefully demand satisfaction. These desires, which aim at bodily gratification through depraved acts, quickly assume prominent roles in his motivational make-up, presumably on account of their strength and vivacity.”
Lastly Plato’s viewpoint on human nature had theorized that with humans there are aspects within human nature that cause it so that choices are not within their control. This supports the premise of this paper on the fact that human nature is a reality that while can not be one hundred percent absolute is very much still prevalent within each human.
Conclusion In conclusion, human nature is an undeniable part of every human, it was granted by the first mover. It is something that has been discussed and debated throughout countless philosophers and all have come to one common understanding, intelligence is what makes human the unique creators that they are, and the ability to have reason and know how to use that intelligence.
In some cases, the goal is merely pleasure, and here we find hedonism in vice crimes and sadistically motivated violent crimes. The circumstances in which a criminal act is acted upon depends upon the individual’s assessment of what they stand to gain and what possible things they stand to lose if caught. Crimes of passion and professionals notwithstanding. If they do not fear swift punishment or are not deterred by the punishment inflicted, lack internal controls and hold a dysfunctional worldview the likelihood of a crime being committed skyrockets. The conditions do not all have to be present together as one by itself can be
In the humdrum and mundane events of human life, the question is often wondered if certain abstract characteristics are given to individuals via nature or nurture. This notion has been the core of debates for centuries. The nature notion suggests that individuals are innately gifted with their talent. Adverse to nature is the idea that a person’s talents or skills are acquired through a knowledge that has been taught to them i.e. nurture. Like any debate, nature and nurture have their respective followers. Philosophical greats, such as Plato even offered his perspective on the nature vs nurture debacle. In his work, The Republic, Plato vicariously speaks his thoughts through his character Socrates. Socrates defends his view of justice against his friends Glaucon and Adeimantus. Socrates asserts that justice, in itself, is a naturally good and is desired. To defend his view of justice, Socrates must first construct what he believes to be a
For those individuals that choose to look into the philosophy of Confucius, Confucianism recognizes that the quest for virtue is ordinary and providential. However, in this quest of moral aptness Confucius tried to offer other people the fervent self love that he had greatly embodied. To actually make oneself as perfect as possible was the central concern of life. Al...
“One of the best known and most influential philosophers of all time, Plato has been admired for thousands of years as a teacher, writer, and student. His works, thoughts, and theories have remained influential for more than 2000 years” (“Plato”). One of these great works by Plato that still remain an essential part of western philosophy today is, The Republic. Ten books are compiled to altogether make the dialog known as The Republic. The Republic consists of many major ideas and it becomes a dubious task to list and remember them all. Just alone in the first five books of the dialogue, many ideas begin to emerge and take shape. Three major ideas of The Republic; Books 1-5 by Plato, are: the question of what causes the inclination of a group,
Plato believed that change should start with government and then seep into the person. The government is more powerful and thus the people would obey the laws of the government. The problem with this thought is that governments do not last forever and societies are never stable. Once the government topples, the law is gone and the citizens have free reign to do whatever they would like. When the cat is gone, the mice come out to play. When the change is made within the person, the change lives m...
...Confucius was right on the idea that without learning good manners many idea that started out being acts of kindness would be wasted on bad character. It is important that we hold these truths so that we cannot make the mistake for our acts of kindness to become a waste.
desires can be engaged without reason. Their thoughts are consumed by their desires for the
The Republic by Plato examines many aspects of the human condition. In this piece of writing Plato reveals the sentiments of Socrates as they define how humans function and interact with one another. He even more closely Socrates looks at morality and the values individuals hold most important. One value looked at by Socrates and his colleagues is the principle of justice. Multiple definitions of justice are given and Socrates analyzes the merit of each. As the group defines justice they show how self-interest shapes the progression of their arguments and contributes to the definition of justice.
In Plato’s Republic, justice and the soul are examined in the views of the multiple characters as well as the Republic’s chief character, Socrates. As the arguments progress through the Republic, the effect of justice on the soul is analyzed, as the question of whether or not the unjust soul is happier than the just soul. Also, Plato’s theories of justice in the man, the state, and the philosopher king are clearly linked to the cardinal virtues, as Plato describes the structure of the ideal society and developing harmony between the social classes. Therefore, the statement “justice is the art which gives to each man what is good for his soul” has to be examined through the definitions of justice given in the Republic and the idea of the good
Confucianism is an East Asian philosophy built up by a Chinese philosopher, Confucius (K'ung Fu-tzu), in the 6th - 5th century BCE. It’s a philosophy based on human morals and relationships.
In the field of philosophy there can be numerous answers to a general question, depending on a particular philosopher's views on the subject. Often times an answer is left undetermined. In the broad sense of the word and also stated in the dictionary philosophy can be described as the pursuit of human knowledge and human values. There are many different people with many different theories of knowledge. Two of these people, also philosophers, in which this paper will go into depth about are Descartes and Plato. Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy and Plato's The Republic are the topics that are going to be discussed in this paper.
Confucius’s counsel and guidance recorded in The Analects instilled wisdom when they were first recorded and continue to provide a thought provoking analysis of life and the checkpoints that guide it. The Master’s commentary on restraint, diligence, decency, and citizenship are well intended and relevant. Politics and the role of government also come under scrutiny as Confucius offers his insights in bettering the organization of power. His proverb-like admonitions use clear examples of everyday life allowing them to be understood and easily digested. Confucius’s own eagerness and willingness to share goodness he experienced makes it easier to apply and practice in one’s own life.
At times, Confucius has been nicknamed the Socrates of the east because there are countless comparisons in their lessons. Both stressed the value of education and the function which it plays in the shaping the character of an individual. This shaping of personality may be viewed as the development of good feature upon the environment of human nature (Legge, James and Trans 47). This description essay will discuss the evidence that Confucius gives to ascertain that human nature are correct.
I argue that Plato's psychological theories are motivated by concerns he had about moral theory. In particular, Plato rejects the modern account of rationality as the maximization of subjectively evaluated self-interest because, had he adopted such an account, his theory of justice would be subject to criticisms which he holds are fatal to the contractarian theory of justice. While formulating a theory to remain within ethical constraints sometimes violates the canons of scientific theorizing, Plato avoids this mistake.
What is Confucianism? Confucianism was the single most important thing in Chinese life. It affected everything in China; education, government, and attitudes toward behavior in public and private life. Confucianism is not a religion, but it is more a philosophy and a guide to morality and good government. The Laozian and Mohist critiques of the Confucianism are both in an accurate fashion.