Confucius considered family ties to be the backbone of functioning societies. To continue the path of becoming an exemplary person (junzi) a person family is to model how they are and should be interacting with their communities. A family model is the bases of Chinese communities. In a family the father is at the top thus being making the boys of the family most important and the main focus of the parents. That’s made clear when the master states “As a younger brother and son, be filial piety (xiao) at home and deferential (di) in the community; be cautious in what you say and then make good on you word (xin). (pg 72 Book 1.6) You made it clear that it’s the son duty in the community and home to be involved with his family. This is also portrays the lack of involvement of women having a voice because the quote continues to say keep to your word but by not including the other gender it shows she never had a voice or word to begin with. Confucius stresses the point to revere your parents because they are the ones that gave you your start at life. They honor you as their child by bringing to life now you owe them a lifetime of honor to the family name. Aristotle proses the same argument as Confucius about the importance of friendships as he states that “friendship is a form of excellence. (Book VIII pg208)”. He takes it a step further by saying that a community should be on the base of a friendship (philia). Which then goes to speak on the family aspect as an ethical institute that capitalizes natural ties of kinship and love with meaning and value. Each relation you have with someone is a form of a friendship but the friendships forms are different in family ties. There are three types of friendships: (1) friendship built on utility...
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To complete my research I have determined that even though both philosophers are from different time periods and were traveling every very much, both had similar ideas. They both share ideals about government, friendships, and family roles. Each philosopher thought life was a long hallway on our way to the goal which is the end of our lives. Both had a way that they live their life so they could get the desire ends Aristotle’s was the concept of happiness and since it was the highest good also made it abundant. While Confucius is a long list of things you should have complete whenever you got the door key for my. The goal for these works was to figure out what is the best way for man to live and they answer it by doing moral acts, being involved in your local church or community. Aristotle and Confucius were more alike than they care to let on.
Aristotle believes that society should achieve eternal happiness and just acts. Plato was also an influential philosopher due to his study of the nature of truths and virtues. Thomas Aquinas believed in moral and virtuous acts from a Spiritual perspective. Knowledge and the governance of the law relies on the contribution of several different effective
Confucius believed that proper behavior within all types of relationships was dictated by a hierarchy that should be honored and preserved in order to maintain harmony within oneself and the rest of society (Bulliet 86). Zhao respected and supported these ideas in her own writings as she regularly makes reference to the notion that relationships between married men and women should be guided by the principles of yin and yang. According to Zhao, “as Yin and Yang are not of the same nature, so man and woman have different characteristics”, hence while the yang is firm and strong, the yin must be flexible and gentle (Zhao). Her advice to her daughters and the rest of her female audience was meant to help them avoid the shame that came with breaking the rules of society and promote a happy, harmonious lifestyle. To Zhao and most others, the inequality that existed between men and women was an inherent and necessary quality of traditional Chinese life. The historical context in which Zhao lived gives sufficient information to understand her position and motivations in Lessons for a Woman, nonetheless, her views on education add a unique dimension to her
The idea of family is a central theme in Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun. Hansberry alludes to the Old Testament book of Ruth in her play to magnify “the value of having a home and family”(Ardolino 181). The Younger family faces hardships that in the moment seem to tear them apart from one another, but through everything, they stick together. The importance of family is amplified by the choices of Walter and Beneatha because they appear to initiate fatal cracks in the Younger family’s foundation, but Mama is the cement who encourages her family to pull together as one unit. The hardships of the family help develop a sense of unity for the Younger household.
The relationship between ruler and subject is that the ruler must work to protect and govern, while subjects must provide their ruler with loyalty. The father is responsible for caring for his son and providing him an education, while the son must show his father obedience and honor. In the husband and wife relationship, the husband is to provide for his wife, while the wife shows obedience and takes care of the home. The older brother has the responsibility to take care of his younger brother and look after him, while the younger brother must show obedience. Lastly, the relationship between elder and younger places the elder with the responsibility of taking care of the younger. The younger must then show respect and obedience toward the elder. In the even that the elder is unable to care for themselves, as in the case of aging parents, it is the younger’s responsibility to care for the elder. The idea is that when each person is doing their duty in each relationship, society will run much more smoothly and harmoniously. While Confucianism focuses on social aspects, it does not consider the
Confucius and Hsun Tzu are both prominent figures in Chinese history who lived in different time periods but ended up with the same ideas. The environment that they grew up in was quite similar in characteristics and so it is no surprise that their teachings were similar as well. There are mainly two ways that their ideas are similar: their focus on ancient texts and ancient sage kings and also their view on learning. Confucius and Hsun Tzu shares many similar characteristics but they have one fundamental difference which is their view on human nature.
We have two great philosophers, Plato and Aristotle. These are great men, whose ideas have not been forgotten over years. Although their thoughts of politics were similar, we find some discrepancies in their teachings. The ideas stem from Socrates to Plato to Aristotle. Plato based moral knowledge on abstract reason, while Aristotle grounded it on experience and tried to apply it more to concrete living. Both ways of life are well respected by many people today.
Aristotle and David Hume share very clashing views on morality. Aristotle and Hume both believe in the possibility of being a virtuous person and both emphasize importance when it comes to reason, but their respective definitions of what virtue and reason actually mean differ drastically. Aristotle believes all human actions aim at some good, while Hume believes the reason behind everything is arithmetic and that human passions rule over reason. There is one supreme good according to Aristotle, but Hume believes what is good and bad all depends on perception. Both Aristotle and Hume take on the same topics in regards to morality, but take very different approaches.
Confucianism is a moral and religious system of China. Its origins go back to the Analects, the sayings attributed to Confucius, and to ancient writings, including that of Mencius. Confucius was born a mandarin under the name Kongzi. It was developed around 550 B.C. In its earliest form Confucianism was primarily a system of ethical concepts for the control of society. It saw man as a social creature that is bound to his fellow men by jen, or “humanity.” Jen is expressed through the five relationships—sovereign and subject, parent and child, elder and younger brother, husband and wife, and friend and friend. Of these, the filial relation is most important.
"The Master [Confucius] said, 'While a man's father is alive, look at the bent of his will; when his father is dead, look at his conduct. If for three years he does not alter from the way of his father, he may be called filial.' "[ Confucius & others. Analects, Book 1, 142. The Chinese Classis. Second Edition. Vol 1. Trans: James Legge. Taipei: Literature, History and Philosopny Press, 1960. Print] The verse in Book I of the Analects turned me away from the masterpiece again and again in my teenage years. My intuitive criticism seems obvious; apart from the patriarchal implication, what if the father is someone not worth learning from, such as a thief or a murderer? Does Confucius advocate for the child's blind obedience to parents, especially to the father, as part of filial piety which he considers to be the foundation of politics?[ " '...You are filial, you discharge your brotherly duties. These qualities are displayed in government,' This then also constitutes the exercise of government." Ibid., Book 2, 153.] Today, the puzzle whether filial piety requires blind obedience becomes not only a personal concern of "rebellious" teenagers, but also an essential problem in the re-interpretation and practice of Confucianism in contemporary China.
Confucius believed that the key to social order was to be found in everyone accepting their positions and responsibilities as found in the Five Relationships. No matter what position a person holds, there are responsibilities that follow that person. A ruler revives his subjects devotion/loyalty but he owes them just rule. The father (head of the family) is owed the loyalty of the son. The wife must respect the husband, the younger brother should show respect for the eldest brother and a friend must respect another friend. This idea influenced the social and political structure of China. China had a great impact/influence in Japan. The Korean peninsula linked China and the Japan. Confucianism travelled through Korea and then by sea to Japan (by trade and foreign missions). It arrived at about the same time Japan was trying to centralize its government under dynastic rule. Rulers adopted Confucianism and merged it with Japan's culture. Everyone received responsibilities like China to manifest a good of society. The teaching of filial piety influenced Japanese social life and family relationships. This provided structure for maintaining order. It also emphasized the authority of the
Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato were two of the most influential and knowledgeable ancients in our history. Their contributions and dedication to science, language and politics are immensely valued centuries later. But while the two are highly praised for their works, they viewed several subjects entirely differently, particularly education practices, and human ethics and virtue.
I had the opportunity to have a discussion with two extremely significant women in my life regarding what expectations they had when it came to matrimony. First I had a conversation with my mother-in- law, since she is 74 years old and my in-laws became married in September 1960. I was informed that in the sixties everyone in high school transpired to be engaged and were willing to get married immediately after they graduated high school. Therefore when you were 18-19 years old, tying the knot that young was considered the average age. My mother-in-law believed that a decent number of individuals became married early in life because it was something the public expected from them. Society produced women and men to believe that men are assumed to be the bread makers while women are home makers that stayed home cooking, cleaning, and food shopping
Confucianism advocates society while Buddhism advocates individuality. To achieve a harmonized society, Confucianism emphasizes strongly on social rules that different people in society should obey. In Confucianism, every individual has his or her own role in the family and the country, where individuals are interrelated. From the five traditional cardinal relations (五倫) in Mencius (孟子), saying that “Between father and son, there is affection; between ruler and minister, there is righteousness; between husband and wife, there is differentiation; between siblings, there is precedence; between friends, there is trust.”(T’ang Wang Kung Part I), it can be seen the precept that everyone gets along in a certain ‘corre...
Confucius on the other hand, was influenced highly by Aristotle, writing with many similarities, including the practice of virtue of wisdom, courage, and the fact that virtues need to be practiced together. He states that a person can’t be wise without being courageous, and facing the dangers of the search for truth. A person can’t be wise without the danger and of true ideal humanity in self and worth interest. “The wise are active; the authoritative is still”. (Confucius 110) And lastly, a person can’t exercise the virtue of their true self without the understanding of self -truth and choice. Confucius is the balancing of personal and social interests of the values I mentioned earlier, which all results in The Golden Mean, stated by Aristotle. Confucius finds that multiple words throughout the text, add significance to his messages. Li which is the ritual, the manner, and civility, meaning that moral initiatives outweigh the knowledge, practicing the good manners and conducting oneself in moral fashion are considered a characteristic of a gentleman. A gentleman is one who follows the Way and morals of the system, but not the beliefs that are common with other people. The Ren is the exemplary action he talks about of the good feeling a virtuous human experience when being altruistic, a main expression of Confucian ideals, the
The teachings of Confucius put order, hierarchy and social harmony over individual egoism, that is, the person is subject to the strict system of laws, obligations and rituals. Social relations are based on the criteria of age, sex and generation: in the political sphere, the governed render their maximum loyalty to the governor, while in the family, the children obey the father, the younger brother obeys the older one and, finally, the wife obeys the husband. In the different stages of life, women are always under masculine authority. As a young girl, she must obey her father, when she marries, her husband, and finally, when she becomes a widow, her