| Ph104: Introductory Lecture for Confucianism |
[Dec. 16th, 2009|05:38 pm] |
Link available until Dec. 21: http://senduit.com/cabbfa
An Introduction to Confucius
Three Dimensions of Continuity and the Virtues
By Anton Luis Sevilla
Confucius (Kǒng Fūzǐ, 孔夫子) was born in the State of Lu in 551BCE. He lost his father when he was three years old, and lost his mother when he was 17. These difficult circumstances reduced him to poverty, despite his being of royal ancestry. Yet with diligence he rose to become arguably the single most influential philosopher of all time (from sheer number of followers), with his influence spreading throughout the entire sinosphere, and deeply forming the intellectual milieu in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.
According to Dr. Manuel Dy, Confucius had three aims. First, the reform of government and society. Second, the education of the people. And third, the transmission of the culture of the Zhou. Briefly surveying these aims, we see that these three correspond to three axes of continuity that characterize the Confucian philosophy of relationality.
The first aim of Confucius was the reform of government and society. According to Dr. Dy, China was in a state of chaos in those years. States were at the brink of all out war, and as a result taxation was immense—the workers suffered and the rulers amassed wealth and arms at the expense of the poor. Confucius's solution was what was called 'rectification of names', wherein each person became aware of his place in society in relation to others, and tried to live up to the duties that accrued to such a position. There were five traditional relationships then: father-son, husband-wife, elder-younger, sovereign-subject, and friend-friend. If a father behaved toward his son in the manner that a father ought to, and in return if a son behaved toward his father in the way a son ought to, and so on, then society would regain a sense of harmony.
However, what precise duties are prescribed for fathers, sons, husbands, wives, and so on? For now, let us let this remain a question, and turn to two points offered here. First, one notices that of the five relationships, only one is a symmetric relationship (friend-friend). Most relationships are asymmetric in terms of power, capacities, and duties. But that does not mean that Confucius was promoting unfairness. Instead, we see here that for Confucius, fairness is not a product of equal people dealing with each other in universalizable ways. Instead, it is about different people, with different strengths and weaknesses, responding to each other in a way that fully utilizes one's strengths in response to the deficiencies of another, and acknowledges one's weaknesses in order to make space for another's strengths. These cardinal relationships speak of the need for us to respond to each other as the unique and different beings that we are.
Second, we see here that one's behavior, perhaps one's entire being, is determined by one's relationships. A person may be a friend to some, a parent to his children, a child to his parents, a superior to some, subordinate to others, and so on. All of these roles dictate how he should comport himself, how he should speak, act, and live out his life. We see here that individuals are not monads looking out for their own well-being. Instead, we are fundamentally part of relationships, part of a whole from which we derive the meaning and direction of our individual existence.
From these two points, we see the first dimension of continuity which is horizontal continuity—the continuity along the breadth of society, a continuity that connects all individuals by virtue of relationships. Confucius's aim to reform government and society shaped his philosophy to value relationships, and inter-dependent connections between people, instead of the individual ego or cogito.
The second aim of Confucius was to educate the people. Dr. Dy says that during that time, education was limited to court officials and their sons. But for Confucius, education was for everyone. He even socialized his tuition scheme so that students only paid what they could, saying, “I have never failed to instruct students who, using their own resources, could only afford a gift of dried meat.” (Analects, 7:7). His best student, Yan Hui, was terribly poor. Yet none of this mattered to Confucius, who was more concerned with the student's love for learning. All this led him to be known as “the first professional educator of the East.”
Reading The Great Learning, one sees the importance that Confucius places on education. He writes:
The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the kingdom, first ordered well their own States. Wishing to order well their States, they first regulated their families. Wishing to regulate their families, they first cultivated their persons. Wishing to cultivate their persons, they first rectified their hearts. Wishing to rectify their hearts, they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts. Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts, they first extended to the utmost their knowledge. Such extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things.
The foundation of the transformation of society is education. What we see here is how there is a connection from the outermost (the kingdom) to the innermost (one's relationship with reality), and if one seeks to reform the outermost, one must first begin with the innermost. This shows the second axis of continuity in Confucianism which is vertical continuity—the continuity traversing the depth from the most external to the innermost, from society to one's heart of hearts.
The third aim of Confucius was to transmit the culture of the Zhou—its rites, music, political practices, and virtues. Despite Confucius's clearly original teaching, he was not one to claim originality. He said, “Following the proper way, I do not forge new paths; with confidence I cherish the ancients—in these respects I am comparable to our venerable Old Peng.” (Analects, 7:1) In contradistinction to the excessive fixation on originality that is in vogue in the present, Confucius did not want to be revolutionary, for to do so risks destroy the excellence that tradition has to offer and one's continuity with the past.
Looking for instance at the history of western thought, we see how in progressing from one epoch to another—medieval theocentrism to anti-theocentric modernism to anti-modern post-modernity to post-post modernity and so on—we see how much of the wisdom of the past can be lost in the haste for novelty and progress for new ideas. Contrary to this, Confucius advocated more gradual changes that held on to the wisdom of the past but learn from its mistakes as well. He said, “Reviewing the old as a means of realizing the new—such a person can be considered a teacher.” (Analects, 2:11) What we see here is the third axis of continuity in Confucianism which is temporal continuity—the continuity alongside the length of time and history, from the traditions of the past to the new horizons of the future.
We have seen here that Confucius was a social philosopher par excellence. His point of departure was not the isolated individual, but relationships and relationality: between a human being and his neighbors, between the external and the internal, and between moments of time and history. Hence, his philosophy is one that both manifested and safeguarded continuity in all its dimensions.
Five Cardinal Virtues:
Rén (仁) is from person 人 + two 二 or up 上
Ames & Hall: Authoritative conduct; Others: benevolence, humanity, manhood-at-its-best, human-heartedness, pakikipagkapwa-tao
Lĭ (禮) is from altar/to show 示 + abundant 豊
Ames & Hall: Observing ritual propriety; Others: propriety, ritual, rites, customs, etiquette, morals, rules of proper behavior, worship
Yì (義) is from sheep 羊 + hand 手 + axe 戈
Ames & Hall: Appropriateness; Others: righteousness, duty, morality
Zhì (智) is from to know 知 + sun 日
Ames & Hall: Realization; Others: wisdom, knowledge
Xìn (信) is from person 人 + words 言
Ames & Hall: Making good on one's word; Others: trustworthiness, faith
* * * * *
Intellectual Copyright © 2009, Anton Luis Sevilla
These are lecture notes for the class in Foundations of Moral Value, and merely reflect the teaching method and approach of the author, and are not to be used as canonical interpretations of the thinker and his texts. |
|
|
| Ph104: 1st Journal Requirement |
[Dec. 14th, 2009|02:03 pm] |
How to make a journal:
1) Get 4 clean sheets of 8 1/2 x 11in bond paper.
2) Fold them in half, crosswise, and staple them together at the spine (like a Cattleya filler).
3) Put your ID # and Ph104 (section) on the front cover.
4) INSIDE the rear cover, in the last inner page, put your SURNAME, Nickname, ID#, Course, and PH104(sec). In order to protect your privacy, your name is not visible unless the journal is opened.
Question:
[Ph104C 1130-1230h]
Concretely, where do you experience your own ego-self? How does it lead to fundamental anxiety and violence? (Draw primarily from Abe Masao.)
[Ph104L 1530-1630h]
Concretely, how do YOU experience duhkha (suffering)? What is the right conduct that helps you resolve this duhkha? (Draw primarily from the Suttas & SN Goenka.)
[Guidelines:]
- Max one page (one face only). If you have extra things to say, you may write a separate, ungraded section elsewhere to provide background to your story/entry. Just indicate which section is to be graded. Ang lumagpas sa max 1 page, may deduction.
- I prefer handwritten entries, but please write legibly. If you prefer to print it, please cut it to fit your journal. I WILL NOT ACCEPT STAPLED PAPERS JUST FOLDED INTO YOUR JOURNAL!!
- Do not write back to back to prevent bleeding of ink.
- You may write in any language I understand, provided it is primarily in English. Taglish is okay, but I cannot understand a pure Filipino paper!
- Due during class hours only, on Friday, December 18, 2009.
- To be graded on a full scale for a weight of 3. |
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| |
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
feichangren's Friends Page