Confucius and MKL

Zhong

Loyalty- directed at one’s societal role (rather than to a superior), it
means ‘doing one’s best.

Shu

Empathy- this emerges out of self-reflection when you realize that it’s
necessary to have concern for other people’s wishes (i.e. within your role in
relation to that person)

Li

ritual- contextual standards of conduct, sets of rules governing different
contexts (i.e. in court, with friends

ren

humanity - a commitment to the community through the desire to see it
flourish, a motivation to ‘stick with it’ when things don’t go your way.

The analects

A collection of Confucius’ remarks believed
to be recorded by his students
• The remarks construct a moral/social
hierarchical structure which serves as the
basis of Confucius’ moral philosophy

The Analects 4 key elements

zhong, shu, ren and li

Confucius

regarded in the West
as the founder of a moral and political
philosophy known as Confucianism, in the
Chinese tradition, Confucius is seen as the
pioneering leader of a school of
intellectuals known as “Ru-ists” (ru-jia)

The goal of Confucius’ moral philosophy

is to construct a moral structure for society.
Society must comprise of individuals who integrate themselves into harmonious
communities. Within this structure, individuals are not all equal in relation to one
another.
In this moral hierarchy, everyone is assigned a moral role depending on how he or she
is related to others.
• An individual’s moral duties are defined in terms of the roles one plays in the
political/social hierarchy.
• Moral duties shift as one adopts various roles in life — they are thus dynamic.

Zhong (Loyalty)

constitutes loyalty to one’s role in relation to others.

• Applies to all roles and al people
  -is not a devotion directed specifically toward one’s superior; rather, it
  is directed toward the role one plays — being loyal means doing one’s best in whatever
  one does.
  This means that a social role is not simply a social assignment; it is also a moral
  assignment.

Shu ( empathy)

one can also extend oneself to appreciate what the other
person in the opposite role would desire.
Loyalty to one’s role is not sufficient for securing social harmony unless it is
accompanied by everyone’s empathetic understanding of other people’s wishes. In
this way, the two notions, loyalty and empathy, are equally essential to the
establishment of Confucius’ ideal society.

Confucian Golden Rule

Do not impose upon others what you yourself do not desire.”

States what ought not to do - negatice formulation of the Golden rule

form of categorial imperative — they are to be followed not
because of some other desired consequences for oneself.This principle emphasizes mutual respect and consideration in interpersonal relationships. It reflects the essence of ethical behavior in Confucian philosophy, guiding individuals to avoid actions that they themselves would find undesirable.

In Confucian moral society

people are categorized into different groups according to
their varying degrees of moral cultivation:

“the superior person” (junzi)
• “the man of humanity” (man of ren)
• “the sage” (sheng)
If moral perfection is the end-state of our being, then we are not born morally
perfect. We are, however, perfectible.
Confucius uses “habituation” to explain the varying degrees of goodness and
badness in people. Habits are formed through repeated practices.

ultimate goal in life

never eneding process

to learn the Way (Dao) - To pay full attention to one’s moral growth is constantly to examine oneself: Have I
failed to cultivate my virtues? Have a failed to delve more deeply into what I have learned? Have
I been able to move in the direction of what I just learned to be right? Have I been able to rectify
my own misdeeds?
Those who aim for the final goal are called junzi, the superior person. They are
superior not by nature, but by their constant practice of self-examination and self-
reform.

HUmanity (ren)

Simply cultivating our own moral attributes is not a sufficient aim in life — we need to
help others to fulfill their moral personhood as well.

how we maintain ….. is through propriety, we preserve human decency

sage (sheng).

The person who can not only help those nearby cultivate themselves but can also
spread this effort to the multitude must be more than the person of humanity

Li (propriety, rituals

a Confucian moral concept which concerns what the right
thing to do in a given context is

sage king

the ideal ruler- An ideal political state is one that is governed by a ruler who has reached the
ultimate goal of moral cultivation

Confucian Politcal IDeal

-Sage king (ideal ruler)

he proper role of government is not just to keep its people materialistically
gratified and physically secure, but also to morally cultivate them.
• This is in part why virtue and rulership are thus inseparable in Confucius’ political
philosophy.
• He thought that within a small nation-state, the ruler’s virtues were easily
observed by the people, therefore, the ruler would gain people’s respect and they
will follow his rules.
• Ideally, if people are taught to observe li (ritual), then they will develop their own
moral sense.

if, under the moral model of a sage king, everyone were to

constantly practice self examination to see if they were truly loyal to their
roles (zhong),
b. if they were to extend themselves to empathize with others (shu),
c. if they were to help others attain their moral personhood (ren),
d. if they took care to observe propriety in all situations (li),
e. then the Way (Dao) would prevail and we would achieve social harmony
(he).

Social Harmony

the key to individual flourishing and a thriving
community. Improving the life of the individual contributes to the improvement of the
community as a whole.
• In a social sense, participating in your community is what gives your life meaning and
makes you a full person.
• Confucius recognizes that relationships are central to human life, thus, our ability to
flourish relies on being part of harmonious and life-affirming communities.
• He also recognizes that when communities fail to realize harmony, we may want to opt
out of them. However, he advises against ‘opting out’ of our communities especially
the family.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968)
was an American minister, activist, and
philosopher who was one of the most
prominent leaders of the Civil Rights
Movement.
• King wrote this letter in August of
1963, when he was imprisoned because
he was a participant in nonviolent
demonstrations against racial
segregation.
• It was written as a response to a public
statement of concern and caution by 8
white religious leaders in the South.

4 steps to Nonviolent Action

Collection of Facts

Negotiation

Self purification

direct action

collection of facts

build the case to present to people in
power, shows the reasons why things ought to change

negotiation

discuss the facts with people in power and
petition.

self purification

learn how to endure physically violent
retaliation from those in power who disagree with the cause.

direct action

this needs to be public action (i.e. sit-ins,
marches) and it needs to break a law in an attention-grabbing
way. Civil disobedience requires this

Rawlsian” test

if a law is made or enforced through arbitrary
differences, it’s likely unjust.

“Buber” test

unjust laws produce an I-it relationship rather than an
I-thou relationship.

2 other examples on if a law is unjust or not

If the majority forces minorities to behave in ways the majority is not
bound to behave in.

If the majority forces the minority to act in accordance with the law
they had no say in it.

Confucius booke

Analects

Mcleod book

ethics and self cultivation in Ancient China

MLK jr letter

Letter from birmingham Jail