Confucian Ethics and The Contemporary World

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Confucian Ethics and The Contemporary World
Part One On Virtue By Mary I. Bockover
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Basic concepts in the Lun Yu or Analects Li
ritual, rites, propriety, civil conduct,
ceremony Ren nobility, goodness,
human-heartedness, humanity-at-its-best,
authority De moral power, virtue, or excellence
(generated by li and ren) Ren Dao the way of
human goodness
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Like yin and yang, li and ren form an inseparable
union li is the social manifestation of ren, and
ren is the spirit or conscious aim of li.
Consider a human greeting, culturally diverse
(li) but still a universal human aim (ren).
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Like yin and yang, li and ren form an inseparable
union li is the social manifestation of ren, and
ren is the spirit or conscious aim of li.
Consider a human greeting, culturally diverse
(li) but still a universal human aim
(ren). There is no inner outer distinction in
the Analects. This false dichotomy mistakes the
human spirit which is a social phenomenon for
Confucius with subjective or individualistic
mental states like intentions (the secular as
sacred, another false dichotomy).
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Moral virtue or de is the power of li, or ritual.
It is what gets people to want to be ren good,
noble, benevolent, human-hearted, or
authoritative. Ren is an innate human quality
that is also learned, or realized in a social,
interpersonal context.
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Moral virtue or de is the power of li, or ritual.
It is what gets people to want to be ren good,
noble, benevolent, human-hearted, or
authoritative. Ren is an innate human quality
that is also learned, or realized in a social,
interpersonal context. Ren is the most basic of
all Confucian virtues (in the Analects or Lun
Yu), more fundamental and important than any
other. It is what all other virtues aim to
cultivate in a person.
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On loyalty and authority The Governor of She
in conversation with Confucius said, "In our
village there is someone called 'True
Person.' When his father took a sheep on the sly,
he reported him to the authorities." Confucius
replied, "Those who are true in my
village conduct themselves differently. A father
covers for his son, and a son covers for his
father. And being true lies in this. (1318)
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On constancy The Master said "A person who for
three years refrains from reforming the ways of
his late father can be called a filial son."
(420) Another on (lifelong) filial
piety While the parents are alive, serve them
according to the observances of ritual propriety
when they are dead, bury them and sacrifice to
them according to the observances of ritual
propriety. (2.5)
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On cowardice To see what it is appropriate to
do, and not do it, is cowardice. (224) When a
disciple asked Confucius what he would most like
to do, he said I would like to bring peace and
contentment to the aged, to share relationships
of trust and confidence with friends, and to love
and protect the young. (526)
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On laws or regulations to govern society Lead
the people with administrative injunctions and
keep them orderly with penal law, and they will
avoid punishments but will be without a sense of
shame. Lead them with excellence and keep them
orderly through observing ritual propriety and
they will develop a sense of shame, and moreover,
will order themselves. (23) If rulers are able
to effect order in the state through the
combination of observing ritual propriety and
deferring to others, what more is needed? But if
they are unable to accomplish this, what have
they to do with ritual propriety? (413)
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The Master said "Governing with excellence can
be compared to being the North Star The North
Star dwells in its place, and the multitude of
stars pay it tribute." (21)
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The Master said "Governing with excellence can
be compared to being the North Star The North
Star dwells in its place, and the multitude of
stars pay it tribute." (21) The good or noble
ruler is a son or prince of heaven (tian),
truly a person of ren who has the mandate of
heaven is destined to lead his society to the
good life.
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On the flexibility of ritual The Master said
the use of a hemp cap is prescribed in the
observance of ritual propriety. Nowadays, that a
silk cap is used instead is a matter of
frugality. I would follow the newer accepted
practice in this. A subject kowtowing on entering
the hall is prescribed in the observance of
ritual propriety (li). Nowadays that one kowtows
only after ascending the hall is a matter of
hubris. Although it goes contrary to accepted
practice, I still kowtow on entering the hall.
(93)
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The rituals must be internalized or made ones
own in order to authentically reflect personal
virtue. One must want to be good, and not just
act as such for some ulterior reason.
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The rituals must be internalized or made ones
own in order to authentically reflect personal
virtue. One must want to be good, and not just
act as such for some ulterior reason. What it
means to be a person is to be a social being who
aims to cultivate goodness in the world around
him or her.
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The rituals must be internalized or made ones
own in order to authentically reflect personal
virtue. One must want to be good, and not just
act as such for some ulterior reason. What it
means to be a person is to be a social being who
aims to cultivate goodness in the world around
him or her. It is to be a relational being,
interdependently connected with, and ultimately
responsible to, as well as for others.
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The rituals must be internalized or made ones
own in order to authentically reflect personal
virtue. One must want to be good, and not just
act as such for some ulterior reason. What it
means to be a person is to be a social being who
aims to cultivate goodness in the world around
him or her. It is to be a relational being,
interdependently connected with, and ultimately
responsible to, as well as for others. There is
no concept of an individual that stands
independent of some social context, as is so
prevalent in the West.
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• Five Basic Confucian Relations
• Father to son
• Older to younger brother
• Husband to wife
• Ruler to subject
• Teacher to student

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• Five Basic Confucian Relations
• Father to son
• Older to younger brother
• Husband to wife
• Ruler to subject
• Teacher to student
• And in the Contemporary World
• Parent to child
• Older to younger person or relation
• Lifelong partner to partner
• Civil servant to citizen
• Person to person

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Virtue in the context of filial piety As for
the young contributing their energies when there
is work to be done, and deferring to their elders
when there is wine and food to be had how can
merely doing this be considered being filial?
(28) And in the context of rituals The
Master said "In referring time and again to
following ritual propriety, how could I just be
talking about gifts of jade and silk?"
(1711) And finally, in the context of
leadership What could I see in a person who in
holding a position of influence is not tolerant,
who in observing ritual propriety is not
respectful, and who in overseeing the mourning
rites does not grieve? (326)