CONFUCIUS

Aloria, Charlene Shine

Pag-Ong, Lendell
Ungriano, Aira Michaela
“Confucius was a man who never led an
army, ruled a kingdom, or conquered a
nation, but shaped the flow of human
history and established a system of ideas
that has lasted over twenty five hundred
years.”
(Bennett Sims, 1968)
LIFE OF CONFUCIUS
Better known in China as “Master
Kong” (Chinese: Kongzi)
A Chinese teacher and philosopher
Considered to be the most famous –
and important – of the early Chinese
thinkers.
Founder of the religion/philosophy
Confucianism - based on the writings
and teaching of Confucius. Most
stories contain a moral message.
 EARLY YEARS
Confucius was born in 551
BC to a noble but poor
family of the North China The Ancient
State of Lu
Plain. He loved learning and
was mostly self-taught. After This is where
Confucius was
born & spent
he failed to succeed at most of his life.

advancing in government,
he began to teach.
 PIONEER TEACHER
Many historians think that Confucius
was China’s first professional teacher
because he charged a fee for students.

Confucius taught his students his views

on government and life. He searched
for a ruler that would follow his
teachings but he died having never
found one. He thought he was a failure.
 TEACHINGS OF
CONFUCIUS
Confucius did not claim his
teachings to be original.He
thought his teachings were the
works of wise men before him.

He hoped to bring peace,

stability, and prosperity to China’s
kingdoms.
 CONFUCIANISM
A system of beliefs and values

Confucius himself never wrote down his

teachings. Instead, his students gathered
a collection of his sayings after his death.

His writings became a philosophy –

system of beliefs and values, that became
known as Confucianism.
 THE ANACLETS
The Analects of Confucius, the closest we have to a primary source for his
thoughts, relates the discussions with his disciples in short sayings.

This book contains a compilation of questions and answers, excerpts from

conversations, and anecdotes from Confucius' life.

“Lead the people with administrative injunctions and put them

in their place with penal law, and they will avoid punishments
but will be without a sense of shame. Lead them with
excellence and put them in their place through roles and ritual
practices, and in addition to developing a sense of shame,
they will order themselves harmoniously.” (Analects II, 3)
His writings deal primarily with individual morality and ethics, and the proper
exercise of political power by the rulers.

The main idea of Confucianism is the importance of having a good moral

character, which can then affect the world around that person through the
idea of “cosmic harmony.”
 “ IF THE EMPEROR HAS
MORAL PERFECTION, HIS
RULE WILL BE PEACEFUL
AND BENEVOLENT.”
Confucius argues that under law, external
authorities administer punishments after illegal
actions, so people generally behave well without
understanding reasons why they should; whereas
with ritual, patterns of behavior are internalized
and exert their influence before actions are taken,
so people behave properly because they fear
shame and want to avoid losing face.
CONFUCIAN VIRTUE ETHICS
Contrasted with deontology and consequentialism, the three are the mainstream
contemporary normative ethical theories.

1. FLOURISHING
Confucius expresses a preference of a life taking
joy in simple pleasures.
2. THE VIRTUES
The unity of virtues of benevolence, righteousness,
wisdom and propriety.
3. ETHICAL CULTIVATION & PHILOSOPHICAL
ANTHROPOLOGY
Discovery, re-formation and development
 GOLDEN RULE ETHICAL PARTICULARISM
All behaviors: Ethical teaching is taught according to the needs
and abilities of different students.
Good
Golden Rule: “One should treat others as
Bad one would like others to treat oneself.”
Silver Rule: “What you do not wish for
SILVER RULE yourself, do not do to others.”

All behaviors: Although these rules are universal, in different

Good situations, Confucius would advise a person to do
different things. Hence he was a particularist.
Bad
 FIVE CONSTANT VIRTUES

These virtues are widely regarded as the main principles of Confucianism, interconnected with
another and are the fundamental values needed in order to live a moral life. Important in
determining who was a ‘true gentleman’ in ancient Chinese society; regardless of a person’s class
or social status, he was expected to exhibit the five virtues and use proper conduct toward
others. This also applied to the way in which rulers were expected to govern. A leader, from local
bureaucrat to emperor, was supposed to govern with benevolent concern for the well-being of
his subjects. One reason those in charge were expected to live by the five constant virtues is that
the Confucian concept of government involves leading by example.
IF INDIVIDUALS IN THE
GOVERNMENT ARE
VIRTUOUS, THEIR
SUBJECTS WILL BE
VIRTUOUS AS WELL.
 “Being such a gentleman does not require a
high social rank, a fine appearance, or an
eloquent manner of speech. Rather, it
requires that one embody goodness in one’s
relationships with others.”

meaning: benevolence,
“Every human being has the capacity to
humanity, human-heartedness, possess ren, and ren manifests itself when a
goodness, or love
virtuous person treats others with
considered to be the nucleus of all the
teachings and foundational virtue of
humaneness.”
Confucius; the highest Confucian virtue
Ren is reflected on the golden rule of Confucius; just as man treats his self as human
being through love, this should also be extended to how he treats the other agents.
The Ren person spares no effort to help and love others; one even lays down one’s
life for the sake of this end, with no thought of being repaid.
 “The superior man
understands righteousness
(yi); the inferior man
understands profit.”
virtue of fulfilling one’s duties and
responsibilities to family, community,
nation, and the world.
the act of doing what is right and
good for the others.
 “In the practice of Li,
Harmony is the key.”

the greatest principle of living. When society

lives by li it moves smoothly. Confucius saw the
meaning: ritual, propriety, embodiment of this society in the idealized form
etiquette
of feudalistic government, illustrated by the Five
Relationships.
 THE FIVE RELATIONSHIPS
According to Confucius, the smooth functioning of government
and society rested on five key relationships;

01 Ruler 02 Father 03 Husband

Subject
(Ruled)
Son Wife

04 Older brother 05 Older friend

Younger brother Younger friend
These five relationships were considered the building blocks of the social order.
CIVIL SOCIETY & THE 5 RELATIONSHIPS
A civil society grounded in creative or complementary
reciprocity would prevent weaker members from acting as
moral agents in the reciprocal exchanges that bind the society
together.

2 MAIN ELEMENTS OF CIVIL SOCIETY

Strengthen schools and learned
1 Confucian justification for a 2academics so that they could increase
rule of law that would place the # of civil servants for a functioning
limitations on the ruler’s and professionalized govt and center
power. of educated public opinion.
BRINGING ORDER TO SOCIETY
The goal of Confucius was to bring peace and order
to China. He lived during a time where Chinese
kingdoms were fighting for control.

Confucius believed that if people could behave

correctly toward one another, peace would come.
 RESPECTING OTHERS

Confucius taught that people should know their place

in life and society. They should respect people above
and below them.
 encompasses the dynamics of the
thinking process which is composed of two
parts:

Hsueh (learning) Ssu (thinking)

describes the object of the knowing describes a process of
critical thinking and reflection necessary to
process incorporate or assimilate the knowledge acquired.

“To learn without thinking is

labor in vain, to think without
learning is desolation.”
 “Knowledge is to
acknowledge what is known,
and what is unknown as not
known.”
Similar to Socrates, for Confucius, knowledge is not simply all about
knowing things, but also knowing that there are still things that one doesn’t
know. Both of them stresses the importance of ignorance.
 It is a virtue necessary in dealing with other
persons; that man should not deceive others and
should exactly mean what one will say.

About the person His acts & speech

“A person without trustworthiness, who

knows what he may do? A carriage
honesty, believing, and without a yoke strap, a cart without a
trusting
yoke hook: how can you drive them?”
 TRUSTWORTHINESS IN
SOCIAL ADMINISTRATION
“The gentleman should gain the trust of the
people before he employs their services.
Without trust, the people would consider their
employment as exploitation. The gentleman
should gain the trust of his lord before he
recommends improvements. Without trust,
the lord would consider his
recommendations as contemptuous.”
GOOD GOVERNMENT
Confucius achieved positions of ministership, by virtue
of his philosophical distinction, in a number of States
and was thus in good position to portray the objectives
of Government in his age as well as the special
qualities of the rulers in contradistinction with those of
the ruled.

Confucius was first a bureaucrat and then a teacher of

young men aspiring to government service.

The moral ideal of government: Humane Government

It should be in advance of the people
 GOOD GOVERNMENT
Guidance by Virtue not by Threat

“When the sovereign is a good son, and a good brother, and

applies the same principles to the governmenet of the nation,
that is also what we call government.”

“He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be

compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all
the stars turn towards it.”
 GOOD GOVERNMENT
Government by Moral Example

IN ORDER TO GOVERN OTHERS, ONE MUST FIRST

GOVERN ONESELF.
When developed sufficiently, the king’s personal virtue spreads beneficent influence throughout
the kingdom.

When a prince’s personal conduct is correct, his government is effective without the issuing of
orders. If his personal conduct is not correct, he may issue orders, but they will not be followed.

By saying this, Confucius has put before the ruling class the entire responsibility of their empire by teaching
the lesson of good morality equals good governance.
 GOOD GOVERNMENT
Factors of Government

Sufficient food for People’s confidence

Sufficient Army
people in the ruler

Question: If you are forced to give up one of

these 3? What would you go without first?
 Question: If you are forced to give up one of
these 3? What would you go without first?

Sufficient food for People’s confidence

Sufficient Army
people in the ruler

Confucius: ‘I would go without the army first, then I would

go without sufficient food for people. There have always
been deaths in every generation since man lived, but a
nation cannot exist without confidence in its ruler.’
 GOOD GOVERNMENT
How would you recognize a good
government?

When a country is well-governed, poverty and a mean condition are

things to be ashamed of. When a country is ill-governed, riches and honor
are things to be ashamed of.’

“Good government obtains, when those who are near are made happy,
and those who are far off are attracted.
 CONFUCIANISM IN
TODAY’S WORLD

Confucianism has a significant place compared with other ideologies of

the past and the future. It is based on good human values and extends
to building a good society.

It has been used by societies to build cohesive entities that emphasize

greater economic and social well-being.
 CONFUCIANISM IN
TODAY’S WORLD

Its emphasis on ethics, morality, family values, and social harmony has
had a lasting influence not just on Chinese thought and behavior, but
in other Asian cultures.

It is concerned with inner virtue, morality, and respect for the

community and its values.
 CONFUCIANISM IN
TODAY’S WORLD
Concepts such as virtue, merit, good governance and benevolence
can be seen within the ideologies of many other scholars, in many
regions, such as in Eastern and Western part of the world.

It has a place in the modern world and should be studied from multiple
perspectives. Confucius’s simple ideas can be connected to real life
through contemporary examples.
 CONFUCIANISM IN
TODAY’S WORLD

The system gives advice on how societies should be run, how people
should live their lives and how relationships should be maintained.

Its advocacy for education, harmony and other excellent qualities of

humanity remains significant part in today’s modern world.
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