Topic : Confucius – Contributions

to education

Name : R.M. Vihari Vichakshana K.

Rajaguru
Who is Confucius ?
 The most important philosopher
in early Chinese history.

 Confucius never wrote his ideas.

 After his death, his students

collected his sayings in The
Analects.

 His ideas did spread to many

parts of the world.

 Confucius is credited with

establishing the content
and methods of teaching, and
 Introduction
 Born - 551 BC Zou, Lu
state
 Died - 479 BC (aged 71–
72), Lu State
 Nationality - Chinese
 Era - Ancient philosophy
 Region - Chinese
philosophy
 School - Founder
of Confucianism
 Main interests - Moral
philosophy, Social
The life of Confucius
 He was actually called “Kung fu tzu” by
his people
 Shuliang He, father of Confucius, was an
officer of in the Lu military, he died when
Confucius was 3 years old.
 Yan Zhengai, mother of Confucius,
 At age 19 he married his wife, Qui Quan
and a year later the couple had their first
child, Kong Li.
 He has nine sisters and one brother and
Education background
 He studied religion with
Daoist Master Lao Dan.
 Learn music with Chang
Hong and music master
Xiang.
 Taoism (modernly
Daoism) is a philosophical,
ethical, and religious
tradition of Chinese origin
that emphasizes living in Lao Dan
harmony with the Tao.
 His philosophy

 Confucius did not teach people about

religion.
 Instead, he taught people how to be good
citizens.
 Confucius thought it was important for
people to live in harmony with each other.
 The most important duty was filial piety.
(Filial Piety means respect for your
parents)
 Confucius also stressed the importance of:
honesty - hard work - concern for others.
 Ideas about education
 Confucius' view of education is based on
the conviction that "man is born with
uprightness."Even immoral persons have
an upright essence. So, Confucius said,
"By nature men are alike.“

 He honored and respected all human

beings, and for him all men were able to
learn about the good and to do good.
Therefore, "In education there should be
no class distinction.

 True education, according to

Confucianism, is self-education. "Self-
 Confucius's Educational
Theory
1. Theory of Value: What knowledge and skills are
worthwhile learning? What are the goals of
education?

- Since Confucius' goal was to reform the

government, his goals for education were to
produce men who were capable to serve in
government in decisive roles. He attempted to
produce chun tzu, which is quite similar to the
English word, "gentleman."

- Originally both Chinese and English words meant

one born into a high social station, but both came to
2. Theory of Knowledge: What is knowledge?
How is it different from belief? What - is a mistake?
What is a lie? To know Nature and the Way of
Nature, one must observe. He is
quoted as "I have no inborn
knowledge. I love antiquity and I
search for it [knowledge]
assiduously." He also said,
"Among three men who are
walking together (myself being
one of them), I am certain to find
my teacher, a good one in order
to emulate him, and a bad one in
order [recognize in him what in
myself I must] correct.“
 - He is quoted as saying to a student "Do
you think that my way of acquiring
knowledge is simply to study many things
and remember them?" The student said,
"Yes, isn't that the case?" Confucius replied,
"No, I have one principle which I use like a
thread, upon which to string them all." This
sounds like a rationalist who seeks to
arrange his observations (the world's
phenomena) according to the principle of his
own mind.
3. Theory of Human Nature: What is a human
being? How does it differ from other species?
What are the limits of human potential?

- Confucius was much influenced by the

philosophy of his much older contemporary, Lao
tzu (b. 604 B.C.), who is reputedly the founder of
Taoism.

- Humans differ from other species in their

tendency to meddle with Nature.

- An individual human's potential is limited by: the

individual's ability to recognize his/her true nature,
the individual's ability to follow the way of his/her
true nature, and by his/her true nature itself.
 4. Theory of Learning: What is learning? How are
skills and knowledge acquired?

Confucius said "Study without thought

is labor lost; thought without study is
dangerous." When referring to his
own way of learning, he said -To hear
much, select what is good, and follow
it;" Thus he saw learning as a process
of observation of some type of subject
matter whether it be books, objects, or
people, followed by reflection, that
somehow changed one. He saw
learning as a highly personal and
therefore, highly individual activity. He
seemed to feel once awakened by
any kind of real learning, this process
would be repeated by the student.
5. Theory of Transmission: Who is to teach? By what
methods? What will the curriculum be?

- Confucius would have required that a teacher be

one who has developed their own character.
Confucius, himself was a teacher, and his methods
were very informal, and tailored to the individual. He
did not use structured classes or exan-dnations.

- Instead he suggested to each student what they

should study, and then discussed it with them and
sometimes just listened. He is said to have taken the
stock of each student, and then encouraged their
strengths, and improved their weaknesses.
6. Theory of Society: What is society? What
institutions are involved in the educational
process?

- In the 2 books authored by Confucius,

Genuine Living, and Great Wisdom he clearly
states that society starts with the individual, and
that one must first develop oneself, to develop
one's family.

- The family serves as a model for the

community, the community as a model for the
state, the state as a model for the country, and
the country as a model for other countries. The
educational process is first and most
 A quote from Confucius' book
7. Theory of Opportunity: Who is to Living
Genuine be says,
educated? Who is to be"Developing
schooled?in accordance with
one's own nature is called "the
way of self-realization." Proper
pursuit of the way of self-
realization is called
"maturation"." In this quote, I
believe Confucius proposes
education for a but subject
matter and form for that
education would vary according
to one's own nature. At
Confucius' own school, he
would not teach "dullards", and
would "only teach those who
were bursting with eagerness
for enlightenment." However he
8. Theory of Consensus: Why do people
disagree? How is consensus achieved? Whose
opinion takes precedence?

- People disagree because they are focusing on

themselves, and not Nature and the way of
Nature. Confucius did not believe any one
person was the possessor of the truth. He
believed that through rational discussion the truth
could be worked out between two people, and
that the truth often was found somewhere
between the two positions.

- As far as consensus on a large scale, I think he

believed that people would naturally gravitate to
 The tomb of Confucius in Confucius Monument in
Qufu, Shandong Province, China. Rizal Park, Manila, Philippines
References :
 http://www.academia.edu/1120169/Two_Key_Theories_in
_Education_Confucius_and_John_Dewey
 http://www.biography.com/people/confucius-9254926
 http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/132184/Con
fucius
 http://www.friesian.com/confuci.html
 http://philosophytutoring.com/confucius-and-his-
contribution-to-philosophy/
 Chen Jinpan. Educational ideas of Confucianism.
Wuhan, Hubei Educational Press, 1985
 China Confucius Foundation. Selected papers at the
symposium in commemoration of the 2,540th birthday of
 Confucius. Shanghai, Sanlien Bookstore, 1992
 Yang Bojun. Annotations of the analects. China Book