CONFUCIUS’ ETHICAL THEORY (551-479 BC)

 Kung Fu Tzu (Confucius; Latin) – The Master Kung

 Nobel descent but was born to a poor family
 Forbears – Sung but had to flee due to political reasons and resettle in the state of LU
(Shantung)
 Confucian ideology of was adopted as the core of the educational system and of the civil
service examination
 Luny u (small book of 20 brief chapter, known as Analects of Confucius)
SOCIAL MILIEU
- Lived during the decline of the Chou dynasty
- Country was divided into warring feudal states ruled by hereditary autocratic lords who
were wont to make war at whim, tax their people oppressively, and impose on them
heasvy forced labor
- Saw the need for reforms: social and political life and relieve the suffering of the
common people
 Solution: return to the sources of tradition, with emphasis on moral tradition and the
observance of the traditional rites and ceremonies
ETHICAL THEORY
- Reprise of two old ideas in the Chinese tradition: Tao and Te
- Tao – way ; signifies the way or nature
 Fundamental principle – substance of which all things are made
 Standard to which all things must conform
 A transcendental principle COMMON TO ALL BEINGS (thus beyond all
beings)
 THE WAY AND THE TRUTH AND THE BEING OF ALL THINGS
- TE – virtue – signifies some human trait or quality considered as a gift or an endowment
which man receives from Tao
- When the TAO acts in man, it becomes TE or virtue and constitutes man’s very
attitude of mind and character
- Purpose of man: is the pursuit of moral character (arete – excellence of character)
- Worthwhile purpose of man in life: to be a good man, to be a complete or total man
(Aristotle: to be a man of reason)
- Chih – basich natural stuff or substance; basic inclination to do what is right
(ENDOWMENT)
 An innate tendency toward what is right; moral virtue or moral character needs to
be nurtured and brought to fullness by man himself – a long process of education
and application
- Wen – and nurturing, patterning, formative process
EDUCATION
- Consists of Chinese literature (Confucian Classics) – composed of ancient poetic songs,
historical documents, rituals and codes of behavior
- Rooted in inheritance of the past
- Moral formation a life-ling process effort at self-overcoming and application in order to
acquire the proper mental attitude and manner of conducting oneself which are proper for
a man of right and virtue
Moral Man is:
- The natural endowment from Tao, and 
- The formative, refining process combined in a harmonious balance
- The gentlemen, the complete or superior man (chun  tzu)
- Has acquired the 3 main virtues: humaneness (jen), wisdom (chih), and courage (yung)
“There are three things constantly on the lips of the gentleman none of which I
-
have succeeded in following: 
- A man of humaneness never worries, 
- a man of wisdom is never of two minds, 
- a man of courage is never afraid.” (Analects, XIV. 28)
HUMANENESS
 respect, love and good will toward fellow man
 The most important quality –so important that it flows over to the two other virtues, and it
tends to be interchangeable with the notion of the moral man or gentleman
 Love fellowmen = humaneness
 Wisdom = know your fellowmen
 “for the gentleman it is morality
Does the gentleman consider courage a supreme quality =
that is supreme.  Possessed of courage but devoid of morality, a gentleman will
make trouble while a small man will be a brigand.” 
 Overcoming oneself or one’s aquisitivieness and desire for gain
GOLDEN RULE
- “Do not do unto others what you do not what others do unto you.”