CONFUCIANIS

M
PROPONENT
CONFUCIU
S
• Is the Latinized name for Kong-Tzu or K’ung Fu-tzu
• born on September 28, 551 BC during the Zhou dynasty.
• He was born into a middle-class family but after
his father’s death, the family was consigned to poverty.
• Confucius worked in the fields and as a bookkeeper but
later on became a teacher.
• He became an influential philosopher, politician
and educator during a tumultuous period of Chinese history.
CONFUCIU
Sthought his teachings were the works of wise men before him.
• Confucius did not claim his teachings to be original. He

• Confucius himself never wrote down his teachings. Instead,

his students gathered a collection of his sayings after his
death.
• Known as “Analects” in the west.
CONFUCIANIS
M
• Major system of though in China
• Developed from the teachings of Confucius and his
disciples: Mencius and Hzun Tzu
• Has influenced the Chinese attitude toward life, set the
patterns of living and standards of social value and
provided the background for Chinese political theories and
institutions.
• Also known as Ruism, Confucianism can be regarded as a
religion, tradition, teaching or an ideology.
 CONFUCIANIS
M
• is humanism, a philosophy or attitude that is concerned with
human beings, their achievements and interests
• man is the center of the universe: man cannot live alone, but
with other human beings. For human beings, the ultimate goal is
individual happiness. The necessary condition to achieve
happiness is through peace. To obtain peace, Confucius
discovered human relations consisting of the five relationships
which are based on love and duties. War has to be abolished; and
the Great Unity of the world should be developed.
CHARACTERISTICS
• Characterized as a system of social and ethical
philosophy rather than a religion.
• Affirmation of accepted values and norms of
behavior in primary social institutions and basic
human relationships.
• Conformity and acceptance of social roles

• Cultivation of conscience and character

 Teachings
• “A young man should serve his parents at home and be
respectful to elders outside his home. He should be earnest and
truthful, loving all, but become intimate with his innate-
goodheartedness. After doing this, if he has energy to spare, he
can study literature and the arts.”

• “If you control people by punishment, they will avoid crime,

but have no personal sense of shame. If you govern them by
means of virtue and control them with propriety, they will gain
their own sense of shame, and thus correct themselves.”
 Teachings
• “When you see someone of worth, think of how you may
emulate.”

• “When you see someone unworthy, examine your own

character.”

• “Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.”

FIVE MAIN
VIRTUES
五伦
 li
RITUAL
PROPRIETY
Proper customs in
yi rituals
zhi
RIGHTEOUSNESS KNOWLEDGE
Justice & morally Understanding w/
right truths

ren x i n
HUMANENESS INTEGRITY
Compassion & Honesty
benevolence
FIVE CONSTANTS
五伦
FIVE
CONSTANTS
People should know their place in life and society.
They should respect people above and below them.
• Father – Child > kindness and obedience
• Husband – Wife > love and loyalty
• Elder – Younger Brother > nobility and respect
• Friend – Friend > humaneness and deference
• Ruler – Subject > benevolence and sincerity
IDEAS IN
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-illuminative sincerity is called nature. The self- illumination
of sincerity is called education.”
 EDUCATIONAL
THEORY 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." Its means one with a proper and suitable
behavior and cultivation, regardless of birth. His main goal
was the cultivation of character, through observation, study
and reflective thought.

Analyst: A. M. McEnroe
 EDUCATIONAL
THEORY 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.
 But to recognize what one observes, one must
process it.
 belief /mistake is premature knowledge based
on insufficient observation and/or insufficient
processing.
 lie is having full knowledge, and deliberately
misrepresenting that knowledge.
Analyst: A. M. McEnroe
 EDUCATIONAL
THEORY THEORY OF HUMAN NATURE
What is a human being? How does it differ
from other species? What are the limits of
human potential?
 Confucius' philosophy was that it was natural
for man to be social.
 He believed that a truly cooperative world was
the way of Nature.

Analyst: A. M. McEnroe
 EDUCATIONAL
THEORY THEORY OF LEARNING
What is learning? How
knowledge acquired?
are skills and

 "Study without thought is labor lost; thought

without study is dangerous." 
 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.

Analyst: A. M. McEnroe
 EDUCATIONAL
THEORY
THEORY OF TRANSMISSION
Who is to teach? By what methods? What will the
curriculum be?
  a teacher is the one who has developed their own
character.
 He did not use structured classes.
 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.
 The curriculum at Confucius' school included music,
Li (the code and manner of proper conduct), the Book
Analyst: A. M. McEnroe of Poetry, literature and history.
 EDUCATIONAL
THEORY
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 importantly the responsibility of
the individual, then the family, then the community, then
Analyst: A. M. McEnroe the state, and then the country.
 EDUCATIONAL
THEORY THEORY OF OPPORTUNITY
Who is to be educated? Who is to be
schooled?
 "only teach those who were bursting with
eagerness for enlightenment.“
 However he would not turn someone away
because they had no money.

Analyst: A. M. McEnroe
 EDUCATIONAL
THEORY THEORY OF CONSENSUS
Why do people disagree? How is
achieved? Whose opinion takes precedence?
consensus

 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

Analyst: A. M. McEnroe
CONTRIBUTION
Sand underprivileged.
• Confucius promoted education for the poor

• Confucius set up private institutions to teach

students of all social classes.
• Confucian education system remained the
standard in China for over two thousand years
• For Confucius, education is essential because
excellence comes from the cultivation of
individual's virtues and intellect.
IN
EDUCATION
•
•
Status and Hierarchy
Collectivism and Group Orientation
• Respect for authority
• The importance of Family and Scholarship
• Britannica (2019) Confucianism. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Confucianism
• Adhikari, S. (2019, August 13). Top 10 Contributions of Confucius. Retrieved from
https://www.ancienthistorylists.com/china-history/contributions-of-confucius/
• Anon, (2019). [online] Available at: https://brainly.ph/question/410994 [Accessed 17 Oct. 2019].
• Berling, J. A. (n.d). Confucianism [blog]. Retrieved from https://asiasociety.org/education/confucianism
• Eighty Six (n.d). The Confucian Education System – Can It Positively Influence U.S. Education? [blog].
Retrieved fromhttps://www.brighthubeducation.com/education-industry/129048-confucianism-can-
change-modern-education/
• Goscha, C. (2017, March 9). What is Confucianism? A short introduction to the Chinese ethical system.
Retrieved from https://www.historytoday.com/history-matters/what-confucianism
• McEnroe, A. M. (2014, April 30). Confucius's Educational Theor y. Retrieved
from https://www.newfoundations.com/GALLERY/Confucius.html