ETHICAL

THEORIES IN
ASIAN
PHILOSOPHIES
AND RELIGIONS
CONFUCIAN
ETHICS
 CONFUCIANISM
• Confucianism is a philosophy or attitude that is concerned with
human beings, their achievements and interests, rather than with the
abstract beings and problems of theology
• Never intended to be a religion
• It has no revelatory sacred writings, no priesthood, no doctrine of
an afterlife, and frowned on asceticism and monasticism
 VIRTUE OR DE
• Acquisition of virtue is through learning
• To be virtuous one must live a virtuous life
• Education is necessary for one to have a virtuous life
REN (BENEVOLENCE)
• Human-heartedness or Compassion or Altruism
• Essence of human being, endowed by Heaven
• Wishing to establish oneself, one helps to establish others
• Wishing to develop oneself, one helps to develop others
• Not to do to others as you would not wish done to yourself
LI (PROPRIETY)
• Rituals
• Sets the form of moral life and the proper ritual of a
civilized life
• Rule and conduct that reflects a person’s goodwill
• Embodies the entire web of interaction between humanity,
human objects, and nature
LI (PROPRIETY)
• The way to maintain and cultivate virtues was through the
practice and enactment of LI or RITUALS
• Doing things in the right way or according to propriety
TO OVERCOME SELF-
CENTEREDNESS AND
RETURN TO RITUAL
PROPRIETY IS THE WAY TO
BECOME HUMANE
ZHONG (LOYALTY)
• This virtue applies to all roles and all people
• Being loyal means doing one’s best in whatever one does
• Doing what one is supposed to do
• Being loyal to one’s role
• Does not mean subservience to authority
 SHU(EMPATHY)
• Loyalty to one’s role is not sufficient for securing social harmony unless it is
accompanied by everyone’s empathetic understanding of other people’s
wishes
• If we do not wish our family members to be harmed, then we should not
harm any stranger who is also a family member to someone else
XIAO(FILIAL PIETY)
• An attitude of respect and concern toward parents and
superiors
• Children should show love, devotion and respect to their
parents
• Family is the training ground for the development of Xiao
JUNZI (GENTLEMAN)
• Superior person next to sage or wise man
• May be achieved by any individual
• He may live in poverty
• He does more and speak less
• He is loyal, obedient and knowledgeable
• Ren is fundamental to become a Junzi
XIAOREN (PETTY PERSON)
• Does not grasp the value of virtues
• Seeks only immediate gains
• Egotistic
• Does not consider the consequences of his action
DAOIST
ETHICS
DAOIST ETHICS
• Founded by Lao Tzu or Laozi
• Once worked as a keeper of the archives at the Chinese imperial
court and became dissatisfied because of corruption
• His interest lies in teaching the ultimate reality of the universe by
appreciating the essential nature of DAO or the WAY
• The way humans should fit in their lives on how nature truly
operates
 TE
• The active expression of Tao
• Often translated with Virtue or Power
• Results from an individual living and cultivating
the Tao
THE HARMONY OF OPPOSITES
• Nature is full of opposites
• There is harmony in oppositions
• TAI CHAI is achieved through a blend of the YIN (F) and
YANG (M)
• Harmony can be cultivated through creative quietude, an effortless
action whose power maintains equanimity and balance (WU WEI)
THE HARMONY OF OPPOSITES
• When someone exerts their will against the world in a manner that
is out of rhythm with the cycles of change, they may disrupt that
harmony and unintended consequences may more likely result
rather than the willed outcome
THE VIOLENT DIE
A VIOLENT
DEATH
ACCEPTANCE
HINDU
ETHICS
HINDU ETHICS
• Belief in the divinity of the sacred Sanskrit texts from India also
known as VEDAS
• Upanishads- means sitting near to a spiritual teacher to receive
instruction; comprises a set of Hindi scriptures that refer to a spiritual
spirit or God (Brahman) and the human soul (atman)
• Upanishads proclaim that salvation can be attained by knowledge and
salvation
MAHABHARATA
• Longest epic in the world
• Belief in Karma
• In Bhagavad Dita, it focuses on the causation and
effects of Karma
KARMA
• Human being has a free will that allows him to make
intelligent choices and perform good deeds
• Ultimate goal is to reduce bad karma in his next
Samsara
KARMA
• The universe is an endless cycle of creation,
preservation and dissolution
• Every soul evolves through a series of janma and punar-
janma until all karmas has been resolved
KARMA
•Attainment of liberation or
MOKSHA
AHIMSA
• All forms of life are sacred and are to be loved and
revered
• Practice of non-injury
• Refers to compassion and non-violence whether
physical, mental or emotional
10 MORAL VALUES
• Dhriti or patience
• Kshama or forgiveness
• Dam or control over desires
• Asteya or no stealing
• Shauch or physical and spiritual cleanliness
10 MORAL VALUES
• Indriyanigrah or control over sense organs
• Dheeh or wisdom
• Vidya or education and learning
• Satya or truthfulness
• Akrodha or anger management
DHARMA (WAY OF LIFE)
• Religious, social and cultural obligation of a Hindu
• Defines how should a Hindu behave or deal with life
• Performing one’s duty
YAMAS (TO REIN)
• Ahimsa
• Satya
• Asteya
• Bramachariya- relinquish lust and all wrongdoing,
drunkenness and evil company
• Aparigraha- discipline desire and greed
NIYAMAS (TO UNLEASH)
• Saucha- be pure in body, mind and speech
• Santosha- seek contentment and serenity in life, loving
your fellowmen
• Tapaha- remaining steadfast in hardship; sacrifice
• Svadhyaya- study the scriptures and books of wisdom
with an open mind
NIYAMAS (TO UNLEASH)
• Isvarapranidhana- cultivate devotion through daily
worship and meditation, giving charitably without
thought of reward
BUDDHIST
ETHICS
BUDDHIST ETHICS
• Founded by Siddharta Gautama
• After witnessing irremediable suffering of his
fellowmen, and after an intense meditation under a
pipal tree, became a Buddha
• Buddha means one who is enlightened or awakened
 THE FOUR SIGHTS
•He encountered a sick man, an old
man, a corpse and a monk
THREE ESSENTIAL QUALITIES
•Renunciation opposes worldly desires
•Wisdom opposes ignorance
•Kindness opposes ill will
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
•Life is a suffering
•Suffering is caused by desire
•Suffering has an end
•There is a way to end the suffering
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
•Life is a suffering
•Suffering is caused by desire
•Suffering has an end
•There is a way to end the suffering
EIGHTFOLD PATH
•Last noble truth
•Divided into three: morality (Shila),
meditation(Dhyana) and wisdom( Prajna)
•The middle way
•Means to attain nirvana
EIGHTFOLD PATH
•Right views •Right effort
•Right thought •Right mindfulness
•Right speech •Right concentration
•Right action
•Right livelihood
NIRVANA
•A state of perpetual peace or happiness
•Attained by a person who curbed the
intensity of hatred, delusions or greed
•May be achieved in life
SIX VIRTUES OF PERFECTION
•Generosity or Dana •Meditation or
•Morality or Sila Dhyana
•Patience or Santi • Wisdom or Prajna
•Diligence or Virya
SIKHISM
THE FIVE VIRTUES
•Sat or truth
•Daya or compassion
•Santokh or contentment
•Nimrata or humility
•Pyaar or love
JUDAISM
JUDAIST VIRTUES
•Justice or Din or Mishpat
•Truth- falsehood, flattery, and false
swearing are forbidden
•Peace or Shalom
CORE ETHICAL VIRTUE
•Chesed or loving-kindness
THE WORLD RESTS UPON
THREE THINGS
•Torah
•Service to God
•Chesed
COMPANIONSHIP OR
DEATH? (TA'AN. 23A)
SHINTOISM
(KAMI-NO-MICHI)
SHINTO ETHICS
Based on Kannagara or Way of the Kami
(gods/deities)
•Makoto or sincerity
•Tadashi or honesty
SHINTO ETHICS
•Avoid Kegare (pollution or impurities)
•Ensure Harae (purity)
OTHER BELIEFS
AND
PHILOSOPHIES
STOICISM
STOICISM
•Founded by Zeno of Citium
•Follow where reason leads
PAIN AND SUFFERING IS
INEVITABLE
•Avoiding pain is impossible
•Even if what you behold is
disturbingly contradictory, if it is
the truth, it must be accepted
PAIN AND SUFFERING IS
INEVITABLE
•What is needed is the
PURGATION OF PASSIONS or
EMOTIONS
•Passion produces anxiety
ATHEISM
ATHEISM
•From the Greek word “a” and
“theos”
•Denial of the existence of God
•Growth of the sciences
ARGUMENTS
•No good arguments for
believing in the existence of a
personal deity
ARGUMENTS
•Impossibility of free will
ARGUMENTS
•Impossibility of free will
ARGUMENTS
•Doctrinal inconsistency of
prayer
ARGUMENTS
•The problem of evil (unable,
unwilling, unknowing)
•If evil exists, then God is less
than his attributes
ANSWERS AND RESPONSE
•The present evil phenomena
are rectified in other regions,
and in some future period of
existence
ANSWERS AND RESPONSES
•We are in no position to claim
that we know that God will
“rectify” the evil of this world
in a future state
ANSWERS AND RESPONSES
•There are real evils in the world
but they are all necessary evils,
without which the whole system
of nature would not be so perfect
ANSWERS AND RESPONSES
•Not necessary
WHY COULD GOD NOT HAVE
BEEN MORE GENEROUS IN
PROVIDING HIS CREATURES
WITH BETTER ENDOWMENTS
FOR THEIR SURVIVAL AND
HAPPINESS?
WHY DOES
NATURE RUN INTO
SUCH EXTREMES?
WHY GOD DOES NOT ACT
THROUGH PARTICULAR
VOLITIONS TO PREVENT
CATASTROPHES?
 THE PROBLEM OF
MIRACLES
(IF ANY OF THESE APPEALS TO MIRACLES
ARE VALID, THEN SURELY ALL ARE)
 PROBLEMS WITH
DIVINE JUSTICE
(HOW CAN ANY FINITE SIN RECEIVE AN
INFINITE PUNISHMENT)
NIHILISM
(ALL TALK OF MORALS IS RUBBISH
BECAUSE NOTHING IS MORALLY RIGHT OR
WRONG)
NIHILISM
•‘’Nihil’’ (Greek) means nothing
•Popularized by Friedrich Nietzche
• Argues that existence is without objective
meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value
•No proof or argument of existence of a
higher ruler or creator
NIHILISM
•Hopelessness of life
•Life was compared to the
Greek myth of Sisyphus
NIHILISM
•Humanity has no moral
obligation to worship them
NIETZSCHE INSISTS ON TWO
THINGS FROM HUMANITY
• The courage to face reality
• A desire to provide a new direction in our lives
now that there is no God to provide it.
‘GOD IS DEAD’
•We abandoned God . This meant that
the concept of God was "dead", and
therefore, any ethics and indeed sense of
direction in general founded on this
metaphysical claim of the existence of
God and religion was "dead" as well.
GOD NEVER EXISTED.
GOD IS A CONCEPT
THAT HUMAN BEINGS
HAVE MADE UP.
BAD?
•Whatever is contrary to the
conformity of nature.
NATURE OF LIFE
•It is brutal, harsh, cruel,
frightful, tragic, and beautiful
•We must say yes to life as it is.
WILL TO POWER?
•Main driving force in humans
•Nietzsche often identified life itself with the
“will to power,” that is, with an instinct for
growth and durability
UBERMENCH?
• Overman or Superman
• Will act as his own God, giving himself morality and value
as he sees fit according to him alone
• Neither slave or master as he does not impose his will upon
others
• An independent individual who has the power to banish herd
instincts from his mind and become a master of self
discipline.
UBERMENCH?
•Embraces life’s hardships and pleasures alike
•Accepts hard truths without complaint
•Finds his own direction; has an ambition and
does not become tired in the face of hardship
UBERMENCH?
• Interested in people and in sharing his knowledge
but is not interested in creating a system for
everyone to follow
• Deals with pain and evil with the knowledge that a
single life affirming moment can make it
worthwhile
• Delighted to eternal recurrence
WHICH MORALITY IS
CORRECT?
“You have your way. I have my way. As
for the right way, the correct way, and the
only way, it does not exist.”
SATANISM
SATANISM
• Satanism "has a history of being a designation made by people against
those whom they dislike; it is a term used for 'othering’
• "the adversary“
• Anton Lavey = father of Satanism
• Goat pentagram
• The Sigil of Baphomet
• Insignia of the Church of Satan and
of the Laveyan Satanism
11 SATANIC RULES OF THE
EARTH
• Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.
• Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they
want to hear them.
• When in another's lair, show them respect or else do not go
there.
• If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat him cruelly and
without mercy.
11 SATANIC RULES OF THE
EARTH
• Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal.
• Do not take that which does not belong to you unless it is a burden to
the other person and they cry out to be relieved.
• Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it
successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of magic
after having called upon it with success, you will lose all you have
obtained.
11 SATANIC RULES OF THE
EARTH
• Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject
yourself.
• Do not harm little children.
• Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your
food.
• When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers
you, ask them to stop. If they do not stop, destroy them
THE NINE SATANIC SINS
• Stupidity • Forgetfulness of Past
• Pretentiousness Orthodoxies
• Solipsism • Counterproductive Pride
• Self-deceit • Lack of Aesthetics
• Herd Conformity
• Lack of Perspective
BUSHIDO
(THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR)
BUSHIDO
•Bushi = Samurai
•Do = Way of doing things
RECTITUDE
•The power of deciding upon a certain
course of conduct in accordance with
reason, without wavering, to die when its
right, to attack when to attack is right
RECTITUDE
•The power of deciding upon a certain
course of conduct in accordance with
reason, without wavering, to die when its
right, to attack when to attack is right
MU
•Living by considering others from
the heart
MUSHIN
•No mind ;Right mental attitude
•Samurai was trained not to have fear
•Suppress all sentimental feelings
•To be aggressive and spontaneous in
making decisions
SOUL OF THE
SAMURAI
 WHAT THE SAMURAI
LEARNS FROM WATER?
‘’THAT EVERYTHING
CHANGES’’
WHAT THE SAMURAI
LEARNS FROM WATER?
•Fidelity
•Harmony
•Propriety
 WHAT THE SAMURAI
LEARNS FROM EARTH?
‘’REPRESENTS
PERMANENCE, SOLID
FOUNDATION UNDER ALL WE
DO’’
WHAT THE SAMURAI
LEARNS FROM EARTH?
•Love and Service
•Compassion
•Cherishing
WHAT THE SAMURAI
LEARNS FROM AIR?
‘BECAME THE SYMBOL
OF THE SAMURAI’S MIND
AND SPIRIT’’
WHAT THE SAMURAI
LEARNS FROM AIR?
•Wisdom
•Light
•Principle
WHAT THE SAMURAI
LEARNS FROM FIRE?
‘’YOU CAN’T REMAIN
PASSIVE AROUND
FIRE’’
WHAT THE SAMURAI
LEARNS FROM FIRE?
•Valor
•Progress
•Completion
GIRI
•Duty or obligation
•Drives the Japanese to avoid shame, pay
proper respect to seniors
GISEI
•Sacrificing their individuality for
the state, the community, the
family
GAMAN
•Perseverance, strong patience
•Don’t like to be outdone or lose to
anything
•Strong dedication to finish the task
GAMAN
Bear the unendurable
GAMBARU
•To hold out, to stand firm, to
persist and to NEVER GIVE UP
KAIZEN
•One never totally masters anything
and must continually strive for
improvement
•Today, I must beat the me of
yesterday