At certain times in ones life it's important to stop and reflect. I have a great deal to be thankful for. Life never ceases to amaze me at how fragile and transitory the equilibrium of nature truly is. I'm reminded of life's impermanence by the passing of a friends father. But then after meditation that's the way things have been on this globe for millions of years. The cycle of life is circular never to be cheated by mortals. It is the light within us all that I'm most interested in. It is this fundamental idea or common thread that on a basic level we are good and can cultivate that which is right and morally grow. Let me explain further through utilizing a few of my Confucian incorporated beliefs.
In general it can be difficult or costly to do the right thing. In Confucianism, moral thought is comprehensive. Confucians might argue that morality starts with you, right here, right now. Ren or (Humaneness) the core moral principle is a strategy or a way of establishing self, by establishing others. In the Confucian core there is a belief that morality is a constant. Morality is not something you choose to do with different situations or scenarios but is a constant in life. Every tradition possibly from genesis forward contains some sense of what it is to do the right thing. Mencius one of the fathers of Confucianism posed a moral question. The question involved a three year old child sitting on the edge of a well and what should the observer do. Mencius argued that there is a force or tendency to help this child because this is what it means to be human. Part of human nature is to be compassionate because we are all apart of one species and interdependent. In Confucian thought humans are born essentially good, and human nature is good because it is social. In Confucian Moral theory you can't distinguish between what is right and what is good. The right is the good. Mencius had much to say about moral theory.
Mencius might ask what should a good or correct moral theory cost? Should a moral decision cost a person a great deal or very little? Mencius thought it was important to achieve a moral theory that was the middle way or just the right cost, not too high but not to low. A moral theory with a cost that is too high will fail. Morality that is high cost is impossible and hypocritical because people will fail by not living up to what is expected of them. High cost morality is likely to be impossible, people could potentially hate it, and it could possibly bring disaster to the world. This morality leads to hypocrisy. One might say, "I believe this but I can't follow it." If the cost is too high people might say that they are living a moral life when in reality there not. People will hate that which is moral if they cannot follow it. Therefore a moral cost that is too high is ultimately doomed from the start.
If a moral theory has too low of a cost then it is considered trivial. A low cost morality cannot guide you to what Confucians would consider the right life. Consider if you only lived by one principle. Do not rape or torture animals. The cost is relatively low. This is a trivial kind of low cost morality that never really occurs in our world. (Hopefully). This moral theory would not help you in life in general. Confucians would argue against a moral commitment that is so low that the cost is trivial.
A moral theory that achieves the middle or mean is the way. A morality that means something says; I need to do something that I don't necessarily want to do. This is the Confucian idea of the middle way. In the Confucian core there is no religious grounding for the moral life. Morality must be drawn from the human life. Self cultivation and social cooperation help you achieve the middle way. "Morality is founded on the interests of the group. If it is against this principle, even the perfect good can become an accursed evil. Public morality is therefore the basis of all morals. What is beneficial to the group is good; what is detrimental to the interests of the group is bad. This principle applies to all places and to all ages." De Bary page 291
In East Asian thought people have a tendency to be moral because they cooperate in society. Every human has a self and the potential to be great. One must cultivate the self so that he or she can achieve excellence. "For the Faithful followers of Confucianism, to take part in politics is to be engaged primarily in moral cultivation and moral education, sincerely carrying out the moral principles in government." Yao page 184. A good morality will help social cooperation i.e. a good father, mother, son, ruler, ruled etc. . Confucians would argue that morality is something you should follow because it is good for you, and not following it makes you a bad person or immoral. Morality is about both the self and society. The larger idea is understood if put into practice it can contribute to proper order and a flourishing world.
In order to better understand Confucian Moral theory it would be advantageous to compare it with Contemporary Western Theories (Post-1700). In Contemporary Western Theory Morality ethics is something you can choose to follow but you have no right to demand that it be followed. We separate the different areas of our lives that have different moralities. East Asian theory does not make this distinction. In East Asia there is a different kind of moral theory. This is a larger issue that is still alive in East Asian thought and behavior.
In the Confucian core the right is the good. Confucians don't distinguish between what is a duty and what is a good. Confucians don't distinguish between property and liberty. Again, morality according to Confucians is comprehensive. Suppose that a couple gets married and has children (a moral situation). This marriage will affect your business, and society. Morality begins in the home and through the family. Morality touches every part of the human existence. In the Confucian tradition morality is a full time job. One cannot be moral if others are not moral as well.
A moral life cannot be lived in isolation. Morality is truly social. Morality involves teamwork, team production. Moral theory can only work in societies where people cooperate. Virtue has neighbors it will not live alone. (Mencius). You cannot be moral if others aren't moral. I've heard it said that you should treat evil with good. Treat evil with righteousness and good with good. (Mencius) Eventually enough people will be moral so that the system works.
In Comprehensive moral theory, morality starts with your life right now all the time. Comprehensive morality is about mutual obligation. Grown adults have an obligation to go to work, on time, not drunk, dressed and ready to produce. Employers have a mutual obligation to their employees by being respectful, courteous, paying their employees etc. Some questions that have been posed in East Asia which are relevant: What are our mutual obligations to each other? What do we owe each other? In comprehensive moral theory leaders, rulers, and seniors have a larger obligation than the ruled, juniors, or subordinates to humanity. The powerful and wealthy have a larger obligation to humanity than the poor and meek. The healthy individuals have an obligation to the sick. Mutual obligation is about self and others. It should start always from the basic relationships of everyday life. In the west we live moral lives by following the law which illustrates a topical understanding of morality compared to East Asian Confucian Moral Theory.
In the Confucian core when people talk about values they are also talking about virtues. Confucians believe your not suppose to sacrifice yourself. Values and ends are good for individuals and good for social cooperation. They are things you value because they are moral or right. Harmony is a core moral value in the Confucian tradition. Harmony contributes to flourishing individuals. Ancestral lineage is another core moral value. Flourishing is yet another core value where people can fully develop and develop fully with each other.
In Confucian thought morality should lead to a certain kind of happiness. If you are a good husband, son, or grandparent; or contribute to society this ultimately leads to happiness. It's the happiness you get when you have done the right thing and contributed and cooperated with your fellow human beings. Donating a Kidney to a relative is a good example of doing the right thing and cooperation which could lead to happiness. There would be pain not just happiness. If it were done even if it were not successful you would experience this kind of happiness. If you donate your kidney you not only help someone else you come out of it stronger morally. Morality is not a cheap happiness but a real happiness you get by cultivating it in the audience of others.
For the Confucians when you act moral you act in a graded way. For them the most important issues are played out in the family. Then you extend the moral work to others outside the family. For most people most of their moral life will be relative low cost. When westerners studied East Asians they concluded that Confucians had no morality. That's simply not the case. Morality starts in the home. You start with the most important issues in your life. Confucians do not want people to be moral heroes. Morality isn't supposed to be hard or difficult.
To be moral is to live a life that is satisfying. We often associate morality with what is not all that happy or satisfying because it is the will of God, and we respect our fellow human beings as rights bearing individuals.
In the Tzu Chi or "Kindness Economics" movement they have grown very large as an organization and despite the long opposition or competition between Buddhist and Confucians. It's not seen as a contradiction for people to be both Buddhist and Confucian. Nor is it a contradiction for individuals to be Christian and Confucian. The Tzu Chi movement began as a Buddhist reform movement that teaches people about the satisfaction they get while doing good deeds. Do good deeds because they argue that is apart of a full complete human life. In the west when we ask a moral question we tend to think in terms of I or me. We calculate in terms of ourselves. What should I do? What is my duty? East Asian Morality is cast in terms of what should we do? What is our issue? You should always do your best because that helps to cultivate you and if necessary retaliate against those who stand against you.
In East Asia the moral is always linked to the material. "When seeing the flourishing of population in a state, Confucius remarked that the next step was to enrich them which should be followed by educating them. While proposing that one should die for righteousness, or should be virtuous rather than rich if these two were in opposition, Mengzi affirmed that the people must have a decent material life before being taught with virtue and propriety." Yao page 185 The significance of that is people argue this way: You can't expect most humans to be truly moral unless they have the material resources to be moral. You need material conditions to lead a moral life. Economic success can become corrosive like an acid and eat away at the foundations of society. You can't have one without the other. Moral and material are linked by design. In certain parts of East Asia Morality is taught or learned through schools or governmental agencies.
Korea Moral education exists today. This education focuses on making children into adults, the small self into the big self. In Vietnam the Ministry of Social Virtue attempts to teach people through school and advertising with signs on the highway how to be good and lead a moral life. East Asia in general takes morality seriously.
Political theory is a type of moral pragmatism (practical), moral minimalism still affects East Asian Politics. Morality should lie in the middle where the costs are not out of range or reach. A morality that is just enough for behavioral modification is ideal. This in affect is moral minimalism, which is the minimum necessary to accomplish the stated goal. Confucians might strive to seek morality that would be just enough for human beings across the board. Notions of privacy in the west are different than what is considered private in the east. In the west we separate our public from private lives whereas in the East, the home or family which is typically considered the most private of institutions is public.
In conclusion, East Asian Confucianism Moral theory is complex and constant in the sense that it is alive and well and I suspect will be for sometime to come. Moral theory is also ever changing. "Morality cannot remain absolutely unchanged. It is not something that could be put into a fixed formula by the ancients several thousand years ago, to be followed by all generations to come. Hence, we who live in the present group should observe the main trends of the world, study what will suit our nation, and create a new morality in order to solidify, benefit, and develop our group. We should not impose upon ourselves a limit and refrain from going into what our sages had not prescribed. Search for public morality and there will appear a new morality, there will appear "a people renewed."" De Bary page 292
Every year by divine intervention or predetermined fate the seasons happen in parallel with the fragile human existence. Seeds are planted, and crops are harvested. It is the seed that we must plant and cultivate within ourselves to do that which is right and good for the rest of the world. I believe on a fundamental level that we all have a purpose. On rare occasions that purpose is realized. And it is Ren or humaneness the core moral principle which is the strategy or way of establishing self, by establishing others that can lead to a flourishing existence. Go in peace and change the world.
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