Date
March 2, 2022
Readings
CLASS EXERCISES
All Confucians shared a set of basic convictions: (i) human beings are born with the capacity to develop morally; (ii) moral development begins with moral self-cultivation, that is, reflection on one’s own behaviour and concerted improvement where it is found lacking; (iii) by perfecting oneself in this manner, one also contributes to the project of perfecting the world; (iv) there were people in the past who perfected themselves, and then presided over an unsurpassably harmonious society – these people are called “sages” (sheng 聖 or shengren 聖人).
Paul Goldin - Confucianism
A very concise summary of their ideas might be given as follows. These ru thinkers believed that what the ancient sages and sage kings practiced and taught—and hence what they themselves likewise practiced and taught—was the Way (dao 道), that is, the proper way to live and to organize society. They believed that knowledge of the Way was preserved in certain “classic” texts, which they accordingly treated as revered objects of study. In turn, to live according to this Way required practicing certain rituals (li 禮) and exercising certain virtues. The most important of these virtues are ren which includes caring for others as a central element, and yi 義, which involves a devotion to what is right. On their view, in embodying the Way to the highest degree, one becomes a gentleman (junzi 君子) or even a sage. Furthermore, they believed that such cultivated people possess a kind of moral charisma (de 德)... that makes others friendly and supportive to them. The combination of these factors, the ru thought, explained why the ancient sage kings were able to be great leaders who brought peace and prosperity to the whole world, and hence these thinkers hoped to put an end to the chaos and suffering of the Warring States era by practicing moral cultivation and by getting others, especially rulers, to cultivate themselves.
Eric Hutton, Xunzi: A Complete Translation