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Confucianism. How to develop virtue?. How do we attain the virtues of thought, feeling, and action?. Li (Propriety). Propriety: observing traditional social rules Propriety —> habits —> virtues of feeling and action Requires subduing oneself. Propriety.
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How to develop virtue? • How do we attain the virtues of thought, feeling, and action?
Li (Propriety) • Propriety: observing traditional social rules • Propriety —> habits —> virtues of feeling and action • Requires subduing oneself
Propriety • 12:1. Yen Yuan asked about perfect virtue [ren]. The Master said, "To subdue oneself and return to propriety is virtue. If a man can subdue himself and return to propriety for one day, all under heaven will ascribe virtue to him. Is the practice of virtue from oneself alone, or does it depend on others?" Yen Yuan said, "I want to ask about these steps." The Master replied,
Propriety • "Don't look at what is contrary to propriety; • don't listen to what is contrary to propriety; • don't speak what is contrary to propriety; • don't make a move that is contrary to propriety."
Propriety & righteousness • 15:17. The Master said, "The superior person takes righteousness [yi] to be essential. He practices it according to propriety. He brings it forth in humility. He completes it with sincerity. This is indeed a superior person."
Virtues of ren • Too littleRight Too much • Frivolous Serious Somber • Stingy Generous Profligate • Insincere Sincere Reckless • Lazy Diligent Dull • Mean Kind Indulgent • Small-minded Ren Simple
Other Confucian Virtues • Too littleRightToo much • Disrespectful Respectful Bustling • Careless Cautious Timid • Devious Straightforward Rude • Weak Strong Extravagant
Ban Zhao (45-116) • Precepts for My Daughters, a text on the education and upbringing of women
Ban Zhao • Is virtue the same for men and for women? • What is it to be a good man? • What is it to be a good woman? • Should those questions receive the same answer?
Ban Zhao • If not, are masculinity and femininity themselves virtues? • Ban Zhao responds that being a virtuous woman is not the same as being a virtuous man.
Yin and Yang • Yin and yang are basic forces of the universe, opposing yet complementary. • They correspond to the distinctions between passive and active, dark and light, feminine and masculine, night and day. • In each case, the two terms are opposites, but one cannot exist without the other.
Yin and Yang • Yin and yang are explanatory principles. • Everything that happens can be understood in terms of their interaction, manifested in the behavior of the five material agents (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water).
Yin and Yang • Virtue, therefore, must be understood by distinguishing its yin and yang components. • They are different, and even opposite, but neither could exist without the other, and virtue itself could not exist without their duality.
Yin and Yang • If yin, yang, and the five material agents explain all change, what place is left for human freedom? • What place is left for virtue? • Ban Zhao affirms a limited freedom within bounds against which we are persistently driven to rebel.
Li Qingzhao • Confucian virtues go hand in hand with a well-ordered society. • “I should have been glad to grow old in such a world.” • What becomes of virtue when society breaks down, order collapses, people flee for their lives, and intellectual pursuits are but a haunting memory?
Li Qingzhao • The Confucian conception of virtue may seem a curiosity, a tender, fragile way of life contingent on fortunate circumstances.
Li Qingzhao • But there is virtue even in the midst of chaos. • Indeed, the virtues most highly to be prized in difficult circumstances are precisely those of traditional Confucianism
Dao • The One • The way the universe works • What underlies “the ten thousand things” • Ineffable
Dao • Natural, spontaneous • Eternal, unmovable • Lacks moral dimension
Dao— ineffable • 1The Dao that can be trodden is not the eternal Dao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. Nameless, it is the origin of heaven and earth. Named, it is the mother of ten thousand things.
Dao— amoral • 5Heaven and earth are not benevolent [ren]; They treat the ten thousand things like straw dogs. The sage is not benevolent; He treats the people like straw dogs.
Dao— eternal • 25There was something indefinite existing before heaven and earth. Still, formless, alone, unchanging, Reaching everywhere without becoming exhausted, It may be called the mother of ten thousand things.
Dao • I do not know its name; I call it Dao. If pressed, I call it "great." "Great," it flows constantly. Flowing, it goes far away. Far away, it returns.
Dao— law • Therefore Dao is great, Heaven is great, Earth is great, The king is also great. In the universe four are great, And the king is one of them. • Humans take their law from the earth, Earth takes its law from heaven; Heaven takes its law from Dao, Dao takes its law from what it is.
Dao and De • Dao— the way the universe works • De— the power, force, virtue, nature of an individual thing • Dao —> De • “The features of the vast De • Follow entirely from Dao.”
Twofold character of De • Active nature— determines what a thing is & does. • Regulating principle— determines what a thing ought to be & do.
Dao and De • 51Dao produces ten thousand things, and De nourishes them.Their natures give them form, and circumstances complete them. • The ten thousand things respect Dao and exalt De,Not by decree, but spontaneously.
Dao and De • Thus Dao produces, De nourishes, grows, nurtures, matures, maintains, and covers. It produces without claiming possession, Supports without vaunting itself, Matures without controlling, This is called the dark De.
Ethical Principles • Things naturally tend toward what they ought to be and do. • De flows from Dao. • De also flows toward Dao.
Noninterference • Things naturally tend toward their own states of excellence. • It’ll be OK! Don’t interfere.
Noninterference • Our activity is likely to do more harm than good. • Inactivity [wuwei] is a virtue.
Daoist Virtues • Simplicity • Weakness • Tranquility • Spontaneity • Passivity
Daoist Virtues • Letting nature take its course • People too naturally tend toward excellence.
Inactivity & Justice • 63Act without acting, Manage affairs without trouble, Taste without tasting. Consider the small great, the few many. Repay injury with De.
Daoist leadership • Plan difficult things while they are easy. Accomplish great things while they are small. Difficult things of the world start easy. Great things of the world start small. Because the sage never does great things, He can accomplish great things.
Daoist leadership • He who promises lightly keeps few promises. He who thinks things easy finds them difficult. Therefore even the sage takes even easy things to be difficult, So that they are not difficult.
Critique of Confucius • Becoming good requires no special effort. • We don’t need training; we naturally tend to be good.
Critique of Confucius • Virtue [ren], righteousness [yi], and propriety [li] are signs that something has gone wrong. • Act naturally— things (including virtue) will take care of themselves.
Against Confucian Virtues • 18When the great Dao ceases to be observed, There are benevolence [ren] and righteousness [yi]. • When wisdom and cleverness appear, There is great hypocrisy. • When the six kinships are not in harmony, There is filial piety [xiao]. • When the nations and clans fall into disorder, There are loyal ministers. Self Family Others
Against Confucian Virtues • 19Renounce sagacity, discard wisdom, People will profit a hundredfold. • Renounce benevolence [ren], discard righteousness [i], People will again practice filial piety.
Against Confucius • Renounce artistry, discard profit-seeking, There will be no robbers and thieves. • These three pairs adorn inadequacy.
