Confucianism

[Hugo]

Does anyone have any knowledge of this or has studied it? I ran across a documentary on it and watched a little bit, it was very appealing. Seems like in Confucianism the family and ancestry is at the centre of life. Humanity, compassion and morailty are cornerstones of the belief system. It also seemed very optimistic.

The worldly concern of Confucianism rests upon the belief that human beings are fundamentally good, and teachable, improvable, and perfectible through personal and communal endeavor, especially self-cultivation and self-creation. Confucian thought focuses on the cultivation of virtue in a morally organised world. Some of the basic Confucian ethical concepts and practices include rén, yì, and lǐ, and zhì. Rén (仁, 'benevolence' or 'humaneness') is the essence of the human being which manifests as compassion. It is the virtue-form of Heaven.[11] Yì (义; 義) is the upholding of righteousness and the moral disposition to do good. Lǐ (礼; 禮) is a system of ritual norms and propriety that determines how a person should properly act in everyday life in harmony with the law of Heaven. Zhì (智) is the ability to see what is right and fair, or the converse, in the behaviors exhibited by others. Confucianism holds one in contempt, either passively or actively, for failure to uphold the cardinal moral values of rén and yì.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism

I think in the west there are number of very big flaws in our societies:

- Individualism taken to the nth degree to where it is actually harmful to society and creates narcissistic people and people who only consider themselves.
- Materialism and consumerism - peoples consumed with buying crap and filling their life with pointless crap that they don't actually need.
- Degradation of the family unit/marriage.
- Drug use as people look for something to fill a void /make them happy.
- Spiritual and intellectual introspection not highly valued. We are more interested in noise rather than silence. We have become societies of people who like to talk but are poor listeners.
- Cynicism is pervasive and people have come to believe that other people are fundamentally bad and incapable of improvement.

As a parent I am always trying to make sure that my kids are developing a clear understanding and appreciation for the important things in life and rejecting what is corrupting. Given its focus on personal growth and humanity it seems like Confucianism has a lot to recommend it. I'm fully intending to study Confucianism and some of the other Eastern philosophies.

[notfatcat]

From that Wiki quote it appears vaguely similar to leftist progressivism. Obviously without even the faintest trace of Rén.

[Kawazaki]

Stoicism is the one to follow if you need something to replace religion. Marcus Aurelius was one hell of a guy.

[FujiKiwi]

The “morality” and “virtue” of Confucianism is the unquestioning acceptance of hierarchies, obligation and conservatism, isn’t it?

[Un Pilier]

I can’t imagine I could ever commit to any organised religion, but of those I tend to find the eastern religions most attractive and the Abrahamic religions most oppressive. The notion of life cycles and renewal as is evident in the natural world is closest to my belief system and, to me, that tends to be most strongly reflected in eastern religions and various branches of paganism.

[Caley_Red]

A year or so ago, I listened to a pocast edition of 'In Our Time' about Confucius- I'd recommend getting it on Spotify (free) and listening to that. High brow but accessible.

[Green light echo]

Taoism is the one so to speak.

If the Chinese CCP are against it that says it must be alright to me.

Any of the mystical philosophies will do. The other so called religions are about control.

[Kawazaki]

Taoism is the one so to speak.

If the Chinese CCP are against it that says it must be alright to me.

Any of the mystical philosophies will do. The other so called religions are about control.

They're also against Islam.

In fact, why hasn't a Fatwa been issued on all things Chinese due to what they've done to the Uighurs?

[Harveys]

Does anyone have any knowledge of this or has studied it? I ran across a documentary on it and watched a little bit, it was very appealing. Seems like in Confucianism the family and ancestry is at the centre of life. Humanity, compassion and morailty are cornerstones of the belief system. It also seemed very optimistic.

The worldly concern of Confucianism rests upon the belief that human beings are fundamentally good, and teachable, improvable, and perfectible through personal and communal endeavor, especially self-cultivation and self-creation. Confucian thought focuses on the cultivation of virtue in a morally organised world. Some of the basic Confucian ethical concepts and practices include rén, yì, and lǐ, and zhì. Rén (仁, 'benevolence' or 'humaneness') is the essence of the human being which manifests as compassion. It is the virtue-form of Heaven.[11] Yì (义; 義) is the upholding of righteousness and the moral disposition to do good. Lǐ (礼; 禮) is a system of ritual norms and propriety that determines how a person should properly act in everyday life in harmony with the law of Heaven. Zhì (智) is the ability to see what is right and fair, or the converse, in the behaviors exhibited by others. Confucianism holds one in contempt, either passively or actively, for failure to uphold the cardinal moral values of rén and yì.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism

I think in the west there are number of very big flaws in our societies:

- Individualism taken to the nth degree to where it is actually harmful to society and creates narcissistic people and people who only consider themselves.
- Materialism and consumerism - peoples consumed with buying crap and filling their life with pointless crap that they don't actually need.
- Degradation of the family unit/marriage.
- Drug use as people look for something to fill a void /make them happy.
- Spiritual and intellectual introspection not highly valued. We are more interested in noise rather than silence. We have become societies of people who like to talk but are poor listeners.
- Cynicism is pervasive and people have come to believe that other people are fundamentally bad and incapable of improvement.

As a parent I am always trying to make sure that my kids are developing a clear understanding and appreciation for the important things in life and rejecting what is corrupting. Given its focus on personal growth and humanity it seems like Confucianism has a lot to recommend it. I'm fully intending to study Confucianism and some of the other Eastern philosophies.

The worldly concern of Confucianism rests upon the belief that human beings are fundamentally good

This is in direct contrast to the Judeo-Christian idea the humans are fundamentally sinful.

Taoism I find interesting and as has been said the eastern religions are more palatable to me than western, they are more thoughtful and far more sophisticated in their simplicity.

Zen is the love child of Indian Buddhism, Chinese Tao and Confucianism.

Alan Watts is easy to listen to in a philosophical way that doesn’t take the subjects or himself to seriously, which is important.

[Random1]

If you’re looking for a philosophy to take a look at then I agree with Kawasaki - Marcus Aurelius’ mediations is a great place to start.

But if you fancy something a bit modern I like Sam Harris’s moral landscape.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moral_Landscape

Jump to the synopsis page on the link.

[Norm]

Leo Tolstoy read and was likely influenced by Confucius later in his life. I put a lot of stock into what Tolstoy wrote about and studying his ideas/philosophy could be worthwhile too.