Posted: February 21st, 2023

World Religion And Thoughts essay

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HUM 2633: Confucianism Notes (McMahon)
Confucianism originated in China during the Qin Period (2300-200 B.C.). It remains most
influential there, but is also influential among communities of Chinese in other countries.
Though it draws heavily from pre-existing Chinese religions
prevalent during the Qin period, it is named for (and is most
closely associated with) its founder, Confucius, or Kongzi (551-
479 B.C.). While Confucianism is not as widely practiced as
certain other religions, it is historically significant and remains a
highly influential faith system, including it being a significant
catalyst to the development of Taoism in China.
As is the case with Buddhism and Taoism, it is difficult to get
exact numbers on the number of individuals who adhere to
Confucian principles. It is difficult because Confucianism does
not demand exclusivity from its practitioners. Therefore, a high
number of individuals who practice it also identify as Taoist or
Buddhist. There are at least 6 million practitioners of
Confucianism, but millions, indeed billions, are influenced by
Confucian ideology and adhere to Confucian principles.
Though some argue that Confucianism is better understood as a political philosophy as opposed
to a religion, those familiar with the tradition recognize its ongoing and broader function as a
faith system. While its political ideology was a dominant force in China for centuries, and it
remains an influential force there despite governmental restrictions on religious activity,
Confucian social and political philosophy (e.g., the understanding of the proper relations
between individuals and corresponding standards for government) is predicated on Confucian
metaphysics, namely, its understanding of the cosmos and humans place in it. Moreover, on the
basis of its cosmology (which extends beyond Earth) and its conception of human nature,
Confucianism prescribes standards for good conduct (ethics), and does so on the assumption that
adherence to said standards will not only produce the ends of happiness for the individual and
peace for society (eschatology), but other potential rewards (soteriology).
Confucianism was one of the most influential ideologies
that shaped Chinese culture, and it remains one of the most
influential religious ideologies in China. It is revered as
one of the Three Teachings (sanjiao), namely,
Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Interestingly, even
though Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism are now seen
as compatible teachings (aggregate), just as Buddhism was
an ideological reaction to Hinduism, Taoism is in many
respects an ideological reaction to Confucian philosophy. It
emerged out of the desire for “reform” to the ritualism and
strict enforcement of authoritarian norms that
Confucianism encouraged. See (left) illustration of
LaoTzu, The Buddha, and Confucius. Image Credit: ©
Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institute.
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The primary text of Confucianism is the Analects, by Confucius. This text and other important
works in the Confucian canon, articulate central tenets of Confucian thought. For our purposes,
they will be outlined under the sub-domains in philosophy that we are studying.
METAPHYSICS: Confucianism is anchored
in a holistic understanding of the cosmos,
one that assumes large-scale connections
between different elements in the system and
often a tendency for elements at different
levels in the system to mirror one another.
The most prominent concept in Confucian
thought is the concept of Heaven. Whereas
practitioners of western religions such as
Christianity tend to identify heaven as sacred
because it is the precinct where God resides
(and to which they hope to gain entry), in the
Confucian tradition the concept of Heaven stands in the place of the deity. Heaven represents
the first cause, or originating force, within the cosmos as well as its sustaining and guiding
principle. This explains the metaphysical basis for the claim made by Chinese emperors to rule
by the Mandate of Heaven (similar to the notion of Divine Right claimed by European rulers).
In Confucian metaphysics, which is was inherited to a great extent from antecedent traditions,
Earth not only resides below Heaven in a literal sense, Earth is also subordinate to Heaven.
Confucian metaphysics endorses a hierarchical understanding of the cosmos with certain
planes being higher (superior) to others. As entities who reside on the Earth, humans exist in a
sort of interface between Heaven and Earth. We have the capacity to know the rule of Heaven
and enact it on the Earth. This capacity is central to other Confucian ideals, particularly:
• the concept of ren, or goodness,
• the concept of li, or rites (codified rules and social norms) and ritual practices designed to
foster ren
• the ideal of the jungzi, or noble person who enacts li and embodies ren
Confucian metaphysics assumes that just as Heaven and Earth exist in hierarchical relation,
relations on Earth also should be hierarchical, such as the relation between a leader and their
subjects, parents and their children, and teachers and their students. Importantly, these relations
are not presumed to be equal. Instead, there is a clear superior and subordinate in each case.
Like the universe more broadly, society is understood to have levels, and not be egalitarian.
Confucian metaphysics assumes that order at all levels in the system is maintained by
preserving hierarchies. It assumes that interrupting or challenging them tends to undermine the
possibility of harmony and proper function (at all earthly levels – individual, familial, social).
ETHICS:
Flowing directly from its hierarchical metaphysics, Confucian ethics prescribe conduct that
reinforces order by reinforcing what are understood to be natural hierarchies. Humans are to
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understand and willingly reproduce the order that Heaven imbues on the Earth. Those who may
be too young to understand the rule of Heaven, or incapable of it, are expected follow the
command of those who do. Individuals have different duties to one another dependent on
their role as superior or subordinate. Superiors have an obligation to guide and provide.
Subordinates are obliged to obedience and loyalty. It is understood that widespread adherence
to Confucian principles will maintain the social order and will create not only content
individuals, but also peaceful and well-functioning societies.
Needless to say, central to Confucian ethics are the previously cited principles of ren and li. Ren,
or goodness, is the goal sought, and li is understood to be the means through which ren is
attained.
Central to Chinese culture during the
period in which Confucian philosophy
predominated, and even to this day, is the
practice of ancestor worship and the
associated practice of filial piety.
Honoring one’s ancestors both in and
through specific ritual practices, but also
in one’s conduct and occupation, is
known as filial piety, and filial piety is
seen as a primary duty, or moral
obligation. An individual’s character is
assessed on the basis of their performance
of this duty, and it is assumed that
individuals who are incapable of honoring
their family are unlikely to be able to
other more abstract moral obligations (e.g., to community, to nation). Shame is a consequence of
failure to fulfill one’s duty. In Chinese and other Asian societies where the family is the primary
unit of society, and less of an emphasis is placed on the individual, the pressure to fulfill social
expectation is very strong (e.g., honor culture) and the failure to do so is serious.
SOTERIOLOGY: Like most sects of Buddhism, Confucianism does not understand salvation
principally as an otherworldly state attainable only through the transcendence of the material
realm (Earth) and the associated transport of the individual soul to another realm of existence.
Though the Confucian idea of Heaven might call that understanding of salvation to mind for
individuals who already hold that kind of view,
Confucianism instead understands salvation primarily as
the state of peacefulness or contentedness (equanimity)
that the individual, family, and community can achieve
by following the codified rules and principles that
preserve natural order. However, the animistic beliefs
that pervade Chinese society and the longstanding
practice of ancestor worship do support popular belief in
spirits and ghosts, and related acceptance of the idea of
an afterlife in some contexts.
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ESCHATOLOGY: With Heaven understood as a circle, Confucianism bears similarity to other
traditions that do not endorse belief in a cosmic end time or end of days. Instead, it seems to
exhibit faith in the eternality of larger metaphysical structures (e.g., Heaven, Earth) even
while admitting that different phases of existence may wax and wane. However, the tradition
does endorse more localized “ends” to be sought by individuals and communities, ends achieved
through alignment with the natural order of things, which in turn produces peace and
harmony.
Here one can see the alignment between central tenets of the Three Teachings. As we will see as
we enter the next module, Taoism emerged not primarily as a challenge to the metaphysical
assumptions of Confucianism, but instead as a critique of the entrenchment and corruption of the
ideology as it was increasingly used to enable the achievement of political ends. Similar to the
way in which proponents of the Reformation argued that the Catholic Church had lost sight of
the original teachings and replaced a focus on them with a focus on merely the performance of
rites and rituals (often with political implications), Taoists argued that Confucianism had
devolved into a strict but ultimately superficial preoccupation with adherence to social norms
that no longer fostered ren, or goodness, but instead was merely a tool for certain individuals to
hold and maintain power.
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