#4: Confucianism Lecture
What country does Confucianism have its origins in?
China
What is Confucious' real name?
Kung Fu Tze
In modern times what group of people studies Confucianism the most?
Historically it played a large role in Chinese politics and life. However, in more recent times the study of Confucianism has been predominately done by intellects rather than commoners.
Question: Make a list of Confucius’ main areas of thought.
Self-improvement, individual morality, governmental morality, respect of elders and ancestors and other ethics used daily.
Question: Why is the pursuit of knowledge important?
He believed the pursuit of knowledge is very important because knowledge gives us the tools to be virtuous and ethical people. His idea was that all your knowledge of the past, particularly of politics and the relations between commoners and nobility, should be applied to current problems. This would lead to greater understanding.
What is Humanism?
Humanism is a philosophical stance that values human beings and individual thought over faith.
Question: What is the Wujing?
The texts in which Confucius shared his thoughts are most important. There are a set of texts called the Wujing, or Five Classic texts, which contain many fundamental ideas about Confucianism. These texts contain ideas about metaphysics, history, poetry, art, philosophy, music, politics, social responsibility, ceremonial rites and many other facets of life and society.
Who wrote The Analects?
It is traditionally believed to have been written by Confucius' followers. What is The Analects about?
The Analects, or Lunyu, is the collection of sayings and ideas attributed to the Chinese philosopher Confucius. The Analects has been described as a book that invites the reader into a conversation. It essentially records the types of conversations and musing Confucius would have had. Throughout the book the reader is able to discover his personality and commitment to self-awareness and knowledge.
State Confucius’ version of the Golden Rule.
By far the Confucian teaching that we are most familiar with is the Golden Rule. Confucius discusses the golden rule when explaining his ideas of Rén. We know the Golden Rule as “treat others as you would like to be treated”. However, Confucius first stated it as "Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself".
