Philosophy, as demonstrated by
Confucius is a way to educate oneself into being a noble man. This is shown in
the way he lays down the assumptions of the solution to the philosophical problem. The philosophical problem is the absence of
social harmony in the state, and this is rooted from the failure of the
individual to actualize his name in agreement with his actions.
Man’s usual tendency to do things
in contrast with his name or role and responsibilities is aggravated by his
lack of understanding of them. This is the reason why, philosophy becomes a
very important discipline which can help one rectify his confusion about his
name, role and responsibilities.
The solution to such problem is
the education of the person into the right manner of living, since the lack of
understanding is the reason as to why people are confused with their names and
their responsibilities. The
rectification of names is the primary step for the solution to the
philosophical problem of the absence of social harmony. From this step, one
initiates himself into the journey of learning the proper way of living. This is living in accordance to the Tao or
the Way.
In order to achieve social
harmony, one must first start from himself. This is because if one wishes to be
the solution to the absence of social harmony, he needs to be educated through
philosophy. The problem of social
harmony is primarily caused by the lack of understanding of name, role and
responsibilities by the individuals.
Because of this, people forget tradition, the Way, and the important
values to become a good citizen and a good family member. This education is not aimed solely at the
intellectual aspect but at the moral aspect of a person. This education is more inclined to instilling
the principles of the Tao in life. This implies educating oneself to be a noble
man, which starts from understanding the crucial concepts in relation to
molding one’s intellectual and moral aspects.
In philosophizing, one does not
only deepen his understanding of things, but he also deepens his relation to
with them. This is done when one
reflects upon a particular mistake made at a certain project or event. One does not simply think about the
implications of the event, but also the implications of such to one’s
self. In deep reflection, one is able to
realize certain points that can aid him into molding his character. It is in this way that one develops himself
into a noble man.
Deep reflection initiates one
into learning. In relation to educating
oneself into becoming a noble man, philosophizing initiates man into learning
the Tao. The learning that is being described here does not mean increasing
one’s knowledge, but developing a moral life.
Indeed learning, can give one idea of various things, but it does not
necessarily imply that it will make him a good person. A person can be very intelligent but can have
a bad attitude. Politicians for example,
are very intelligent in relation to the different laws of the state. Even though they possess such intelligence,
they still do crimes such as corruption and murder. As Confucius said, “There are men who may be
able to stand firm, but may not be able to weigh things in relation to the
occasion.” 1
A higher level of life,
therefore, pertains to a life having undoubted knowledge of what is proper, and
acting in accordance to this knowledge. Having both could greatly aid one to
maintain order in whatever he does or thinks.
However, in order to achieve such life, one must have a guiding
principle to follow. This guiding
principle is what one calls the Tao. The
Tao is the proper way in things. It is
the moral principle. Having the guidance
of the moral principles strengthens one in whatever situation. It makes him consistent in doing what is
proper and right.
Such attitude extends to the
point of strictly adhering to one’s tradition instead of doing away with
it. In the modern time, it is observable
that traditions are eventually being set aside. Such thinking
is one of the reasons why there is disorder in society and the world. Traditions are established to value family,
connection and history. They also teach
one about the value of respect, commitment and devotion. They manifest continuity and consistency in
values being adhered to. They
institutionalized certain community values, beliefs, practices, principles,
legacies and norms. Thus, they teach
certain ways of living. As Fung Yu-Lan
stated in his book entitled A Short
History of Chinese Philosophy, “The rituals embody a certain standard of
action set up to represent righteousness and to represent the moral mean.” 2
From Fung’s statement, one can
say that following rituals is a manifestation of one being in accordance with
the moral principle. Following rituals manifests a particular value or virtue. For
example, some Bagobo farmers do not do prayer before meals. This act can be misinterpreted by other
people who do not share the same practice.
But these Bagobo farmers explained that prior to planting rice or corn,
they have done rituals for blessing of good harvest. This means that even if they do not do prayer
before meals, the prayer ritual they did prior carries the blessings throughout
and is realized every time one partakes food in a meal. This ritual is part of a tradition. Tradition makes every person, family, community,
state and society unique. It strengthens
cohesiveness and harmony among men.
Philosophy helps us understand
many components of traditions. The
principles, practices, and values implied in traditions need to be understood
so that they will be valued and respected.
They manifest a deeper sense of simple community and social
harmony. They portray life-values
developed by people as they journey through time. These are passed on from one generation to
the other.
The aim of philosophizing is to
develop a noble man. Whatever tradition
he comes from, the noble man understands his name and role and the
responsibilities he must undertake in the process. He realizes his sociality as he lives
according to his name or role. Without
others, he will not be led to deep reflection.
Because of his interaction with others, he learns both the reality of
social disorder and the need for social harmony. That is why, it is very important that one
understands his purpose in life.
Learning the Way or the Tao
always requires philosophizing and the goal for social harmony. Social harmony cannot be realized with people
who do not reflect in order to become moral and wise. Becoming moral and wise means that one must
engage in refining himself through deep reflection so that he will find the
paths towards the realization of virtues.
Only when one becomes virtuous that he becomes a noble man. Confucius wants us to become a “chun tzu”. He believes that each has the opportunity to
become virtuous. The ultimate purpose of
philosophy is to lead one to virtue. Only when one practices virtue that he
becomes a noble man, a “chun tzu”.
However, it takes right attitudes
to become a noble man. There are always
desires which can blind one to what is proper.
These right attitudes require selflessness, righteousness, human-heartedness. For example, giving alms to a beggar. We cannot deny that there are times that we
are not willing to give or share our extra money to a beggar roaming around
church compounds or city streets. But we know that to share what we have to
those who are less fortunate is a noble act, an act of righteousness,
selflessness and human heartedness. In
this particular example, we lose the opportunity to become a noble person even
in one simple act of giving.
Becoming a noble person does not
require a huge or great achievement. Just doing what is proper and right in a
particular situation is an act of a noble man.
The noble man encourages others to do the same and helps multiply in
number those who share his purpose.
This is essentially learning the Way or the Tao. When one learns the Tao, he does the proper
way, lives it according to his name or role and helps others discover the same.
The proper way of doing
things is not just personal but interpersonal.
Through one’s interaction with others, he realizes the right from the
wrong or the proper from the improper. However, as one undertakes the arduous
process of learning the Tao, he must get rid of selfishness and learns to be
considerate to others. He learns how to
be more involved in the welfare of others without thinking of any personal
gain. This is because, in learning what is proper, one humbles himself for the
sake of others and restricts his actions to what is proper and moral. In this way, he prevents chaos or disorder.
In the complex society such as
ours, the noble man is the essential solution to resolve the problem of social
disorder. He becomes an instrument of
social harmony. He is a basic example of a moral person. His constant practice of moral values
manifests his deep understanding of the essence of personal and social harmony.
To be able to live a good life is to be true
and faithful to one’s responsibilities.
Such attitude implies that one has truly educated himself with the Way
or the Tao.
Being a noble man requires understanding
of the moral principle. For an
individual to do what is “ought” of him, it is only foremost that he understands
what “oughtness” is. This “oughtness”
implies one’s actualization of his understanding of his name or role. He does things without transgressing
traditions and skipping from responsibilities.
For example, being a student. If one
understands the essence of being a student, then, he should prioritize studying
even if there are times that he fails in a particular subject. This is easily
said than done. But part of the
responsibility of a student is to exert more efforts to learn from mistakes and
find ways to pass the said subject. This is a noble act of a noble student.
In the context of tradition, there are parents
who consider finishing a degree a priceless wealth in life. Because of this,
these parents always advise their children to be serious and responsible in
their studies. They also strip
themselves of unnecessary wants and caprices in order to be fully devoted to
the education of their children. This is
a noble act of noble parents.
Through philosophizing, there are
many ways to become noble. But the
emphasis is that being noble is always based on doing the right things according
to one’s name or role. It is the basic and the core of moral principles in the
realization of the Tao. When one deeply
reflects, he understands both himself and others. As one reflects on his life, he sees himself
as part of a whole in communion with others. He sees himself as a part of a larger
community. In having this awareness, the
individual is then compelled to restrict his actions in consideration of these
other people around him. He becomes
conscientious of following the rules in a situation and tradition. It can be said therefore, that it is only in
deep reflection that one is able to see the importance of others in the
manifestation of one’s learning and the cultivation of his values. This is because one cannot confirm his
actions, nor even confirm his values without his interaction with others. The cultivation of values in one’s self means
a realization of the importance of others.
This is the essence of social harmony.
Philosophy, as demonstrated by
Confucius, is a way to educate oneself to become a noble man. This is shown in
the way he lays down the assumptions of a solution to the problem of social
disorder. Philosophy helps one to
realize that every person is situated in a particular family, community or
society and state which formed the very foundation of traditions. Traditions are sources of values. They are sources of moral principles. From these names and roles are
established. And from these names and
roles, one cultivates virtues. Thus,
traditions help one to become noble.
In our world today, technology
has played a very significant role in development. Technology is basically
manifesting a tradition of modernity. In
simple sense, anything that the world has, signifies a sort of tradition, a way
of thinking, a way of living. But
philosophy reminds us to reflect in order to choose what is right or proper. One should understand the role of technology
in the world’s development without violating one’s name and role and the moral
tradition which molds him. This means
that even if one has participated in enjoying the modern gadgets, it does not
mean that he is enslaved by them. When one uses the gadgets to do research and
enrich himself with right information, then, he is acting rightly. What Confucius wishes us to understand is
that being noble means that one still choose to do what is right or proper even
if he is surrounded by many unnecessary things.
He knows what to do.
The common mistake of most people
is not taking sufficient time to understand their names and roles. As a result, they choose things or decide on
something which are totally irrelevant to their lives. Consequently, they caused so much disorder in
their family, state or society. They
become the scalawags, the delinquents and the criminals. In a larger scale, they contribute to the
social disorder in the world.
Learning through philosophizing is a noble way
of educating oneself. It is noble
because it entails discipline, values and propriety. He begins to be more conscious about his
actions, which then can prevent him from causing trouble to others. Such can be done when one reflects on his
life. Moreover, learning must be
approached as something which can greatly contribute to one’s development as a
person. This development is
holistic. It does not only concern the
growth of the mind, but also of the heart in terms morality and social
responsibility. One must consider
learning as an opportunity to make one’s life better by realizing one’s
involvement in a greater scheme of things.
This implies treating every experience as a way to realize the Tao.
In my life, I have read many
books and materials and I learned many things from them. But sometimes I realized that I become
senseless in some things. I even think
that is it getting pointless studying about a particular subject when it has no
use in the real world. But then a
particular event made me think otherwise.
It was just another ordinary day at school. As I passed through the metal detector, one
of the guards reminded me about not covering my identification card with my
permit. She did the same the next day I
entered the same gate. I committed the
said mistake twice. But I did not feel
bad when the guard told me on what is proper. I nodded and I realized the principle implied
in the system of the metal detector. Moreover, I felt good about being able to
understand the rule. It made me feel responsible
and dignified. Truly, I felt a real
connection to Confucius’ teaching on understanding one’s role and doing it
without confusion and pride.
At that time, I was able to say that indeed,
following a rule is a humbling experience. It was humbling because I realized
that my lack of knowledge on such thing caused me to do what was not proper. But my understanding of my being a student in
the university led me to do what was proper.
By that, I learned to appreciate
the guard who knows her role and responsibility. She taught me how to be noble in a simple
way. I realized that to be noble does
not require great achievement. The
experience made me appreciate the beauty of the teachings of Confucius, and it
really made me appreciate the simple deed that I had done. I realized that my learning is nothing unless
it is actualized in real situation. That
was a test to me. To be noble is to act
properly and rightly. I realized that my
appreciation of the act of the guard was a manifestation of deep reflection
based on that simple situation. My
proper attitude towards her also manifests a fruit of philosophizing on such
situation.
The experience also taught me
another thing. It taught me that it entails a right attitude to do a right
thing. I did not talk back or show
indifference to the guard while she was reminding me of my identification
card. What I did was to listen to her
and grasp what she was telling me. For
me, her act was an act of respect and propriety. She left a strong impact to my learning as a
student. I consider her a noble guard.
She taught me a noble lesson which I will treasure forever.
As Confucius stated in Analects 15:28, “It is
man that can make the Way great, and not the Way that can make man great.” 3
By this line, Confucius wishes us to understand the value of the Tao. To become noble is a matter of right choice.
Right choice is founded on deep reflection. Deep reflection leads one to
discover and develop virtues. When one
develops virtues, he practices them in his life, and in his family, state or
society. In this way, he avoids social
disorder and advocates social harmony.
Thus, Confucius is right when he said that man makes the Way great when
he does what is proper or moral. It is
by man’s moral actions that the Tao becomes great. Becoming noble is not being
great but being right.
Sources:
1.
Fung Yu-Lan, “Confucius (551-479 B.C.) and
Mencius (372-289 B.C.)”, (Boston: Beacon Press, 1962), In The Spirit of Chinese Philosophy, 22.
2. Fung Yu-Lan, “Confucius (551-479 B.C.) and
Mencius (372-289 B.C.)”, (Boston: Beacon Press, 1962), In The Spirit of Chinese Philosophy, 21.
3. Wing Tsit Chan, “The Humanism of Confucius”,
(United States:
Princeton University Press, 1963), In A Source Book In Chinese Philosophy, 44.
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