Philosophy, as demonstrated by
Confucius, is a way to cultivate virtue into oneself. This is shown in the way he characterizes the
ideal human being. The philosophical
problem of social disorder is said to be resolved by cultivating oneself in
becoming a solution, which is to be a noble man. This cultivation is done by
manner of education aligned to learning the moral principle or the Tao. This begins in the family, then to others, and
to the community. This means that the
development of virtues involves a variety of processes realized in the daily
life of every individual.
The “Jen” or “benevolence” starts
with “filial piety” (Hsiao) and “brotherly respect” (T’i). This implies the
recognition of family as the basic unit of society where the rootedness of
every individual is founded. From the smaller unit, Jen is realized in others. Since human experiences are social
experiences, being concern for others manifests a person’s conscientious stance
for social harmony. This social harmony
is possible only in altruism, a value that sets aside selfish desires to pave
way to the welfare of many.
The cardinal virtues (Jen or
benevolence, Li or propriety, Chih or wisdom, and Yi or righteousness) summed
up the essential elements of the ultimate purposes of an ideal human being,
virtue, and social harmony. It is in
this sense that Confucius considers Philosophy as a way for the cultivation of
virtues.
The root of the philosophical problem is the
absence of social harmony. This problem
is caused by one’s rejection of the practice of virtues. This
absence pertains to two things, namely “absence” in the sense that the
individual has no clear understanding of the Way or the moral principle. The other “absence” pertains to an individual
being selfish, having no concern for others at all. These two things are resolved by learning to
philosophize and head towards the Tao.
The first notion of absence is resolved in the rectification of names
and the education of the noble man. The
second notion is the cultivation of one’s moral
principles through social integration.
In order to establish “social
harmony”, there is a need for a person to relate and interact with others. This does not only point into being with a
group of people in a specific occasion, it also points being “out of
oneself”. In other words, it means being
selfless. Disorder happens because of
one’s selfishness and concern for personal gains. For example, doing a favor for another person
for the sake of an ulterior motive, or doing good deeds to look good when one
plans to run for a public office.
Instead of manifesting good values such as concern for others and
benevolence, one pretends to be good in order to advance his selfish motives. It
becomes a means for benefits aimed for oneself which only causes trouble or
disorder.
The role of philosophizing, therefore,
is to make the individual realize specific values and cultivate them. Virtues
are the ones that can guide one’s actions.
It can guide one into properly fulfilling their obligations or
responsibilities in their social relationships. They guide one’s actions. As Fung Yu-Lan stated in his book entitled The Short History of Chinese Philosophy,
“Everyone in society has certain things which he ought to do, and which must be
done for their own sake because they are the morally right things to do.” 1
From Fung’s statement, one can
say that deeply reflecting upon things leads one to be concerned and be caring
for the welfare of others. Without
others, one cannot fully realize virtues.
It is in this sense that in developing the virtues of a noble man, one becomes
a solution to the problem of social disorder.
Doing one’s duties and
responsibilities is important for an individual learning and practicing the
Tao. This is because it is the
measurement of how deeper the values were cultivated inside of him, both in the
mental and moral aspect of his being.
Concern for others is the next step for one to do the task of practicing
the Tao. Benevolence or
human-heartedness is what gives the individual a good starting point in getting
rid of his selfish pursuits and wants that can impede him from being a good
citizen and a good family man. In being
benevolent, one can effectively do his duties in the society. The individual who instilled the value of
benevolence inside of him effectively does his duties because all he thinks
about are the welfare of others. When
one does not think about profit in doing his responsibilities, he does not have
any reservations as to what is asked of him.
In this way misunderstanding can be avoided and other conflicts. His actions benefit others and the state.
When one does his duties in the
state, he manifests his concern and love for his family and fellowmen. This is
because he chose not to do something which can harm his relationships with his
family and his state. He unconditionally
does his obligations to his parents, his brothers, and his community. The greatest difficulty lies in the
involvement of the individual in the state. It is not easy to become noble by learning and
practicing virtues. Every time, one encounters both strangers and friends. He
also encounters both the pleasant and the unpleasant realities around him. His
attitude may vary from one person to another or from one experience of reality
to another, which can provoke him to act inappropriately. That is why in cultivating the value of
benevolence, it is only foremost that one should set himself as the measure of
his actions. Confucius calls this as the
“principle of the measuring square”, which is said to consist of man’s conscientiousness
and altruism. This principle involves
oneself as the basis of regulating one’s own conduct. It is in this notion that one can apply the
famous Confucian quotation: “Do not do to others what you do not wish to
yourself.”
Relating the principle to the
saying, it only gives the implication that the treatment of one to the other
must be similar to his treatment of himself.
If one dislikes being insulted, then he should not insult other people. Since one is part of a larger community, it
is his moral obligation to respect each individual in the community. Having compassion for others, and having
concern for them is what justifies one to be “human-hearted”. Giving the same respect which one gives to
himself to other people makes his actions moral and proper. Good begets good. What one sows, he reaps.
As one cultivates benevolence, he
also develops propriety. This implies acting according to the circumstances or
the situation. When one is concerned
about the other, he makes his actions proper as a sign of respect for others. He humbles himself when he thinks about the
welfare of others. This is observed when
one keeps silent as he enters the church or when someone is studying in a study
room. The very action of tempering one’s
actions is a sign of putting the other as the priority of one, which in turn
manifests humility. In this manner, he
justifies his values and acts according to the moral principle.
As one continues to cultivate and
practice his learned values, he begins to develop a certain kind of
wisdom. As Fung Yu-Lan stated in his
book entitled The Spirit of Chinese
Philosophy, “Chih (wisdom) lies
in the understanding of human-heartedness and righteousness and ritual conduct”
2
From Fung’s statement, one can
say that wisdom pertains to the deeper understanding of the learning and
application of virtue. This is because
if such wisdom is not realized, then no matter how much a person does similar
good actions, it would not be justified as being moral. It will be reduced to an empty, mechanical
routine which does not contribute to man’s cultivation of virtue or to teaching
others about virtue. It is acting
blindly. Indeed, when one does not have
any idea about what he is doing, it defeats the purpose of taking the trouble
into accomplishing it. This is because
the activity fell into the same level of a chore that is done for a utilitarian
end. Such action is not moral in essence
even if it is aligned with morality. The justification of one’s actions lies on
one’s self-conscious understanding of its execution. For Confucius, one must have an understanding
of the concept of morality and a conscious self in order to justify one’s
actions as moral.
Philosophy, as demonstrated by
Confucius, is a way to cultivate virtues into one’s self. This is shown in the way he characterizes the
ideal human being. The problem of social
disorder is said to be resolved by going back to the moral principle and
fashion one’s life into it. This solution is to begin from a long process of
recognizing realities, experiences within and with others, and finding wisdom
in all of these. From these, one
realizes his ultimate purpose in life, that is, the cultivation of virtues to oneself
in order to become a noble man.
Confucius demonstrates Philosophy as a way of
making one conscious of the things that he does in his life. When one deeply reflects, he gets to learn
and cultivate virtues. In the process of
cultivating virtues, he becomes aware of the effect of his actions and their
meanings in existence. He becomes aware
of the people around him, his social relationships, and his responsibilities. He knows where he is headed to.
When one is indifferent about
things, he does not have any clear idea as to what he is doing or why is he is doing
things. It does not contribute to one’s
cultivation of virtues, and it does not bring any benefit to the society or to
others. Being indifferent is a sign of
disorder. It is simply taking learning
and other opportunities to strengthen one’s virtues for granted, and making
one’s actions point to a utilitarian end.
When one does not understand a particular subject for example, he simply
studies the lessons given for the sake of passing and not for learning. Moreover, he becomes lazy. From this example, one can see that being
indifferent results to a disordered life.
He does not study diligently. He
does not maintain good marks. All of
these point back to the reason that the individual does not understand the
essence of his responsibility as a student.
Another way of looking at this is in terms of doing charity work because
it is required by a professor or a university requirement. Indeed, the act is in accordance with the
moral principle. However, those who do not understand the purpose of the
charity work will do it for the sake of grades. But with deep reflection, one considers it an
opportunity to understand the value of benevolence, human heartedness, justice,
and care for the welfare of others.
Every experience carries with it good values. But one has to discover them rightly.
Philosophy therefore, is a way to
realize the right direction of one’s life through reflection. In deep reflection, the individual knows what
to do and how to live in harmony with others.
He realizes significant lessons and develops good values or virtues in
the process. Philosophizing makes the individual see the value of doing his
moral obligation to his family and to his state. He begins to see the essence in things, and
the point in doing moral acts.
In deep reflection, one becomes
righteous in action. This righteousness
comes from the realization of the individual of the essence of his responsibilities
and the virtues that he lived. When one
is conscious about his responsibilities and understands the best ways to
fulfill them, then, he is noble. Philosophizing
does the same principle to an individual.
It makes one understand the point and the essence of what he does.
In our modern world, the tendency
to follow the “trend” is what is good.
The measure for saying so is that when majority do the thing, it is
justified. It becomes the standard of action. Though philosophically speaking,
it is not logical. What makes an action
good is that its intention and actualization (ends and means) are both good.
In the Philippines, it is a
common fact that our national officials are usually overtaken by unpleasant
event. For example, the Fallen 44 in
Mamasapano. Of course, it was very
tragic. But it does not mean that the
solution is the ouster of the President.
That is hasty and unintelligent.
How shall the President be summoned for being irresponsible about the
case of the Fallen 44 if he is ousted?
That particular action from many politicians and citizens shows the lack
of deep reflection. Their act was
impulsive and illogical. These manifest a sort of social disorder among the
government officials and the citizenry.
The act was a question of value.
Another point would be in choosing to do the
wrong thing for the sake of something noble.
An example would be stealing food to feed another person, and killing as
a way to feed one’s family. Both actions have good intentions, but the manner
of doing them is not good or proper.
Virtue in this sense is taken as a hindrance instead of an opportunity
to become a better person. Even the
notion of morality is out of the question whenever one does something “for the
greater good”. A good example of this is
the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. The people who died in that explosion seemed
to be taken out of the equation when the two bombs were dropped. It is still an unresolved issue in history.
This case is implicit of social
disorder. Bombing is a heinous
crime. It killed thousands of people. Yet, it happened in history. Some politically
selfish motives or intentions prevailed at the expense of lives of people. Such disorder was caused by lack of reflection
and a sense of what is good. If deep
reflection was done, surely crimes can be prevented. People can have a clear understanding of what
is really “ought” of a situation and be guided with what is right.
If people reflected more on their
actions, then they can truly see the importance of having the right values in
life. Living a life without values is
living a life of disorder. The
individual has no moral references to guide him in his actions. Moral values give direction to one’s learning. Without good attitude, an individual cannot
manifest the profoundness of his mind.
Without virtue, a person cannot preserve his learning and cannot live
harmoniously with other people.
The importance of virtue in one’s life does
not lie on its impression on others, or the rewards that one might get out of
being a person of virtue. It is in one’s
own enlightenment and higher way of living that the importance of virtue is
realized. When a person instills virtue
in himself, he is living the Tao. He
lives life with awareness of his actions and the sense of care and concern for
others. In this way, he is more guided
in everything he does. His life becomes
profound and harmonious because of his good character. It becomes contagious to others. This means that he becomes a good model to
others.
Virtues, therefore, are not
simply learned. They become real when
practiced and lived. They are signs of a person’s strengths. It represents the inner refinement of the
person in terms of wisdom.
I connect all these important
points to one real experience I had in one of my philosophy subjects last
semester. In that particular class, our
professor gave us the freedom to grade or rate our own essay. This means that it is up to us whether to
grade our essay with the highest rating.
We were told by our professor that the rating or grade we indicated in
our respective papers will be the final grade or rating in his class record. Honestly, that was tempting! But as I read and re-read through my essay,
I was sure that it did not deserve to be rated the highest score. However, with the freedom given to us, I can
give myself a perfect score if I wanted to. I did not. I knew that my answer was wrong. I gave myself the score that I deserved,
because I had a conviction that it was the right thing to do. It may be a big loss on my part, but I was in
peace. I did not have any guilt
feeling. It is better to be able to do
something righteous rather than deny myself of what is good. I also
realized that I did not lose anything.
On the contrary, by being honest, I gained everything.
In that moment, I realized that I
learned something from the many lessons taught in Philosophy and all those
values learned from home and studies. I
did not have a second thought when I chose to do what was right during that
time. I become more confident in the
idea that when one does what is good, it comes back as good. That was the greatest
synthesis of philosophical learning I experienced as a student.
Philosophy, indeed, helps me to reflect deeply
on the various experiences I have in my life.
Every experience taught me something.
And the many experiences I have, the more philosophical tasks I need to
do. Of course, there are times that I am
also confronted by my weaknesses. But I
really try to follow what should be.
When I commit mistakes, they caused too much pain to me. But I deliberately feel the pain and cry a
river of tears for such pain. I do not
want to shun away from it. By doing it,
I become free from that pain later.
Life is a noble task to
accomplish. It has a lot of
challenges. Most of these are difficult
ones. But all of these challenges are
paths towards the cultivation of virtues.
In the end, when one practices virtues, his own life will show their
fruits.
Source:
1.
Fung Yu-Lan, “Confucius, The First Teacher”,
(New York: The Free Press, 1948), In A
Short History of Chinese Philosophy, 42.
2 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, 18.
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