Actually the video is a bit misleading. For example , filial piety is more about mutual respect and both cooperation. Confucius once said, 父慈子孝, which literally means father kind and sons respect. If the father is not kind enough its not a responsibility for the son to respect. Confucius also listed down how should a father behave. For example, 養不教,父之過, which means if a father only feed a child but not educate him, its the father's fault. Therefore , Confucius's idea is more about a interpersonal relationship, how the people in society should behave to achieve a Utopia.
Alex Tang totally agree, to add to your point of 父慈子孝 (father kind, son respect), Confucius also said 君仁臣忠， meaning a ruler must have benevolence then his subject will be loyal. Confucian philosophy is about interpersonal relationship and each person plays his own role, but Chinese emperors intentionally put much emphasizes on the son and subject's duty and lightens the duty of the father and ruler for the sake of their ruling, thus creating the illusion that Confucian philosophy is serving the ruling class and Confucius is preaching one sided duty, which is not true
I love how this video says 'modern world' when they really mean Western world. Confucianism is alive and well in modern Asia. Its at the core of East Asian culture.
When you have old people around you , you are constantly reminded what is eventually going to happen to you. Some of them have great pearls of wisdom to offer if you listen them earnestly.
The narrator didn't mention that Confucius also heavily emphasized that the ruler also has grave responsibilities toward his subjects. Rulers were just as constricted in their actions as their subjects--they were to be paragons of morality and just behavior. Implicit in this is the notion that if the ruler acts in ways unjust or improper toward his/her subjects, the subjects have grounds then to overthrow the ruler and replace him/her with someone more just and moral. This notion of keeping the ruler accountable ("the Mandate of Heaven" in the olden days) is still deeply embedded in East Asian political philosophy and tradition. It's part of the reason why the Chinese Communist Party is so afraid of opening up its political system, and of any whiff of sedition or rebellious behavior towards the Party.
There's a big difference between "ruler and slave" and "leader and follower". Most of the world adheres the latter. There will always be leaders and followers no matter what philosophy the world implements.
i dont know why westerner always misunderstood about this. Then i found out that there are not much translate literature about Confucius views on 愚孝, (filial piety). Once Confucius has a student name Chen Sheng. One day, he was farming and accidentally hurt a crop. His father was so angry and used a big stick to beat him. He didnt run away and let his father beat him up. After the beating, he asked his father "Are you hurt?". Everybody in the country praise for his action. However, Confucius was so angry and called him not to met him anymore. Others asked him why he angry he answer: "Have you heard before the story of Yao? His father want to use big stick to beat him he run away, his father wanted to work, he worked with him, his father's want to kill him he disapeared. Now, Cheng Sheng let his father beat him up, as a people of nation, you let another people committed crime isn't that wrong?"
It's funny because this was exactly what I was about to comment. I lost track of what he was saying multiple times and had to pause and rewind the video several times to absorb what he was saying. And I'm a native English speaker too..
have to say it is true that Confucius talked about "you should not travel far away if your parents are still alive", but many people (even Chinese people) ignored that there is a following sentence saying "if you have to travel far away, explain reasons to you parents and make arrangements for them during your leave". "filial piety" is not only about obedience but also reciprocity. To be honest Confucianism is not all about Confucius' thoughts, it is a developing system which is much more flexible and adaptive than you thought, making it can be situated from periods to periods.
Westerners who criticize Confucianism for being obsessed with rites don't seem to realize just how humane and idealistic Confucian scholars were. For example, did you know that Confucianism proper saw social rites as a COMPLETE ALTERNATIVE to criminal punishment? Confucians didn't believe in punishing criminals AT ALL. Instead, they believed in using rituals to create a harmonious society. That's right, individuals in this society would have the values of benevolence and humanity so deeply ingrained in them through ritual practices that criminal punishment would be rendered unnecessary! Those classic Chinese methods of torture came from the pessimistic philosophy known as Legalism which idealistic Confucian scholars despised.
Confucianism focuses a lot on education. However, it is a bit unrealistic. This is where the realist Legalism comes in. Now, Confucianism and Legalism are the two main philosophical branch of East Asian philosophy, with some of both mixed the everyday lives of Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Vietnamese and Singaporeans.
if Confucianism had worked then there wouldn't be so many cases of princes killing their father for the throne and war wouldn't have had happened, the whole thing is bullshit and too idealistic
Alain de Botton The video seems bang-on with some of the more startling of Confucius' thoughts to the western ear, but doesn't do justice to the thoughts he has that are quite in line with western values. Confucius believed in propriety, tradition and obeying one's elders, absolutely true; But he also believed deeply in humaneness and extending the golden rule through one's love for their family to loving the whole state. By learning deeply, the Confucian cultivates the virtues that are quite similar to Aristotle's idea of the virtues and the good life (in some regards).
Alain you left out Vedic Philosophy from Eastern philosophy. Some of the early Vedic philosophy, specifically Upanishad is startlingly similar to some of Heiddeger and Schopenhauer philosophy. It also deals with modern scientific frontier of consciousness, ego and free will. Of course you have to ignore the rest of the mythical mambo jumbo:) Hope to see a video on this.
+Mysteries From Beyond This is my personal observation as a Taiwanese youth for my generation's consensus: Many of the current 18~26 yold generations find Confucianism unnecessary and injurious, it ideology is not taught but it is never the less present in practice but exist mostly in forms of abuse; People are always told to do and not question authorities why, non-submission is seemed as immoral and invites societal shaming, non-conformity and skipping archaic traditions is seem as blasphemous and childish as one has not the maturity to learn the right way. In truth, these are not these 5 constant virtues are rarely criterion of praise, rather in absence they are the criterion of guilt and shame.
I'm chinese and I suspect a couple of the virtues got lost in translation here... Ritual propriety should really be politeness and manners, righteousness should be loyalty. I'm not a confucian scholar though, but I do know those words.
Loyalty is 忠 which if we are frank it's likely part of the 5 virtues. 禮 is in fact elegantly translated, it is not mere politeness nor manners, but much more. however, those are certainly a part of ritual propriety. basically you are categorically misunderstanding the words here You do not take a word, or character, at its face value, not in western philosophy and not in eastern ones either, else Nietzsche, Sartre , Hegel, Mill, Kant, Hume and many many more will likely be turning in their respective graves every time someone tried to sound smart and fail with terms these philosophers frequently or famously used, such as Ubermensch, Bad faith, Sublation, Utility, Duty, and Sense
Go back and study all the meanings and connontations of 礼 in the classical Chinese language and specifically in Confucius, not exactly the same as the way the word is used today.
Confucius was idealistic and scholarly type. Lao Tzu being wiser did not thought highly of his aspirations. Alas we love dead people, because like pets, the dead will not talk back at us.
Lao Tzu was a hippy. Confucius was known as the teacher who taught what he himself did not believe is possible. Confucius regarded Lao Tzu as the "dragon". Lao Tzu was a philosopher. Confucius was a funeral director. Lao Tzu was way over his head. !00 years after, the fifth generation of his students, Mencius, finally made Confucianism into an establish philosophy. May the love and the peace of Jesus be with us.
@@air.internet5808 Like what ? Who on earth is not selfish ? Even Jesus loved himself first before he loved God and everyone else. If you can't take care of yourself, you can't take care of anyone else. May the love and the peace of Jesus be with us.
Of all the most famous Eastern Philosophers, Confucius is the one I'm least fond of. He had some good ideas, but I can't agree with the idea that a parent is worthy of respect simply by virtue of being a parent. Certainly, if your parents were good to you, if they sacrificed for you, took care of you, loved you and put you before themselves, you should most certainly be thankful, you should certainly respect them for it, and be kind to them because of it. But that respect should come from their actions, not simply by virtue of being your parent. Conversely, there are horrible, neglectful, abusive, and cruel parents, who are worthy of no respect or special treatment. In particularly horrid cases, it may even be best to cut them out of your life as entirely as you can. My mother, to be clear, lays somewhere in the middle, as I suspect most do. She sacrificed a lot for me, and I try to be respectful of that, and I do love her. On the other hand, she has many flaws, and we disagree on some very fundamental matters of philosophy, and I find it hard to be genuinely... 'respectful' of her in the way traditional Confucian teachings would dictate. That said, I tend to find there's at least a little wisdom of value in most of the famous philosopher's of history. I'm of the mind that true wisdom comes from learning from as many sources as you can and learning to weed out the useless from the insightful. ... and dear god, all of that made me sound like a pretentious Philosophy 101 student, didn't it?
+Florence MacKenna I think it pays to remember that any philosopher is, at the end of the day, just one person with their one opinion, and you shouldn't necessarily follow absolutely everything they say to the letter. That being said, I do understand the logic of Confucian filial piety. For starters, Confucius seems to have taken the optimistic idea of 'parenthood', which is to assume that (most) parents generally care for their children, it's just that they don't always know the best way to be a parent. Why we should respect our parents isn't so much because "they're our parents therefore respect", but because our parents are probably trying much harder for us than we realise and we should show appreciation for these things. For example, children are breastfed by their mothers long before they can even remember anything. The mother could have easily just left the child to starve to death and went off to drink at a bar or something, but instead she takes the time to feed you because you are her child and it's the right thing to do. All these things build up over the course of a person's life, and many things we get from our parents are things we'll never be able to repay in full, which is why we have to revere our parents. My opinion comes mostly from being from a fairly old-fashioned (although not 100% old fashioned... my mother regularly says Confucius is a hypocritical ***hole) so to me the idea that the child reveres the parent is the number one requirement of a sustainable society (as opposed to a group of self-centred individuals). Feel free to ignore/disagree. Just my two cents.
I only disagree with the notion that its a given that your parents are deserving of respect. There are some truly awful parents out there. If your parent neglected or abused you, I see no reason you should feel obligated to respect them. I'd say my own parents are a complicated case. My dad has done absolutely nothing to be worthy of respect from me. He and my mom split up not long after I was born and he's avoided paying child support as much as possible. In general, he's done as little as possible to help in my raising. On the other hand, I've always got the impression that he does love me, and during the rare times I did spend with him, he tended to get along very well, to the point my mom would often comment I was more like him than I was her. My mom, as I said in my previous comment, has sacrificed a lot for me, and I certainly respect that and I try to repay her for that. On the other hand, she has something of a messiah complex. She thinks the world revolves around her and displays some degree of narcissism. I know she loves me, and she's done more for me than I could ever repay, but her faults can become hard to deal with sometimes.
+Florence MacKenna "She think the world revolves around her..." That is true for most women I know. However, I have seen very few women who do not show such trait or merely a very mild version of it and I find them angelic.
+Florence MacKenna He also promoted huge amounts of sexist and classist values. He is the one who started the trend of discarding little girls because they are "of less vales than boys". He was a piece of shit who created a bad philosophy that still stains China to this day. I strongly dislike Confucius.
While i still don't like Confucius' style of thought, this video has taught me much more than -- and this may sound silly and cliched -- my (Chinese) school ever did to teach me about Confucius, and it has devoted, or really, wasted, much time trying to teach it to really really young kids... in the Chinese equivalent of Latin... If nothing else this video gave me closure, at least now i understand some of Confucius's ideas, and in fact is sympathetic towards some of them, I thank you for that, School of life!
A true leader would never accept being honored by a bow; He would know that his acts were a service, not just to others, but to all. And if someone should bow to him-- he would walk up to them, take their hand and lift them up. This is a true leader in my opinion-- Someone not expecting the honor of a bow, but the reward itself of walking-up-right fellow beings who lead fulfilling lives.
LORDER Yes. And they were good leaders. My words still stand. A true leader isn't a leader who imprison the people to the point where the leaders are untouchable... Also, you said "no one will follow". No one followed Lincoln, MLK and Gandhi? No leader in the world will have Every single human on their side. But there's a grey zone here-- a middle between No "follower", and have the alliance of every living being on this planet...
Confucius is more of a political advisor like Machiavelli in the west. He's more focused on form whereas Lao Tzu and Taoists focuses more on function. Admittedly Confucianism has and continues to serve a valuable role in maintaining order and stability in Far East Asian societies.
Lao Tzu was a hippy. Confucius was a funeral director. Study Mencius to understand why no one in their lifetime bought their ideas. Confucius is the curse of China that led China into the century of humiliation by the more technologically advanced western powers. Now, the tide has changed. May the love and the peace of Jesus be with us.
The teaching about the sheep and ceremony. It reminds me of the one time I had bought my classmates some refreshment as a way to apologize for some wrong I had done. There was almost a sense of ritual to my apology. But one of them commented to me, expressing his disapproval. For him we should have just prepared refreshments as it would have been much cheaper. I would have quoted this saying from Confucius but I only got to read the Analects yesterday.
1:09 ceremony is important 2:00 we should treat our parents with reverence 2:55 we should be obedient to honorable people 3:45 cultivate knowledge can be more important than creativity
It may look strange, but the more familiar I get with the teachings of Confucius, the more helpful for my life I find them. It appears that this many-centuries-old Asian philosophy has very much in common with my personal values. Most of all I sympathize with the ideas about the importance of education and knowledge cultivation, that take an important place in the doctrine of Confucianism. Somewhat similar ideas were expressed by the philosophers of the European Enlightenment, who also glorified the human reason and stated the significance of knowledge. Of course, in general there are more differences than similarities between Modern Age Western philosophy and Confucianism - especially when it comes to the matters of social order. But I think that the future belongs to those who will be able to unite these traditions, taking the best from both.
To perform rituals, then, is to take part in a communal act to promote mutual understanding. Confucius redefined the word ritual by saying it is a communal act to promote mutual understanding. I think that he is saying that mutual understanding is the goal of the ritual and it is achieved through a communal act. An example of a mutual understanding is to be kind to one another. This is the understanding that needs to be mutually shared with everyone in a group or culture. The goal is to get across the understanding and moral that we need to be kind to one another. Okay so now we need a communal act that will lead to this mutual understanding. This is what creates the ritual that Confucius is talking about. An act to get across this understanding is what is needed. An example could be giving rice to the poor. By giving rice to the poor we tell the children that we do this because it is a way of life to be kind to one another. Then proceed to give the rice. So we have the communal act which is giving rice to the poor and we have the mutual understanding which is to be kind to one another. Now we have a true ritual going by Confucius’ definition.
Don't fart in a crowded elevator is not a ritual, but an act of deliberation. But sometimes even sages can't hold their farts long enough. Cover your mouth when you cough is a ritual. It helps to stop the spread of COVID. May the love and the peace of Jesus be with us.
We in the west only get to hear about the lofy, warm and fuzzy parts of Confucianism. When you get into it in more depth it's really quite a harsh and authoritarian system to live under.
It is not mentioned in the video but confucianism also has three obediences and 4 virtues specifically meant for maidens and married women and the 5 constants are mostly taught for men. This makes sense because these are teachings for rulers and rulers back then are only men. So personally, I'm not fond of confucianism, since it is partially blamed for the sexism back then and up until today.
Exactly. He is stupid. Confucius is the curse of China. He led the Chinese into the century of humiliation by the technologically more advanced western powers. Now the tide has reversed. May the love and the peace of Jesus be with us.
I agree with the parents obedience and it is not old fashion AT ALL. They spent their lives raising, and now when we get older we leave them ?!! NO i am not leaving them They are the air I breath and the mercy and the happiness I have in my life. The one who leaves them has no emotion no sense of appreciation the people who spent their lives caring about him and his own good. Imagine yourself raising kids and doing everything possible you can do for them and after all that they just walk away not caring about you, how harsh and not merciful. By the time people are becoming more close to robots than to humans, is that what we call it modern?!
I've reached enlightenment and I didn't have to spend years alone in solitude in a cave in the Tibetan alps. I discovered who I am as an individual. My only regret is my philosophy is much like Plato's yet my communication skills are much more like that of Confucius; making it hard for me to relate to my youthful peers who are misguided by the expectations of society instead of following the personal convictions of their hearts and minds. To achieve inner peace, you must search yourself for the inner you. Once you find that, you will be confident and not come across to others as arrogant. Loving not deceptive in matters of the heart. Nurturing and not manipulative in your interactions with others. Though rely not only on the inner self, trust in God, and He will build you to even higher heights once you find out who you are, then and only then can He use you mightily. The question comes down to this, how can we have faith in God, if we can't even trust ourselves. Or rather, how can God have faith in us, if we can't even trust in Him?
I say these because I am Chinese myself, Confucianism was a good idea and ideology in Imperial and ancient China, very successful that made China almost had no enemy in east Asia history, but obviously outdated in modern society(at least 80% are outdated), but the basic ideology still exist, like Christianity in developed west. Confucianism's idea to make a society stable is to persuade everyone to be modest and conservative, it made China very successful Empires during 2000 yrs history, with huge population and landmass, but the society was too stable and conservative, it can't make change, that's why there are more failures during China's revolution periods, only Mao ever "succeeded to destroy the tradition and Confucianism", but Confucianism is still alive, with its basic ideology in China and e.Asia.
+John 5mith Im a fan of confusianism, and I'm studying it now. i think confucianism can also be adapted to modern society , it actually gives us the wisdom and ethics on how to live our life
Alain, ostensibly a humanist, failed to mention that the greatest quality an individual could have~ i.e. “人“ Ren, or Human-hearted ness is what he saw as the greatest virtue for all men. ~ i.e, politeness, love of art, keen understanding of language, respect, compassion, respect and care of our parents, and other “human” social interactions is exactly what makes us a cut above the animals and served as paragons of "being human."
Some of Confucius's teachings uphold some of Jesus Teachings and Gods commandments. For example, Con-ficus Postulates the golden rule, "do not do others what you want done to yourself" and in Exact opposition Jesus says in Matthew 7:22 "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." so we can conclude that Confucius is exactly saying what Jesus is saying. Also, Confucius says "We should treat out parents in reverence" and in similarity to what Yahweh (God) Told to Moses on mount Sinai, as part of the ten commandments, to "Honour thy Father and Honour Thy Mother" (Exodus 20:12).
I really appreciate the easy to take in information provided by these videos. I do think you push us towards your own conlusions too much rather than inviting us to reflect. Maybe Confucius is right, maybe he's wrong; I'm under no obligation to immediatly reframe all my moral and social values just because this ancient chinese philosopher strongly opposes what I've always believed. I'll think about his beliefs in the context of my life, but he might be the one who couldn't see past his own socio-cultural context, rather than me.
Confucius had class. His philosophy is one of having class, manners, and knowing how to behave without obeying blindly or condoning abuse, but to conduct ourselves with moderation and decency. Too many “leaders,” millionaires and billionaires with no class unfortunately
I feel like the commen section here is showong that *people 's lack of tolerance for other culture* Guys, maybe Eastern culture is different from your culture (western). But it doesnt mean that yours is much much superior and therefore the eastern culture is totally wrong. Dont u know that Confucius said such thing at 2000 years ago?? Maybe u think he is very old-fashioned to modern culture nowadays. But who knows that perhaps his statement was very relevant to the situation back then 2000 years ago.
agree. the way amont human is almost same today as well 2500 years ago. i think Confucious is the best teacher of the man kind i belivee, that's why i am study it and uploading in my youtube of the key highlisht in original text with english as well. Hope all of the world are knowing it and try to do following his coaching for human life wisdom.
He is more respected because of his thoughts on teaching: 1 everyone has the rights to be educated regardless of who they are; 2 teach every individuals in different ways according to their "Material". ......... That is what make him so important in Chinese culture even today.
Thank you very much for all the eastern philosophy videos! :-) Can you make a video about *Sun Tzu*? He was a high-ranking military general and a philosopher, best known for his book "The Art of War". It's partly a guide on practical warfare, but also one that tries to avoid conflict as effectively as possible. "To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting." - Sun Tzu I think the core concept of the book is that there will always be war between humans and Sun Tzu tries to figure out how it should be dealt with. (You probably know all about this, but I wanted to give other viewers a hint on what they can expect, if you choose to cover this topic.)
The video tape completely misunderstood the Confucian moral values of interpersonal relations. In the ancient times when only monarchs ruled, Confucius opposed ignorance. He encourages people to refute and prove unreasonable behavior. This applies to the entire social system (including the relationship between the monarch and his subjects, and between father and son)
I don't think it's of any use to say that we ought to be grateful, loving or whatever. I can't make myself feel anything I don't already feel. And we're told time and time again how we ought to feel and how to behave.. Zen philosophy seems to be the only logical way to go about living this life.
Generally a Confucian society is more stable, because everyone is conservative, no one break the rules, this kind of society is bad when it needs to change itself. But ironically , this kind of society may survive longer than other society when invasions or disasters come. China is an example, every foreign invasion brought more nationalism and conservative ideas.
Conservatism/traditionalism is great if your goal is merely a stable society that can outlast any threat. It is in essence the exaltation of survival above all else, including truth and justice. Conservatism, in particular secular conservatism, is a kind of repressed nihilism that cannot face itself honestly and so must pretend survival is an end unto itself.
Opinion of a Chinese Malaysian who studied Confucianism (involuntarily and later voluntarily) Confucian qualities sound strange and old-fashioned to " *Western* " modern society. Filial piety - it sounds amazing in theory but it's very frequently abused by parents. It always induce otherwise unjustified guilt among the children sometimes. Moderation of filial piety is really not easy. it also gives a sense of superiority to parents. The formality and courtesy create distant the children from the parents. 礼 doesn't mean "ritual" exclusively. It also means etiquette and politeness. ISocial gestures and polite behaviour were a huge thing and were very elaborate. Much has been abandoned now, thankfully but some still exist in Chinese culture like no physical contact (traditionally,we don't shake hands. Malaysian Chinese only do it for business), circumlocution, extreme euphemism, (in Malaysian Mandarin, sex and genitalia of both sex are all called "that thing" except in cursing.), many taboos..etc. let me introduce to you another great concept of confucianism (by Mengzi) 反求诸己 (always blame and ask from yourself) I used to be (or try to) an adherent of this philosophy. I wouldn't recommend it to any pessimistic overthinker like me. It's a terrible thing to always find faults in yourself for everything and urge yourself to contribute to everything.
So Confucius has made my family stunted, money-hungry and passive-aggressive. YAY groupthink! As the firstborn, I MUST provide for my parents' retirement, or I will be harshly judged as heartless and ungrateful. Even if I can't even afford to have kids of my own.
+Kevin You do not understand. It is not ungratefulness. As an adult, it is trying to branch out as an individual without seeking the constant approval of your parents. It is attempting to succeed by your own will, your own motivation and inspirations. If you succeed on your own without constant step by step spoon fed commands from your parents, it shouldn't be your responsibility to support them forever. If you choose to support them when they are in dire need, then of course, any humane person would if they had the capacity to do so. These "selfish" western values, as you call them, promote innovation, creativity, imagination and self-confidence. The regressive Confucius teachings only promote conformity, obedience, pressure by family and society to be perfect, anxiety in an over-whelming competitive society, and lack of personal freedom. Idk what you are talking about: heartless and ungrateful children? I see the majority of western raised children giving back to their parents and staying in the parent's lives, as long as the parents were supportive and loving, not in an authoritarian way, to the kid.
xMooshy you don't understand Confucius teaching about filial piety. It is a huge misconception that filial piety equals obedience. Confucius never said one should follow whatever your parents tell you to do. Confucian filial piety has two key elements A. Take good care of parents, both physically and emotionally, B. bring honour to your parents, family, and ancestors. If parents do things that may dishonour the family and ancestors, a good son need to point it out and convince them not to do it. Confucius believed being kind to family is the most basic human nature, and a good son is usually also a good person in general because he would not do any evil that would dishonour his parents and ancestors. Influenced by his philosophy, there's an old tradition in China to judge one's morality by looking at how he treats his parents
I'm loving the eastern religion vids, but disagree that we should sacrifice an animal just because it was part of a ritual. It is great to contemplate different ideologies, but blindly follow tradition is something I am glad modern society tends not to value (even if it sometimes practices outdated acts)
Will, I am happy to be corrected in my understanding but I took the sheep analogy as an example of ritual propriety, giving up something tangible and present in the name of maintaining pre-existing routine. Perhaps the work and contemplation of forebears has lessons for us, but I find that blindly following old methods out of respect for honorable people or parents is dangerous. Healthy scepticism can be practised while still being respectful. This may simply be a difference in values? Else let me know where you think I am off in my understanding.
Jarrad Strain the fundamental issue of your understanding is that you equate *ritual* with *routine* as you seen in the examples shown in the video, rituals are anything but routine, routine implies they are mundane, irrelevant, a necessary evil and if possible should be avoided. But ritual here means that it involves something important, and are the additional actions meant to signify the aforementioned importance. This isn't about *blindly following* anything, that's what you are missing out on.
That is an interesting point of view. Generally Ritual & Routine are synonyms (per my thesaurus), however in this context you suggest the point of differences is ritual are important, while routines are not? I see them both as repeated actions or words based on set of instructions. Wouldn't their importance be in the eye of the beholder? The morning coffee may be routine in appearance but a ritual to the individual?
Jarrad Strain quite! and that's why it's not the specific that matters! It's also importand to note that, it's not just about individuals. When a ritual are performed by a group of people, the importance and the understanding of said importance is shared. This is an incredibly powerful thing to have!
Confusius and his religion or spirituality that people practice has a lot of key points in it's writings it has some things in common with Taoism and Shintoism and even Buddhist teachings.
U know as good as the messages of Confusious are, I find the use of real pictures and Jpegs are far impressive in Mographix videos than boring and complex vector graphics. GREAT JOB AS ALWAYS!
lordangelic "confucian", ahahaha you must be kidding me. Confucius decried merchants, trade, finance, economic individualism, and so forth; all of the things that lee kuan yew and contemporary singapore have become world-famous for. lee kuan yew bastardized and selectively chose bits and pieces out of Confucianism, mostly aspects related to culture and social order, to provide a semblance of social stability in the inherently chaotic capitalistic market-economy of singapore. this by no means can be considered "Confucianism", however, and it is absurd and offensive that contemporary singapore is attempting to sully the name of Confucianism with their market capitalist liberal nonsense. also, if you paid attention to some of those singaporean "confucius scholars" (they're all a massive joke, to be honest), they are highly selective and mostly praise the unorthodox works of the heretic Wang Yangming. he was a late Ming Dynasty scholar-official that attempted to impart more of an individualistic element (taken from chan buddhism and daoism) into the orthodox Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism dominant during the time of the Ming Dynasty. considering (Neo)Confucianism's antagonism and hostility towards buddhism and daoism (for being superstitious religions focused too much on the individual, rather than on the collective whole of society/civilization), Wang Yangming was heretical towards many of the established Confucian ideals established throughout the centuries in dynastic China. unfortunately, his legacy has been carried on into the modern-day by some of the more capitalistic, individualistic, and/or buddhist-leaning societies of East Asia (e.g., japan, taiwan, singapore.)
According to Chinese tradition, after your parents died, your supposed to "守孝“ for three years, which means that during the period u should wear a pure white costume, live next to your parents' tomb, not join parades and parties, while commemorating your parents, of what they did for you, how you should have repaid them
Most Western interpretations of Confucius focus on and exaggerate the issue of hierarchy. In fact, Confucius was far more egalitarian than most people appreciate, and was certainly far ahead of his time. He believed you had to earn your place in society: "If the sons of kings and emperors lack quality, they should be demoted to the level of the common people. And if the sons of common people have quality, they should be elevated to the ranks of the rulers." He also said, "By nature, we are born the same; it is learning and practice that set us apart." In other words, the lowliest peasant, ideally, should be given the chance to lead and govern if he has the acumen. Keep in mind, he was saying this 2,500 years ago, when all over the world, one's birth determined one's station, one's class in life until the 20th century. To be sure, he did prescribe allegiance to those above you, but, excepting parents, these had to earn their place. Indeed, getting back to ritual, much of the daily ritual and routine of emperors was concerned with proving he was worthy...to his people, to the peasants, whom he had to listen to: "You may rob the Three Armies of their Commander, but you cannot deprive the humblest peasant of his Opinion," he instructed his King.
U should respect ur parents no matter how bad they are,,,, it can be possible that u don't agree with them ,,,, but the way u treat them represents ur character not there,,,, That's atleast wht I think 😃
That's crazy for an Asian like me, I didn't even know we're using Confucian teaching in our everyday life. The philosophy definitely spread out all over Asia.
i think Confucious is the best teacher of the man kind i belivee, that's why i am study it and uploading in my youtube of the key highlisht in original text with english as well. Hope all of the world are knowing it and try to do following his coaching for human life wisdom.
I may be wrong, but coming from an Arab and Islamic culture, the importance of family that Confucius talks about is very much our reality, whereas for Westerners it may not be. In our culture we live with our parents until we get married and some even still do when they are married and live in a family house or 'bayt al ayla'. This is why I believe that it is incorrect to generalise things or patterns as being universal because some of the ancient sayings, as those in this case by Confucius, are still applicable in our cultures. 😊
3:25, yeah, I have so much respect for that women now in 2018. Good going with the example selection, The School of Life. Please edit that bit. Thanks.
Automatic respect for elders or parents is baseless; respect is earned. And honestly, elders and adults deserve the least respect of any age demographic because they left their children a mess of a world. They had the power and authority to change things, but wasted their lives with false hopes and empty celebration, and now demand respect from the newer generations to give them comfort from their own inferiority complexes. Such behavior is worthy of anything but respect. And teaching "subjects to be subjects" is just another way for those in power to keep themselves in their positions, despite their own vices. A philosophy of obedience is a philosophy of tyranny, and should not be respected at all.
Oh shut the fuck up....your elders and previous generations also left you a world 1000x better than the one you would've been born in 500-1000 years ago. I also bet you do nothing to help improve this world either, just bitch online like a little brat.
Jason Stackhouse Reread your comment and then tell me who's the one "bitching". 1000x better? You have got to be kidding me. Humanity has made very little progress in anything other than technology (and even those advances have ended up worsening the condition of the world-- just look at global climate change, pollution, etc.) and medicine (sure, we live longer, but for what? So we can witness more senseless war and violence? I don't think so).
wii3willRule Yea dipshit, you realize what you're using to bitch on and how many innovations it took for you to do that? I'm not bitching about nothing just trying to wake you the fuck up. Yes 1000x better, you could be killed for having an opinion 500 years ago or die from a simple infection. The internet alone allows you to learn anything you want but instead of appreciating that your'e whining about human progress causing some pollution (which human progress will eventually fix). Yea that's what happens when you leave the jungle and build civilization. Is senseless war and violence really apart of your reality or is just something you see through a screen? Do you live in these areas? Are you donating your paycheck to poor countries? OR do you just think it makes you moral and superior because you know things are not ideal and rant about it?
Jason Stackhouse If you wish for this conversation to advance beyond this reply, your next response must be written with utmost respect. I only respond to you now because I know that other folks might want to know what I mean, and I don't want to deprive them of that explanation simply because you're incapable of civil conversation. Now that's out of the way, let me explain what I mean when I say that humanity has not advanced much. I'm sure you'll agree that some improvements are not as important as others (of course, all improvement is necessary, but there are priorities, you see.). There are some that change the face of civilization, but only go that far-- they are superficial changes (i.e. they don't change the actual structure of that civilization). Technology and medicine for the most part are superficial changes. They change the way we make things and how fast we can ship them and how long we live, but they don't change the structural system of a society (a capitalistic/democratic country can be capitalistic/democratic with or without computers, polio vaccines, etc.). But you'll notice that the majority of all improvements humanity has made are these superficial changes. We went from killing each other with rocks to killing each other with swords, and later on guns and bombs; but the entire way we were still killing each other. We went from cutting down forests one tree at a time with an ax to using chain saws and other large machinery, but either way we were still cutting down forests. We went from sending messages by mail to sending messages via email, but either way we were still sending messages. We went from dying at 40 to dying at 80, but either way we were still dying. Got the hang of it? And like I said, these improvements account for the vast majority of all human improvements. But superficial improvements are not as important or as necessary to positive change as structural improvements. One may bring up one very famous structural change: the movement from monarchy (traditional government) to republicanism. This has been touted as one of the single greatest improvements in human history, and to our misfortune that would be correct. Yes, the single greatest feat of humankind in our 200,000 year history is the change from monarchy to republicanism. Why is that unfortunate? Because the reality is that it was not much of a big change. In the book Propaganda, written by none other than the father of public relations, Edward Bernays (I really recommend it; it’s only 175 pages long), he says, on the first line and first page, the single most profound insight into the workings of democracy, “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.” That’s right; democracy is not rule by the people, instead it is rule by people manipulated by those in power. In a monarchy, you are forced to do things and stay in line under threat of death. You end up doing exactly what the government wants you to do. In a democracy, you are manipulated by propaganda by those in power. The result is that you end up doing exactly what the government wants you to do. There is no freedom in either and those in power get exactly what they want (it’s just that now, they run less of a risk of being rebelled against, so it’s even better for them). Yes, you are allowed to speak your mind under a democracy, but democratic rulers rest easy because they manipulate public opinion, and thus the majority of people will only say what the rulers need/want them to say. This is not a structural improvement; it is simply a structural change. And a worthless one at that. A real structural improvement would be the removal of government altogether, but that is not possible. Do you know why? Because while superficial improvements account for the vast majority of changes, structural improvements account for the rest. There is one last level of human improvement that has scarcely been touched, if at all: improvements in human nature. This is the most important and profound level of improvement. Why? Because human nature is the reason people go to war. Human nature is the reason humans are so violent. Human nature is the reason why so many children become abused. Human nature is the reason why people hold onto toxic and nonsensical beliefs. Human nature is the reason why humans refuse to think of the consequences of their actions, despite the fact that they know very well that what they do is wrong. Human nature is the reason why humans are racist and xenophobic. Human nature is the root of all corruption and is the true barrier to human improvement. No structural improvement can mitigate it. But can you name one improvement in human nature? No, we’ve always went to war and we’ve always been xenophobic and we’ve always been unreasonable. All despite the fact that we could have very well changed it. How? Well, the same way we changed the nature of wolves and wildcats to become domesticated and the same way we continue to manipulate their behavior: selective breeding. Creatures act the way they do due to their genetics. If you improve the genetics, you can improve human nature. But this has only been attempted in a fashion almost too human: violently via eugenics. This kind of change can be done voluntarily, but it requires humans to recognize what they are: deeply troubled beings in need of basic change. That’s the first step to improving the world, but again, humans are too proud to admit that they are malformed beings. That is our first barrier: pride. Once you throw away pride and realize that human nature must change, and that serious steps must be taken to do so, you will have contributed to human improvement. But no human generation before had the nobility to do such a thing, and it is for that reason that no true improvements have ever happened. Edit: (And by the way, it's not just "some pollution" we're dealing with and the damage being done to our environment isn't as small as you make it sound. The next mass extinction is predicted to happen in the next several hundred years, because of us. That means at least 75% of all species of life on this planet will go extinct because of human activity; we've already had 5 mass extinctions, but this will be the first one to be caused by a species. The most insane thing is that at this rate, mass extinction will be inevitable, but humanity is still moving at a relaxed pace, as if nothing's happening (like I said, part of human nature is the inability to understand the consequences of actions that they even know are wrong). Not only that, but look at the suicidal nature of humanity as well: they know that they will be affected by this, but they still don't do enough, not even to save themselves. Pathetic.)
Let "subjects be subjects" actually means that there is no emotion behind material things and Confucius teaches us that entertainment should be gathered by rituals.
Morality may begin with the family, but the ability to have kids doesn't automatically make one a good moral person. Just because someone should be setting a proper, wise example for their children, doesn't mean they are.
Confucius was very much like Aristotle, holding antiquated, misogynistic ideas - though Aristotle went one step further on slavery. Both thought virtue was essential to being a ruler, both believed in a natural hierarchy and that a paternalistic regime was ideal. This was common to both ancient Western and Eastern philosophy. Certainly there are parts of their philosophy we cannot endorse, but their schools of thought have been enormously influential and hold wisdom. Filial piety encourages respect for elderly, from a socieconomic view in many Asian societies it forges close familial ties and stable family units, ensures elderly are cared for. Though of course it cannot extend to abusive parent-child relationships - therefore don't take a rigid view of this principle. The prioritizing of obedience and order by Confucius can also be seen as a product of its times - China was then fractured, approaching the Warring States period - stability often mattered more than individual freedoms, not an unreasonable view: ask many in war-torn nations. All philosophies are flawed, but we can learn from them and adapt them to our times. There's a reason why the Analects and the Nicomachean Ethics continue to be read and discussed widely to this day.
+黎安沛 Man... you have no idea. Do you know where Confucianism has most successfully flourished and survived to this day in its most *distorted* and *horrid* way possible? Come visit South Korea.
Khongor Shatar in the very early period , that relationship might be somehow "equal", but when Confucianism became national belief, it changed. For example, if the ruler is a bad ruler, according to Confucianism history, his people and officials should still obey to him, even if you disagree, you should try to persuade the "ruler or father". this led to the extreme rights of the rulers and Emperors in Chinese history. Early Confucianism and Confucianism in most of the history are 2 different things, the early version was somehow "equal", for both father and son, for both ruler and official, but later it changed , it became a one-side regulation. From today's view, Confucianism in most of the history is no better than Islam in history (or the Christianity in Middle Ages ) (from the eyes of today's Westerners)
Khongor Shatar I say these because I am Chinese myself, Confucianism was a good idea and ideology in Imperial and ancient China, very successful that made China almost had no enemy in east Asia history, but obviously outdated in modern society(at least 80% are outdated), but the basic ideology still exist, like Christianity in developed west. Confucianism's idea to make a society stable is to persuade everyone to be modest and conservative, it made China very successful Empires during 2000 yrs history, with huge population and landmass, but the society was too stable and conservative, it can't make change, that's why there are more failures during China's revolution periods, only Mao ever "succeeded to destroy the tradition and Confucianism", but Confucianism is still alive, with its basic ideology in China and e.Asia.
Khongor Shatar If you follow later Confucianism, the answer is yes, children should respect and look after their parents. However if you follow the original Confucianism, children should send them to rehab but never abandon them. In original Confucianism, children should respect and look after the parents but prevent them committing mistake. So if they commit mistake and you as their children did nothing, you are not blameless. However if they commit mistake, as children you must stand by your parents to face the consequences, even include helping them escape.
Khongor Shatar If you look at situations you mentioned: 1) If they get abusive towards you - run away. Not for your safety but if they killed you, you facilitate your parents becoming murderers. Failure as children. 2) Continue to be abusive alcoholics - You must help them recover, send them to rehab and participate in recovering programs. Doing nothing is failure as children. The one cardinal rule is never abandon your parents.
In all the world we FORGHET this values. If we accept the Information, we teach or remember this values we Will bring to Earth a better life! 💜 Thanks!
@victorhunt: im trying to learn. what is (or isn't) correct? i did some reasearch online using Wikipedia. it seem like there is some history that is "not 100% known for sure." Wikipedia has alot of references to Jesuit, English, and American researcher spanning centuries. do you recommend any professors, books, or articles?
First said by Confucius then stolen by Henry David Thoreau. "The relation between superiors and inferiors is like that between the wind and the grass. The grass must bend, when the wind blows across it."
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Actually the video is a bit misleading. For example , filial piety is more about mutual respect and both cooperation. Confucius once said, 父慈子孝, which literally means father kind and sons respect. If the father is not kind enough its not a responsibility for the son to respect. Confucius also listed down how should a father behave. For example, 養不教,父之過, which means if a father only feed a child but not educate him, its the father's fault. Therefore , Confucius's idea is more about a interpersonal relationship, how the people in society should behave to achieve a Utopia.
I agree with everything except your last line. I don't think he preached Utopia, just a way to achieve a better society.
Alex Tang totally agree, to add to your point of 父慈子孝 (father kind, son respect), Confucius also said 君仁臣忠， meaning a ruler must have benevolence then his subject will be loyal. Confucian philosophy is about interpersonal relationship and each person plays his own role, but Chinese emperors intentionally put much emphasizes on the son and subject's duty and lightens the duty of the father and ruler for the sake of their ruling, thus creating the illusion that Confucian philosophy is serving the ruling class and Confucius is preaching one sided duty, which is not true
So true and the first emperor doing this is the emperor wu of han
this should be pinned to avoid the confusion regarding the message of this video.
Kidding me? Three Character Classic was not written by Confucius...
I love how this video says 'modern world' when they really mean Western world.
Confucianism is alive and well in modern Asia. Its at the core of East Asian culture.
Most westerners cannot distinguish modernity from their own philosophy
So is the misogyny….
No it’s not alive in China. He wouldn’t have supported abortion and definitely wouldn’t have supported state sanction/forced baby killing
When you have old people around you , you are constantly reminded what is eventually going to happen to you. Some of them have great pearls of wisdom to offer if you listen them earnestly.
The others have already forgotten how to eat hard food
The narrator didn't mention that Confucius also heavily emphasized that the ruler also has grave responsibilities toward his subjects. Rulers were just as constricted in their actions as their subjects--they were to be paragons of morality and just behavior. Implicit in this is the notion that if the ruler acts in ways unjust or improper toward his/her subjects, the subjects have grounds then to overthrow the ruler and replace him/her with someone more just and moral. This notion of keeping the ruler accountable ("the Mandate of Heaven" in the olden days) is still deeply embedded in East Asian political philosophy and tradition. It's part of the reason why the Chinese Communist Party is so afraid of opening up its political system, and of any whiff of sedition or rebellious behavior towards the Party.
+Luboman411 Tis ruler, slave thing has to go , do not agree with Confucius at all.
Damn son
I have to point out that the emphasis of moderate ruling is derived from Mencius,a spiritual follower of Confucius,but not Confucius himself.
There's a big difference between "ruler and slave" and "leader and follower". Most of the world adheres the latter. There will always be leaders and followers no matter what philosophy the world implements.
No storming of the Bastille, no French revolution, no democracy
I covered for my mom when she stole a sheep one time. Now I'm serving 6 years in prison.
Move this comment to the TOP NOW!
You are a good man then. The sheep she stole fed four people and stopped them from starving to death.
You must be in Russia then
i dont know why westerner always misunderstood about this. Then i found out that there are not much translate literature about Confucius views on 愚孝, (filial piety). Once Confucius has a student name Chen Sheng. One day, he was farming and accidentally hurt a crop. His father was so angry and used a big stick to beat him. He didnt run away and let his father beat him up. After the beating, he asked his father "Are you hurt?". Everybody in the country praise for his action. However, Confucius was so angry and called him not to met him anymore. Others asked him why he angry he answer: "Have you heard before the story of Yao? His father want to use big stick to beat him he run away, his father wanted to work, he worked with him, his father's want to kill him he disapeared. Now, Cheng Sheng let his father beat him up, as a people of nation, you let another people committed crime isn't that wrong?"
愚孝 is simple minded filial piety, i write wrong sorry.
Why is Alain speaking so fast in this video?
peroz1000 I agree, it is a lot to grasp at this pace and the volume of his voice could be higher, puts my ear drums through a bit of strain.
+peroz1000 perhaps the speech is fine but the ear and it's mind is slow? :-) I joke of course.
+peroz1000 I agree. My native language is spanish, so I took my time to understand.
+peroz1000
He is proving he can read fast...
It's funny because this was exactly what I was about to comment. I lost track of what he was saying multiple times and had to pause and rewind the video several times to absorb what he was saying. And I'm a native English speaker too..
have to say it is true that Confucius talked about "you should not travel far away if your parents are still alive", but many people (even Chinese people) ignored that there is a following sentence saying "if you have to travel far away, explain reasons to you parents and make arrangements for them during your leave". "filial piety" is not only about obedience but also reciprocity. To be honest Confucianism is not all about Confucius' thoughts, it is a developing system which is much more flexible and adaptive than you thought, making it can be situated from periods to periods.
I love how these videos aren't dismissive, but they show how ideas can balance each other out.
Westerners who criticize Confucianism for being obsessed with rites don't seem to realize just how humane and idealistic Confucian scholars were. For example, did you know that Confucianism proper saw social rites as a COMPLETE ALTERNATIVE to criminal punishment? Confucians didn't believe in punishing criminals AT ALL. Instead, they believed in using rituals to create a harmonious society. That's right, individuals in this society would have the values of benevolence and humanity so deeply ingrained in them through ritual practices that criminal punishment would be rendered unnecessary! Those classic Chinese methods of torture came from the pessimistic philosophy known as Legalism which idealistic Confucian scholars despised.
you don't get it, rituals are what makes families and nations more connected and more stable.
Kazi Siddiqui not locking people who are genuine threats to society is stupid not benevolent
Confucianism focuses a lot on education. However, it is a bit unrealistic. This is where the realist Legalism comes in. Now, Confucianism and Legalism are the two main philosophical branch of East Asian philosophy, with some of both mixed the everyday lives of Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Vietnamese and Singaporeans.
Any sources?
if Confucianism had worked then there wouldn't be so many cases of princes killing their father for the throne and war wouldn't have had happened, the whole thing is bullshit and too idealistic
This video portrays a modern Western interpretation of Cunfucian thought which does it no justice.
Alain de Botton The video seems bang-on with some of the more startling of Confucius' thoughts to the western ear, but doesn't do justice to the thoughts he has that are quite in line with western values.
Confucius believed in propriety, tradition and obeying one's elders, absolutely true; But he also believed deeply in humaneness and extending the golden rule through one's love for their family to loving the whole state. By learning deeply, the Confucian cultivates the virtues that are quite similar to Aristotle's idea of the virtues and the good life (in some regards).
Alain you left out Vedic Philosophy from Eastern philosophy. Some of the early Vedic philosophy, specifically Upanishad is startlingly similar to some of Heiddeger and Schopenhauer philosophy. It also deals with modern scientific frontier of consciousness, ego and free will. Of course you have to ignore the rest of the mythical mambo jumbo:) Hope to see a video on this.
I couldn't agree with you even more.
+Mysteries From Beyond This is my personal observation as a Taiwanese youth for my generation's consensus: Many of the current 18~26 yold generations find Confucianism unnecessary and injurious, it ideology is not taught but it is never the less present in practice but exist mostly in forms of abuse; People are always told to do and not question authorities why, non-submission is seemed as immoral and invites societal shaming, non-conformity and skipping archaic traditions is seem as blasphemous and childish as one has not the maturity to learn the right way.
In truth, these are not these 5 constant virtues are rarely criterion of praise, rather in absence they are the criterion of guilt and shame.
B Lin Fascinating comment,thank you for sharing. Very well spoken,although a bit harsh,in my taste.
I'm chinese and I suspect a couple of the virtues got lost in translation here... Ritual propriety should really be politeness and manners, righteousness should be loyalty. I'm not a confucian scholar though, but I do know those words.
Loyalty is 忠 which if we are frank it's likely part of the 5 virtues.
禮 is in fact elegantly translated, it is not mere politeness nor manners, but much more. however, those are certainly a part of ritual propriety.
basically you are categorically misunderstanding the words here
You do not take a word, or character, at its face value, not in western philosophy and not in eastern ones either, else Nietzsche, Sartre , Hegel, Mill, Kant, Hume and many many more will likely be turning in their respective graves every time someone tried to sound smart and fail with terms these philosophers frequently or famously used, such as Ubermensch, Bad faith, Sublation, Utility, Duty, and Sense
Go back and study all the meanings and connontations of 礼 in the classical Chinese language and specifically in Confucius, not exactly the same as the way the word is used today.
请问怎么安装油管网页翻译，看不懂啊
Well Islam is the only religion that has satisfactory to all questioners
Well Islam is the only religion that has satisfactory to all questioners
I think what Confucius would've wanted is whether you agree with him or not we can all respect each other and live together as one.
+Marc Rogue I agree with you about the idea of mutual respect. However, Confucius seems to have put veneration along with obedience.
nah
Yes, 子曰：「攻乎異端，斯害也己。」
ruclips.net/video/JRDynsBVHNI/видео.html
@@leteveryoneknow "obedience" IS the key word!!!! Of course, Communist wants "obedience"
Im so Confuscius.
I m so confused
America explain why you no Arkansas
I'm a mix of Confucius and Taoism
Glad I'm not the only one who thinks that lmao XD
ruclips.net/video/JRDynsBVHNI/видео.html
Confucius was idealistic and scholarly type. Lao Tzu being wiser did not thought highly of his aspirations.
Alas we love dead people, because like pets, the dead will not talk back at us.
ruclips.net/video/JRDynsBVHNI/видео.html
Lao Tzu was a hippy. Confucius was known as the teacher who taught what he himself did not believe is possible. Confucius regarded Lao Tzu as the "dragon". Lao Tzu was a philosopher. Confucius was a funeral director. Lao Tzu was way over his head. !00 years after, the fifth generation of his students, Mencius, finally made Confucianism into an establish philosophy. May the love and the peace of Jesus be with us.
@@jwu1950 ahh you just want to hear what you want to hear. selfishness isn't?
@@air.internet5808 Like what ? Who on earth is not selfish ? Even Jesus loved himself first before he loved God and everyone else. If you can't take care of yourself, you can't take care of anyone else.
May the love and the peace of Jesus be with us.
Respect:
Ceremony
Parents
Honorable people
Cultivated knowledge over creativity (benevolence, ritual propriety, righteousness, wisdom, integrity)
I love learning things about different cultures.
The very fact that Confucius' ideas are so antagonistic to the 21st century zeitgeist are precisely why they are so valuable.
Did the audio seem sped up for anyone else?
Interesting video regardless :)
Under the radar: karas
Yes, I actually set it to 0.75 playback speed in order to make it sound normal.
AnimeEveryday watch at 0.75x speed
I thought my brain was playing tricks on me but thank you haha :)
yall slow
Of all the most famous Eastern Philosophers, Confucius is the one I'm least fond of. He had some good ideas, but I can't agree with the idea that a parent is worthy of respect simply by virtue of being a parent. Certainly, if your parents were good to you, if they sacrificed for you, took care of you, loved you and put you before themselves, you should most certainly be thankful, you should certainly respect them for it, and be kind to them because of it. But that respect should come from their actions, not simply by virtue of being your parent.
Conversely, there are horrible, neglectful, abusive, and cruel parents, who are worthy of no respect or special treatment. In particularly horrid cases, it may even be best to cut them out of your life as entirely as you can.
My mother, to be clear, lays somewhere in the middle, as I suspect most do. She sacrificed a lot for me, and I try to be respectful of that, and I do love her. On the other hand, she has many flaws, and we disagree on some very fundamental matters of philosophy, and I find it hard to be genuinely... 'respectful' of her in the way traditional Confucian teachings would dictate.
That said, I tend to find there's at least a little wisdom of value in most of the famous philosopher's of history. I'm of the mind that true wisdom comes from learning from as many sources as you can and learning to weed out the useless from the insightful.
... and dear god, all of that made me sound like a pretentious Philosophy 101 student, didn't it?
+Florence MacKenna I think it pays to remember that any philosopher is, at the end of the day, just one person with their one opinion, and you shouldn't necessarily follow absolutely everything they say to the letter.
That being said, I do understand the logic of Confucian filial piety. For starters, Confucius seems to have taken the optimistic idea of 'parenthood', which is to assume that (most) parents generally care for their children, it's just that they don't always know the best way to be a parent. Why we should respect our parents isn't so much because "they're our parents therefore respect", but because our parents are probably trying much harder for us than we realise and we should show appreciation for these things.
For example, children are breastfed by their mothers long before they can even remember anything. The mother could have easily just left the child to starve to death and went off to drink at a bar or something, but instead she takes the time to feed you because you are her child and it's the right thing to do. All these things build up over the course of a person's life, and many things we get from our parents are things we'll never be able to repay in full, which is why we have to revere our parents.
My opinion comes mostly from being from a fairly old-fashioned (although not 100% old fashioned... my mother regularly says Confucius is a hypocritical ***hole) so to me the idea that the child reveres the parent is the number one requirement of a sustainable society (as opposed to a group of self-centred individuals).
Feel free to ignore/disagree. Just my two cents.
I only disagree with the notion that its a given that your parents are deserving of respect. There are some truly awful parents out there.
If your parent neglected or abused you, I see no reason you should feel obligated to respect them.
I'd say my own parents are a complicated case. My dad has done absolutely nothing to be worthy of respect from me. He and my mom split up not long after I was born and he's avoided paying child support as much as possible. In general, he's done as little as possible to help in my raising. On the other hand, I've always got the impression that he does love me, and during the rare times I did spend with him, he tended to get along very well, to the point my mom would often comment I was more like him than I was her.
My mom, as I said in my previous comment, has sacrificed a lot for me, and I certainly respect that and I try to repay her for that. On the other hand, she has something of a messiah complex. She thinks the world revolves around her and displays some degree of narcissism. I know she loves me, and she's done more for me than I could ever repay, but her faults can become hard to deal with sometimes.
+Florence MacKenna "She think the world revolves around her..."
That is true for most women I know. However, I have seen very few women who do not show such trait or merely a very mild version of it and I find them angelic.
+Florence MacKenna well...eastern ideals are fairly different, afterall. Our views on women and parents are underwhelmed by the west
+Florence MacKenna He also promoted huge amounts of sexist and classist values. He is the one who started the trend of discarding little girls because they are "of less vales than boys". He was a piece of shit who created a bad philosophy that still stains China to this day. I strongly dislike Confucius.
“Let the ruler be ruler,
The subject a subject,
The father a father
And son a son”
Ed truck to Michael scott
While i still don't like Confucius' style of thought, this video has taught me much more than -- and this may sound silly and cliched -- my (Chinese) school ever did to teach me about Confucius, and it has devoted, or really, wasted, much time trying to teach it to really really young kids... in the Chinese equivalent of Latin...
If nothing else this video gave me closure, at least now i understand some of Confucius's ideas, and in fact is sympathetic towards some of them, I thank you for that, School of life!
Confucius say: "Squirrel run up woman's leg, will find no nuts"
ruclips.net/video/JRDynsBVHNI/видео.html
Ironic because now you bust nuts if you run a women's legs 😂
A true leader would never accept being honored by a bow; He would know that his acts were a service, not just to others, but to all. And if someone should bow to him-- he would walk up to them, take their hand and lift them up.
This is a true leader in my opinion--
Someone not expecting the honor of a bow, but the reward itself of walking-up-right fellow beings who lead fulfilling lives.
+JonSnowIII But what I'm talking about is more or less a perfect, altruistic wholesome human being.
Thus it borders on fantasy, really.
+JonSnowIII The problem is that no one will follow such a leader, because most will see such actions as weakness and insecurity
LORDER I didn't realize you were a spokesperson for Earth ; )
It's actually the exact opposite.
But, it depends on how you look at it, I suppose.
There is a reason why Stalin and Mao died from an old age while Lincoln, Martin Luther King and Gandhi died by other people's hands
LORDER Yes. And they were good leaders. My words still stand. A true leader isn't a leader who imprison the people to the point where the leaders are untouchable...
Also, you said "no one will follow".
No one followed Lincoln, MLK and Gandhi?
No leader in the world will have Every single human on their side. But there's a grey zone here-- a middle between No "follower", and have the alliance of every living being on this planet...
Confucius is more of a political advisor like Machiavelli in the west. He's more focused on form whereas Lao Tzu and Taoists focuses more on function. Admittedly Confucianism has and continues to serve a valuable role in maintaining order and stability in Far East Asian societies.
taoism is BS
Lao Tzu was a hippy. Confucius was a funeral director. Study Mencius to understand why no one in their lifetime bought their ideas. Confucius is the curse of China that led China into the century of humiliation by the more technologically advanced western powers. Now, the tide has changed.
May the love and the peace of Jesus be with us.
@@weepingprophet411 That's just because you are stupid. May the love and the peace of Jesus be with us.
@lol I named. I wasn't named. See how stupid you are ?
May the love and the peace of Jesus be with us.
Confucius was more like Plato and Socrates. Machiavelli wanted power; Confucius just wanted people to live good lives
The teaching about the sheep and ceremony. It reminds me of the one time I had bought my classmates some refreshment as a way to apologize for some wrong I had done. There was almost a sense of ritual to my apology. But one of them commented to me, expressing his disapproval. For him we should have just prepared refreshments as it would have been much cheaper. I would have quoted this saying from Confucius but I only got to read the Analects yesterday.
Why is Alain talking so fast? Is this normal speed? Lol
0.75 times is better
I like it fast
Im desagree
@@raafichowdhury is this also what your wife says? :))
Everything in life and human existence can be determined by the "Golden Rule". This one thought is the basis of ideal human life.
1:09 ceremony is important
2:00 we should treat our parents with reverence
2:55 we should be obedient to honorable people
3:45 cultivate knowledge can be more important than creativity
This keeps people in their box. Perfect to control the population. They stay in their box. Ha. Minions..
It may look strange, but the more familiar I get with the teachings of Confucius, the more helpful for my life I find them. It appears that this many-centuries-old Asian philosophy has very much in common with my personal values. Most of all I sympathize with the ideas about the importance of education and knowledge cultivation, that take an important place in the doctrine of Confucianism.
Somewhat similar ideas were expressed by the philosophers of the European Enlightenment, who also glorified the human reason and stated the significance of knowledge. Of course, in general there are more differences than similarities between Modern Age Western philosophy and Confucianism - especially when it comes to the matters of social order. But I think that the future belongs to those who will be able to unite these traditions, taking the best from both.
To perform rituals, then, is to take part in a communal act to promote mutual understanding.
Confucius redefined the word ritual by saying it is a communal act to promote mutual understanding. I think that he is saying that mutual understanding is the goal of the ritual and it is achieved through a communal act.
An example of a mutual understanding is to be kind to one another. This is the understanding that needs to be mutually shared with everyone in a group or culture. The goal is to get across the understanding and moral that we need to be kind to one another. Okay so now we need a communal act that will lead to this mutual understanding. This is what creates the ritual that Confucius is talking about.
An act to get across this understanding is what is needed. An example could be giving rice to the poor. By giving rice to the poor we tell the children that we do this because it is a way of life to be kind to one another. Then proceed to give the rice. So we have the communal act which is giving rice to the poor and we have the mutual understanding which is to be kind to one another. Now we have a true ritual going by Confucius’ definition.
Don't fart in a crowded elevator is not a ritual, but an act of deliberation. But sometimes even sages can't hold their farts long enough. Cover your mouth when you cough is a ritual. It helps to stop the spread of COVID.
May the love and the peace of Jesus be with us.
We in the west only get to hear about the lofy, warm and fuzzy parts of Confucianism. When you get into it in more depth it's really quite a harsh and authoritarian system to live under.
It is not mentioned in the video but confucianism also has three obediences and 4 virtues specifically meant for maidens and married women and the 5 constants are mostly taught for men. This makes sense because these are teachings for rulers and rulers back then are only men. So personally, I'm not fond of confucianism, since it is partially blamed for the sexism back then and up until today.
Cunfucious says you can all hold these fortune cookies!!!!
Who gets the reference
golden rule yall are rookies.
ruclips.net/video/JRDynsBVHNI/видео.html
shrub
🎵 This type of arrogance
Is sure to be expected
From men who speak of wisdom
With no clue of what respect is ...🎵
So basically, change nothing, worship authority, and don't be yourself.
What a great mind!
Not really. This video just doesn't really do the subject enough justice.
The most important point of Confucius was his desire to restore the social life of the zhou dynasty in the 10th century BC
Exactly. He is stupid. Confucius is the curse of China. He led the Chinese into the century of humiliation by the technologically more advanced western powers. Now the tide has reversed.
May the love and the peace of Jesus be with us.
I agree with the parents obedience and it is not old fashion AT ALL.
They spent their lives raising, and now when we get older we leave them ?!! NO i am not leaving them They are the air I breath and the mercy and the happiness I have in my life. The one who leaves them has no emotion no sense of appreciation the people who spent their lives caring about him and his own good. Imagine yourself raising kids and doing everything possible you can do for them and after all that they just walk away not caring about you, how harsh and not merciful. By the time people are becoming more close to robots than to humans, is that what we call it modern?!
I've reached enlightenment and I didn't have to spend years alone in solitude in a cave in the Tibetan alps. I discovered who I am as an individual. My only regret is my philosophy is much like Plato's yet my communication skills are much more like that of Confucius; making it hard for me to relate to my youthful peers who are misguided by the expectations of society instead of following the personal convictions of their hearts and minds. To achieve inner peace, you must search yourself for the inner you. Once you find that, you will be confident and not come across to others as arrogant. Loving not deceptive in matters of the heart. Nurturing and not manipulative in your interactions with others.
Though rely not only on the inner self, trust in God, and He will build you to even higher heights once you find out who you are, then and only then can He use you mightily. The question comes down to this, how can we have faith in God, if we can't even trust ourselves. Or rather, how can God have faith in us, if we can't even trust in Him?
You sounded very much like a superstitious person. Tell me, who are you ? Who is God ?
May the love and the peace of Jesus be with us.
I say these because I am Chinese myself, Confucianism was a good idea and ideology in Imperial and ancient China, very successful that made China almost had no enemy in east Asia history, but obviously outdated in modern society(at least 80% are outdated), but the basic ideology still exist, like Christianity in developed west. Confucianism's idea to make a society stable is to persuade everyone to be modest and conservative, it made China very successful Empires during 2000 yrs history, with huge population and landmass, but the society was too stable and conservative, it can't make change, that's why there are more failures during China's revolution periods, only Mao ever "succeeded to destroy the tradition and Confucianism", but Confucianism is still alive, with its basic ideology in China and e.Asia.
+John 5mith Im a fan of confusianism, and I'm studying it now.
i think confucianism can also be adapted to modern society , it actually gives us the wisdom and ethics on how to live our life
Alain, ostensibly a humanist, failed to mention that the greatest quality an individual could have~ i.e. “人“ Ren, or Human-hearted ness is what he saw as the greatest virtue for all men.
~ i.e, politeness, love of art, keen understanding of language, respect, compassion, respect and care of our parents, and other “human” social interactions is exactly what makes us a cut above the animals and served as paragons of "being human."
the most emphasized ritual is days before harvest of grains... termed by the colonialists english as festvals...
HE'S TALKING SO QUICK I CAN'T ANSWER PROPERLY FOR SCHOOL LIKE THIS D:
Some of Confucius's teachings uphold some of Jesus Teachings and Gods commandments. For example, Con-ficus Postulates the golden rule, "do not do others what you want done to yourself" and in Exact opposition Jesus says in Matthew 7:22 "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." so we can conclude that Confucius is exactly saying what Jesus is saying. Also, Confucius says "We should treat out parents in reverence" and in similarity to what Yahweh (God) Told to Moses on mount Sinai, as part of the ten commandments, to "Honour thy Father and Honour Thy Mother" (Exodus 20:12).
I really appreciate the easy to take in information provided by these videos. I do think you push us towards your own conlusions too much rather than inviting us to reflect. Maybe Confucius is right, maybe he's wrong; I'm under no obligation to immediatly reframe all my moral and social values just because this ancient chinese philosopher strongly opposes what I've always believed. I'll think about his beliefs in the context of my life, but he might be the one who couldn't see past his own socio-cultural context, rather than me.
Confucius had class. His philosophy is one of having class, manners, and knowing how to behave without obeying blindly or condoning abuse, but to conduct ourselves with moderation and decency. Too many “leaders,” millionaires and billionaires with no class unfortunately
I feel like the commen section here is showong that *people 's lack of tolerance for other culture*
Guys, maybe Eastern culture is different from your culture (western). But it doesnt mean that yours is much much superior and therefore the eastern culture is totally wrong.
Dont u know that Confucius said such thing at 2000 years ago?? Maybe u think he is very old-fashioned to modern culture nowadays. But who knows that perhaps his statement was very relevant to the situation back then 2000 years ago.
agree. the way amont human is almost same today as well 2500 years ago.
i think Confucious is the best teacher of the man kind i belivee, that's why i am study it and uploading in my youtube of the key highlisht in original text with english as well. Hope all of the world are knowing it and try to do following his coaching for human life wisdom.
He is more respected because of his thoughts on teaching:
1 everyone has the rights to be educated regardless of who they are;
2 teach every individuals in different ways according to their "Material".
.........
That is what make him so important in Chinese culture even today.
Great job putting Aung San Suu Kyi as an example for why Confucius was wrong lol.
Aung San Suu Kyi is a Buddhist!
Thank you very much for all the eastern philosophy videos! :-)
Can you make a video about *Sun Tzu*?
He was a high-ranking military general and a philosopher, best known for his book "The Art of War". It's partly a guide on practical warfare, but also one that tries to avoid conflict as effectively as possible.
"To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting." - Sun Tzu
I think the core concept of the book is that there will always be war between humans and Sun Tzu tries to figure out how it should be dealt with.
(You probably know all about this, but I wanted to give other viewers a hint on what they can expect, if you choose to cover this topic.)
The video tape completely misunderstood the Confucian moral values of interpersonal relations. In the ancient times when only monarchs ruled, Confucius opposed ignorance. He encourages people to refute and prove unreasonable behavior. This applies to the entire social system (including the relationship between the monarch and his subjects, and between father and son)
Exactly. No wonder he was unemployed, and ran around like a stray dog.
May the love and the peace of Jesus be with us.
Confucius is a great teacher. His teachings is a good reminder for me. 😊
I don't think it's of any use to say that we ought to be grateful, loving or whatever. I can't make myself feel anything I don't already feel. And we're told time and time again how we ought to feel and how to behave..
Zen philosophy seems to be the only logical way to go about living this life.
+Ivan Božić
Confusianism is a social way of life. It is not a means of providing answers for everything.
His philosophies start out prudent and rational however he then takes them to an inordinate level of belief.
Finally another philosophy video, the other stuff was fine but this is what really attracted me to the channel
I totally agree, what he say in this video
Generally a Confucian society is more stable, because everyone is conservative, no one break the rules, this kind of society is bad when it needs to change itself.
But ironically , this kind of society may survive longer than other society when invasions or disasters come. China is an example, every foreign invasion brought more nationalism and conservative ideas.
creativity is important :)
Speed Force you don't develop it, you just have it at times
Conservatism/traditionalism is great if your goal is merely a stable society that can outlast any threat. It is in essence the exaltation of survival above all else, including truth and justice. Conservatism, in particular secular conservatism, is a kind of repressed nihilism that cannot face itself honestly and so must pretend survival is an end unto itself.
no it isn't. Its to make society stronger and function better with more growth in the economy.
Ro500501502 no it ends often in a disaster, hence why China is one of the worst countries in terms of politics
Opinion of a Chinese Malaysian who studied Confucianism (involuntarily and later voluntarily)
Confucian qualities sound strange and old-fashioned to " *Western* " modern society.
Filial piety - it sounds amazing in theory but it's very frequently abused by parents. It always induce otherwise unjustified guilt among the children sometimes. Moderation of filial piety is really not easy. it also gives a sense of superiority to parents. The formality and courtesy create distant the children from the parents.
礼 doesn't mean "ritual" exclusively. It also means etiquette and politeness. ISocial gestures and polite behaviour were a huge thing and were very elaborate. Much has been abandoned now, thankfully but some still exist in Chinese culture like no physical contact (traditionally,we don't shake hands. Malaysian Chinese only do it for business), circumlocution, extreme euphemism, (in Malaysian Mandarin, sex and genitalia of both sex are all called "that thing" except in cursing.), many taboos..etc.
let me introduce to you another great concept of confucianism (by Mengzi)
反求诸己 (always blame and ask from yourself) I used to be (or try to) an adherent of this philosophy. I wouldn't recommend it to any pessimistic overthinker like me. It's a terrible thing to always find faults in yourself for everything and urge yourself to contribute to everything.
So Confucius has made my family stunted, money-hungry and passive-aggressive.
YAY groupthink!
As the firstborn, I MUST provide for my parents' retirement, or I will be harshly judged as heartless and ungrateful.
Even if I can't even afford to have kids of my own.
+Kevin
You do not understand. It is not ungratefulness. As an adult, it is trying to branch out as an individual without seeking the constant approval of your parents. It is attempting to succeed by your own will, your own motivation and inspirations. If you succeed on your own without constant step by step spoon fed commands from your parents, it shouldn't be your responsibility to support them forever. If you choose to support them when they are in dire need, then of course, any humane person would if they had the capacity to do so. These "selfish" western values, as you call them, promote innovation, creativity, imagination and self-confidence. The regressive Confucius teachings only promote conformity, obedience, pressure by family and society to be perfect, anxiety in an over-whelming competitive society, and lack of personal freedom. Idk what you are talking about: heartless and ungrateful children? I see the majority of western raised children giving back to their parents and staying in the parent's lives, as long as the parents were supportive and loving, not in an authoritarian way, to the kid.
xMooshy you don't understand Confucius teaching about filial piety. It is a huge misconception that filial piety equals obedience. Confucius never said one should follow whatever your parents tell you to do. Confucian filial piety has two key elements A. Take good care of parents, both physically and emotionally, B. bring honour to your parents, family, and ancestors. If parents do things that may dishonour the family and ancestors, a good son need to point it out and convince them not to do it. Confucius believed being kind to family is the most basic human nature, and a good son is usually also a good person in general because he would not do any evil that would dishonour his parents and ancestors. Influenced by his philosophy, there's an old tradition in China to judge one's morality by looking at how he treats his parents
I agree with his philosophies on family culture to an extent.
I'm loving the eastern religion vids, but disagree that we should sacrifice an animal just because it was part of a ritual. It is great to contemplate different ideologies, but blindly follow tradition is something I am glad modern society tends not to value (even if it sometimes practices outdated acts)
it's not the specific case that matters, rather the general idea. you are missing the point of the video by 100 Chinese miles
Will, I am happy to be corrected in my understanding but I took the sheep analogy as an example of ritual propriety, giving up something tangible and present in the name of maintaining pre-existing routine. Perhaps the work and contemplation of forebears has lessons for us, but I find that blindly following old methods out of respect for honorable people or parents is dangerous. Healthy scepticism can be practised while still being respectful.
This may simply be a difference in values? Else let me know where you think I am off in my understanding.
Jarrad Strain
the fundamental issue of your understanding is that you equate *ritual* with *routine*
as you seen in the examples shown in the video, rituals are anything but routine, routine implies they are mundane, irrelevant, a necessary evil and if possible should be avoided. But ritual here means that it involves something important, and are the additional actions meant to signify the aforementioned importance.
This isn't about *blindly following* anything, that's what you are missing out on.
That is an interesting point of view. Generally Ritual & Routine are synonyms (per my thesaurus), however in this context you suggest the point of differences is ritual are important, while routines are not? I see them both as repeated actions or words based on set of instructions. Wouldn't their importance be in the eye of the beholder? The morning coffee may be routine in appearance but a ritual to the individual?
Jarrad Strain
quite! and that's why it's not the specific that matters!
It's also importand to note that, it's not just about individuals. When a ritual are performed by a group of people, the importance and the understanding of said importance is shared. This is an incredibly powerful thing to have!
Confusius and his religion or spirituality that people practice has a lot of key points in it's writings it has some things in common with Taoism and Shintoism and even Buddhist teachings.
How far have we fallen in a few thousand years. From Confucius to Cardi B...
U know as good as the messages of Confusious are, I find the use of real pictures and Jpegs are far impressive in Mographix videos than boring and complex vector graphics. GREAT JOB AS ALWAYS!
1:58 "Rituals help make our intentions clear" lol. Or they help cover up intentions. You decide.
The former is Eastern. The latter is western.
@@user-is3yn7xr4c Citation needed.
That was a bit short, but it's a good primer for learning about Confucius. Thanks, Alain.
the cityscape at 5:21 looks like singapore. LOL
which there are a lot of ethic chinese there
Lee Kuan Yew was a thorough confucian, so in fact Singapore was in fact pretty much modeled on confucian ideals.
lordangelic "confucian", ahahaha you must be kidding me. Confucius decried merchants, trade, finance, economic individualism, and so forth; all of the things that lee kuan yew and contemporary singapore have become world-famous for.
lee kuan yew bastardized and selectively chose bits and pieces out of Confucianism, mostly aspects related to culture and social order, to provide a semblance of social stability in the inherently chaotic capitalistic market-economy of singapore. this by no means can be considered "Confucianism", however, and it is absurd and offensive that contemporary singapore is attempting to sully the name of Confucianism with their market capitalist liberal nonsense.
also, if you paid attention to some of those singaporean "confucius scholars" (they're all a massive joke, to be honest), they are highly selective and mostly praise the unorthodox works of the heretic Wang Yangming. he was a late Ming Dynasty scholar-official that attempted to impart more of an individualistic element (taken from chan buddhism and daoism) into the orthodox Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism dominant during the time of the Ming Dynasty.
considering (Neo)Confucianism's antagonism and hostility towards buddhism and daoism (for being superstitious religions focused too much on the individual, rather than on the collective whole of society/civilization), Wang Yangming was heretical towards many of the established Confucian ideals established throughout the centuries in dynastic China. unfortunately, his legacy has been carried on into the modern-day by some of the more capitalistic, individualistic, and/or buddhist-leaning societies of East Asia (e.g., japan, taiwan, singapore.)
In the video,Some of the ideas were not Of Confucius, but of later Confucianism.
I feel like there are a lot of similarities between this and Epicurus philosophy.
Great minds think alike =)
how?
Confucius said big t1ts, no 4ss will fill your heart, big 4ss with, no t1ts will fill your mind.
That's the silver rule
Hi, he said AT 2:16 "MAKE HUGE SACRIFICES IN THEIR MEMORY", now my question is: SACRIFICES OF WHAT or WHO and WHY if their Dead?
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏thank you for mentioning this.
According to Chinese tradition, after your parents died, your supposed to "守孝“ for three years, which means that during the period u should wear a pure white costume, live next to your parents' tomb, not join parades and parties, while commemorating your parents, of what they did for you, how you should have repaid them
3:22 I assume this video was made before the genocide right? Because Aung San Suu Kyi doesn't really deserve that much reverence right now.
Yes, it was.
Most Western interpretations of Confucius focus on and exaggerate the issue of hierarchy. In fact, Confucius was far more egalitarian than most people appreciate, and was certainly far ahead of his time. He believed you had to earn your place in society: "If the sons of kings and emperors lack quality, they should be demoted to the level of the common people. And if the sons of common people have quality, they should be elevated to the ranks of the rulers." He also said, "By nature, we are born the same; it is learning and practice that set us apart." In other words, the lowliest peasant, ideally, should be given the chance to lead and govern if he has the acumen. Keep in mind, he was saying this 2,500 years ago, when all over the world, one's birth determined one's station, one's class in life until the 20th century. To be sure, he did prescribe allegiance to those above you, but, excepting parents, these had to earn their place. Indeed, getting back to ritual, much of the daily ritual and routine of emperors was concerned with proving he was worthy...to his people, to the peasants, whom he had to listen to: "You may rob the Three Armies of their Commander, but you cannot deprive the humblest peasant of his Opinion," he instructed his King.
U should respect ur parents no matter how bad they are,,,, it can be possible that u don't agree with them ,,,, but the way u treat them represents ur character not there,,,, That's atleast wht I think 😃
thanks to the comments for the past 3 -6 years i learned more
That's crazy for an Asian like me, I didn't even know we're using Confucian teaching in our everyday life. The philosophy definitely spread out all over Asia.
i think Confucious is the best teacher of the man kind i belivee, that's why i am study it and uploading in my youtube of the key highlisht in original text with english as well. Hope all of the world are knowing it and try to do following his coaching for human life wisdom.
I Think Confucius most famous teaching is "the man who goes to sleep with itchy bum, wakes up with smelly finger"
Hahaha
I may be wrong, but coming from an Arab and Islamic culture, the importance of family that Confucius talks about is very much our reality, whereas for Westerners it may not be. In our culture we live with our parents until we get married and some even still do when they are married and live in a family house or 'bayt al ayla'. This is why I believe that it is incorrect to generalise things or patterns as being universal because some of the ancient sayings, as those in this case by Confucius, are still applicable in our cultures. 😊
3:23 Anyone actually want to glorify Aung San Suu Kyi these days?? Lol.
she is still hero
ruclips.net/video/JRDynsBVHNI/видео.html
Also ghandi?
@Identity-less Cosmonaut wasn't he racist?
That didn't age well at all....
3:25, yeah, I have so much respect for that women now in 2018. Good going with the example selection, The School of Life. Please edit that bit. Thanks.
Hey!!! (2:42) Phil Collins is awesome.
I wish you guys had a bigger variety of multicultural philosophy.......
I came from ERB Eastern Philosophers vs Western Philosophers
I hope I live a long, healthy life and find a good soul mate
Automatic respect for elders or parents is baseless; respect is earned. And honestly, elders and adults deserve the least respect of any age demographic because they left their children a mess of a world. They had the power and authority to change things, but wasted their lives with false hopes and empty celebration, and now demand respect from the newer generations to give them comfort from their own inferiority complexes. Such behavior is worthy of anything but respect.
And teaching "subjects to be subjects" is just another way for those in power to keep themselves in their positions, despite their own vices. A philosophy of obedience is a philosophy of tyranny, and should not be respected at all.
Oh shut the fuck up....your elders and previous generations also left you a world 1000x better than the one you would've been born in 500-1000 years ago. I also bet you do nothing to help improve this world either, just bitch online like a little brat.
Jason Stackhouse Reread your comment and then tell me who's the one "bitching". 1000x better? You have got to be kidding me. Humanity has made very little progress in anything other than technology (and even those advances have ended up worsening the condition of the world-- just look at global climate change, pollution, etc.) and medicine (sure, we live longer, but for what? So we can witness more senseless war and violence? I don't think so).
wii3willRule Yea dipshit, you realize what you're using to bitch on and how many innovations it took for you to do that? I'm not bitching about nothing just trying to wake you the fuck up. Yes 1000x better, you could be killed for having an opinion 500 years ago or die from a simple infection. The internet alone allows you to learn anything you want but instead of appreciating that your'e whining about human progress causing some pollution (which human progress will eventually fix). Yea that's what happens when you leave the jungle and build civilization. Is senseless war and violence really apart of your reality or is just something you see through a screen? Do you live in these areas? Are you donating your paycheck to poor countries? OR do you just think it makes you moral and superior because you know things are not ideal and rant about it?
Jason Stackhouse If you wish for this conversation to advance beyond this reply, your next response must be written with utmost respect. I only respond to you now because I know that other folks might want to know what I mean, and I don't want to deprive them of that explanation simply because you're incapable of civil conversation.
Now that's out of the way, let me explain what I mean when I say that humanity has not advanced much. I'm sure you'll agree that some improvements are not as important as others (of course, all improvement is necessary, but there are priorities, you see.). There are some that change the face of civilization, but only go that far-- they are superficial changes (i.e. they don't change the actual structure of that civilization). Technology and medicine for the most part are superficial changes. They change the way we make things and how fast we can ship them and how long we live, but they don't change the structural system of a society (a capitalistic/democratic country can be capitalistic/democratic with or without computers, polio vaccines, etc.). But you'll notice that the majority of all improvements humanity has made are these superficial changes. We went from killing each other with rocks to killing each other with swords, and later on guns and bombs; but the entire way we were still killing each other. We went from cutting down forests one tree at a time with an ax to using chain saws and other large machinery, but either way we were still cutting down forests. We went from sending messages by mail to sending messages via email, but either way we were still sending messages. We went from dying at 40 to dying at 80, but either way we were still dying. Got the hang of it? And like I said, these improvements account for the vast majority of all human improvements.
But superficial improvements are not as important or as necessary to positive change as structural improvements. One may bring up one very famous structural change: the movement from monarchy (traditional government) to republicanism. This has been touted as one of the single greatest improvements in human history, and to our misfortune that would be correct. Yes, the single greatest feat of humankind in our 200,000 year history is the change from monarchy to republicanism. Why is that unfortunate? Because the reality is that it was not much of a big change. In the book Propaganda, written by none other than the father of public relations, Edward Bernays (I really recommend it; it’s only 175 pages long), he says, on the first line and first page, the single most profound insight into the workings of democracy, “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.” That’s right; democracy is not rule by the people, instead it is rule by people manipulated by those in power. In a monarchy, you are forced to do things and stay in line under threat of death. You end up doing exactly what the government wants you to do. In a democracy, you are manipulated by propaganda by those in power. The result is that you end up doing exactly what the government wants you to do. There is no freedom in either and those in power get exactly what they want (it’s just that now, they run less of a risk of being rebelled against, so it’s even better for them). Yes, you are allowed to speak your mind under a democracy, but democratic rulers rest easy because they manipulate public opinion, and thus the majority of people will only say what the rulers need/want them to say. This is not a structural improvement; it is simply a structural change. And a worthless one at that. A real structural improvement would be the removal of government altogether, but that is not possible. Do you know why? Because while superficial improvements account for the vast majority of changes, structural improvements account for the rest. There is one last level of human improvement that has scarcely been touched, if at all: improvements in human nature.
This is the most important and profound level of improvement. Why? Because human nature is the reason people go to war. Human nature is the reason humans are so violent. Human nature is the reason why so many children become abused. Human nature is the reason why people hold onto toxic and nonsensical beliefs. Human nature is the reason why humans refuse to think of the consequences of their actions, despite the fact that they know very well that what they do is wrong. Human nature is the reason why humans are racist and xenophobic. Human nature is the root of all corruption and is the true barrier to human improvement. No structural improvement can mitigate it. But can you name one improvement in human nature? No, we’ve always went to war and we’ve always been xenophobic and we’ve always been unreasonable. All despite the fact that we could have very well changed it. How? Well, the same way we changed the nature of wolves and wildcats to become domesticated and the same way we continue to manipulate their behavior: selective breeding. Creatures act the way they do due to their genetics. If you improve the genetics, you can improve human nature. But this has only been attempted in a fashion almost too human: violently via eugenics. This kind of change can be done voluntarily, but it requires humans to recognize what they are: deeply troubled beings in need of basic change. That’s the first step to improving the world, but again, humans are too proud to admit that they are malformed beings. That is our first barrier: pride. Once you throw away pride and realize that human nature must change, and that serious steps must be taken to do so, you will have contributed to human improvement. But no human generation before had the nobility to do such a thing, and it is for that reason that no true improvements have ever happened.
Edit: (And by the way, it's not just "some pollution" we're dealing with and the damage being done to our environment isn't as small as you make it sound. The next mass extinction is predicted to happen in the next several hundred years, because of us. That means at least 75% of all species of life on this planet will go extinct because of human activity; we've already had 5 mass extinctions, but this will be the first one to be caused by a species. The most insane thing is that at this rate, mass extinction will be inevitable, but humanity is still moving at a relaxed pace, as if nothing's happening (like I said, part of human nature is the inability to understand the consequences of actions that they even know are wrong). Not only that, but look at the suicidal nature of humanity as well: they know that they will be affected by this, but they still don't do enough, not even to save themselves. Pathetic.)
Let "subjects be subjects" actually means that there is no emotion behind material things and Confucius teaches us that entertainment should be gathered by rituals.
Great teachings❤️, I'm Buddhist, Buddha also has shown similar things like this, I respect every religion 🙏
Confucionism is more political and philosophical than religious. What does Confucius say about death and rebirth? Confucianism is not a religion.
@@have_a_good_day420 mmmm, yes, but their are certain things that are spiritual
@@qualitylife8195 Confucius has Doctrine related to afterlife?
@@have_a_good_day420 nono, not after life but things like compassion, wise things like letting go
@@qualitylife8195 still not religion. Just life advice.
Morality may begin with the family, but the ability to have kids doesn't automatically make one a good moral person.
Just because someone should be setting a proper, wise example for their children, doesn't mean they are.
That doesn't present an argument.
Out of the three philosophies of this series; Zen Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, this last one seems to resonate the least in me.
im 20 and after seeing the comment section i ended up agreeing more with the video about our generation XD we are shitty
Confucius was very much like Aristotle, holding antiquated, misogynistic ideas - though Aristotle went one step further on slavery. Both thought virtue was essential to being a ruler, both believed in a natural hierarchy and that a paternalistic regime was ideal. This was common to both ancient Western and Eastern philosophy.
Certainly there are parts of their philosophy we cannot endorse, but their schools of thought have been enormously influential and hold wisdom. Filial piety encourages respect for elderly, from a socieconomic view in many Asian societies it forges close familial ties and stable family units, ensures elderly are cared for. Though of course it cannot extend to abusive parent-child relationships - therefore don't take a rigid view of this principle. The prioritizing of obedience and order by Confucius can also be seen as a product of its times - China was then fractured, approaching the Warring States period - stability often mattered more than individual freedoms, not an unreasonable view: ask many in war-torn nations.
All philosophies are flawed, but we can learn from them and adapt them to our times. There's a reason why the Analects and the Nicomachean Ethics continue to be read and discussed widely to this day.
"about good behaviour, and sheep"
You can all hold these fortune cookies! - Confucius
"and sheep." xD
Sally Beckins those darn sheep are enlightened
A subject is something one studies! Not something to control!
To anyone who thinks Confucianism is good, try living for a year in Singapore.
Or China?
+黎安沛 Man... you have no idea. Do you know where Confucianism has most successfully flourished and survived to this day in its most *distorted* and *horrid* way possible? Come visit South Korea.
I would love to live in Singapore, believe me.
lol most people would love to live in Singapore.
What are you talking about? Enya is the BEST taste in music!
Should children respect, look after their parents? Even if they are abusive alcoholics?
Khongor Shatar in the very early period , that relationship might be somehow "equal", but when Confucianism became national belief, it changed. For example, if the ruler is a bad ruler, according to Confucianism history, his people and officials should still obey to him, even if you disagree, you should try to persuade the "ruler or father". this led to the extreme rights of the rulers and Emperors in Chinese history. Early Confucianism and Confucianism in most of the history are 2 different things, the early version was somehow "equal", for both father and son, for both ruler and official, but later it changed , it became a one-side regulation. From today's view, Confucianism in most of the history is no better than Islam in history (or the Christianity in Middle Ages ) (from the eyes of today's Westerners)
Khongor Shatar I say these because I am Chinese myself, Confucianism was a good idea and ideology in Imperial and ancient China, very successful that made China almost had no enemy in east Asia history, but obviously outdated in modern society(at least 80% are outdated), but the basic ideology still exist, like Christianity in developed west. Confucianism's idea to make a society stable is to persuade everyone to be modest and conservative, it made China very successful Empires during 2000 yrs history, with huge population and landmass, but the society was too stable and conservative, it can't make change, that's why there are more failures during China's revolution periods, only Mao ever "succeeded to destroy the tradition and Confucianism", but Confucianism is still alive, with its basic ideology in China and e.Asia.
Khongor Shatar If you follow later Confucianism, the answer is yes, children should respect and look after their parents. However if you follow the original Confucianism, children should send them to rehab but never abandon them.
In original Confucianism, children should respect and look after the parents but prevent them committing mistake. So if they commit mistake and you as their children did nothing, you are not blameless. However if they commit mistake, as children you must stand by your parents to face the consequences, even include helping them escape.
Khongor Shatar If you look at situations you mentioned:
1) If they get abusive towards you - run away. Not for your safety but if they killed you, you facilitate your parents becoming murderers. Failure as children.
2) Continue to be abusive alcoholics - You must help them recover, send them to rehab and participate in recovering programs. Doing nothing is failure as children.
The one cardinal rule is never abandon your parents.
Khongor Shatar respect in this sense is in a way either reciprocated mutually or somewhat void
In all the world we FORGHET this values. If we accept the Information, we teach or remember this values we Will bring to Earth a better life! 💜 Thanks!
Not sure that Confucius would approve of such an hysterical & incorrect delivery of his philosophy.
I am always dubiuous of westerners who are really "into" eastern philosophy. It just seems like a whole lot of trendy virtue signalling.
@@tensevo we're human, lol anything what we do it will can be good , maybe, or bad .. and more. it's seems like you say "i hate you"
@victorhunt: im trying to learn. what is (or isn't) correct? i did some reasearch online using Wikipedia. it seem like there is some history that is "not 100% known for sure." Wikipedia has alot of references to Jesuit, English, and American researcher spanning centuries. do you recommend any professors, books, or articles?
@@tensevo Botton does alot of reinterpretation to try to make things relevant to very different cultures.
First said by Confucius then stolen by Henry David Thoreau.
"The relation between superiors and inferiors is like that between the wind and the grass. The grass must bend, when the wind blows across it."