Confucianism and Christianity

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at Confucianism with an eye towards comparing it to the western world's greatest contribution to global moral philosophy: Christianity. It discusses how Confucianism is a humanistic and highly rational philosophy that eschews faith in favor of reason and how it also views heaven in a much more nuanced way than Christianity, preferring to see in it many things. The paper argues that Confucianism subordinates the individual to a rigorous form of ethical reasoning that is not wholly dissimilar to Platonism whereas Christianity seeks the subordination of the individual to God above. In the end, Confucianism, whatever its shortcomings as a regulator of human conduct, can properly be called the antecedent to contemporary humanism in a way that Christianity, obviously, cannot.

From the Paper:

"To begin with, Confucianism is about discerning a proper mode of conduct; in other words, it is about setting up a way of seeing and organizing the world that frustrates behavior that would do more harm to society than good. William Theodore de Bary writes that Confucianism holds out a vision of an ideal social order that emphasizes historic values over "fixed eternal verities" (Woo, 71+). More recently, Neo-Confucianism - a cross between traditional Confucianism and Buddhist thought (for a brief discussion of Neo-Confucianism's preoccupation with Buddhist philosophical strains, please see Woo, 71+) - has leaped to the forefront with an equally passionate plea for a well-ordered society founded upon good (moral) conduct that appears to have many of the same fundamental tenets as classic, archaic Confucianism. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• De Bary, William Theodore. Nobility and Civility: Asian Ideals of Leadership and the Common Good. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004.
• Fingers, Gerald F. "Confucius: The First Teacher of 'Humanism'?" Free Inquiry, 13.2 (1993): 46+. Questia.com. 11 Aug. 2007 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000167420>
• Hejtmanek, Milan, Alan Wachman, Tu Weiming. The Confucian World Observed: A Contemporary Discussion of Confucian Humanism in East Asia. Honolulu, Hawaii: East-West Center, 1992.
• Woo, Franklin J. Wm. Theodore de Bary. Nobility and Civility: Asian Ideals of Leadership and the Common Good. China Review International, 12.1 (2005): 71+. Questia.com. 11 Aug. 2007 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5012347020>
• Yamanoi, Yu. "The Great Ultimate and Heaven in Chu Hsi's Philosophy." Chu His and Neo-Confucianism. Ed. Wing-Tsit Chan. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press, 1986. 79-115.

More papers on Confucianism and Christianity:

• Analytical Essay # 135414 : "Confucianism as a Non-Religion"
• Comparison Essay # 134553 : "Confucianism: Its Similarities and Differences to Christianity"
• Comparison Essay # 137461 : "The Han and Roman Empires: A Cultural Comparison"

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