A refutation of the idea that Confucius' acceptance of the Mandate of Heaven was influenced by his support for the Zhou Dynasty.
Written in 2008; 2,155 words; 5 sources; MLA; $ 67.95
Paper Summary:
This paper aims to refute the idea that Confucius' acceptance of the Mandate of Heaven was influenced by his support for the Zhou Dynasty and that it conflicted with his humanist ethic. The paper looks at how the teachings of Confucius are sometimes judged to be humanist and utilitarian in the Western sense, but then goes on to point out the crucial difference. Western humanism aims to impose a rational framework on the world, but Confucius was a strict follower of the Tao, and accordingly he saw the function of reason as accommodating the world, not reordering and redefining it. From this point of view the king acquires a mandate from heaven to rule over his subjects, and they cannot acquire this right by mere force alone. The paper also quotes from the "Analects" and examines the views of Mencius as throwing light on the issue.
From the Paper:
"Max Weber identified Capitalism as an impulse to reconstruct society on the rational principle, and more crucially he went on to identify it with the Protestant work ethic. In his elaborate investigations he probed all the major religions in the world, and in the process the Chinese civilization, which modeled itself on Confucian empiricism, sprung up as the likeliest alternative springboard for Capitalism. Yet China is seen to resist all strains of commercialism, and Confucianism teaches the profit-motive to be part of the baser nature of man. Weber explained that in Confucianism "[e]verything remained at the level of sublimated empiricism." In contrast to the Western impulse, reason is not an end in itself. Its purpose is to "accommodate the world", not to redefine and restructure it (Weber, 151). Most read this analysis as pointing to the shortcomings of Confucianism with respect to adapting to the modern world of free trade. However it also suggests that there is a profound, even religious, underpinning to Confucianism, which helps us towards understanding the position of Confucius on Tian Ming. "
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