Imagine a world where every one is cordial, everyone is peaceful; everyone is the next Good Samaritan. Compassion flows in this world; like a golden elixir it glows in the eyes of the public; it glitters in every tear drop, sparkles in every reserved, soft-spoken word, gleams in devoted rituals, and flickers in philosophical reflection. Is this world not, as presented, a stable world, a happy world? How might one achieve this state of Utopia? The answers are in the philosophy of Confucius.
Confucianism is the best philosophy by which to live because it maintains a better balance in approaches to life than the other two philosophies present in ancient China at the birth of Confucianism: Legalism and Taoism. Confucianism stresses a middle way between the cruelty of Legalism and the abstract ideas of Taoism. Confucianism asserts that Confucians must contemplate the consequences of their actions before making decisions instead of blindly following the government and laws as suggested under Legalism or letting uncertain forces like luck and intuition dominate their choices as suggested under Taoism.
For instance, if a Confucian is planning to eat a large slice of chocolate cake because it would satisfy his cravings, but the emperor puts a strict ban on chocolate cake and claims there is a harmful toxin in the sweet, the Confucian must neither throw away the cake in haste and suffer through the day discontented as a Legalist would nor eat as much cake as desired and risk getting sick as a Taoist would. Instead, the Confucian must contemplate the ban, further research its validity, and only once the ban is proven right or wrong should the Confucian decide if he will eat the cake or not. While the example provided is somewhat silly, you can imagine how the principle holds true for more important decisions, like planning a revolt against one’s government because one believes the ruler no longer possesses the Mandate of Heaven, or pursuing enrollment in a school when the government refutes education.
More still, Confucianism is the only philosophy that maintains the principled rules and rituals of the ancestors while not enforcing punishment as Legalism does to ensure that these principles are upheld. Instead, Confucianism emphasizes the filial duty its followers to fulfill the ways paved by their ancestors. Confucianism also grounds its plans for the improvement of society in rational concepts like good government instead of in irrational and abstract concepts like following the way of nature and yielding like water as Taoism does; Confucianism rational approach to society ensures that the needs of society are attended to, but its compassionate enforcement of the attention of the public to society’s needs allows these needs to be taken care of while not forcing the public to attend them with the threat of punishment as Legalism does. Instead, Confucianism relies on the optimistic belief that humans are naturally compassionate and value filial piety, so they genuinely desire to aid others and their community.
This ideal yet attainable prospect is “enforced” through the duties of the symbiotic five relationships that express how one should act in society; when all accept their role of the relationships and fulfill the duties attached to it, then society is stable and the government will prosper. Confucianism relies on a chain-reaction of virtue: if the ruler is honest, compassionate, and values the Confucius beliefs of non-violence and filial piety, then his subjects, who by the five relationships are meant to respect and honor the ruler, will also revere these values and wish to follow in the ruler’s virtuous footsteps. In the words of Confucius, “What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.” If those of higher positions are moral, then those of lower positions will mimic that virtue, and soon the entire society will be principled on morals, from the bottom to the top.