http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy Popular sovereignty or the sovereignty of the people is the belief that the legitimacy of the state is created by the will or consent of its people, who are the source of all political power. It is closely associated to the social contract philosophers, among whom are Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Popular sovereignty expresses a concept and does not necessarily reflect or describe a political reality. [1]
2
PS It is often contrasted with the concept of parliamentary sovereignty, and with individual sovereignty.
A curia, plural curiae, is an assembly, council, or court, in which public, official, or religious issues are discussed and decisions made. In ancient Rome, the entire populace was divided into thirty curiae, which met in order to confirm the election of magistrates, witness the installation of priests, the making of wills, and adoptions. Lesser curiae existed for other purposes. The word curia also came to be applied to meeting places where various assemblies gathered, especially the meeting house of the senate. Similar institutions existed in other towns and cities of Italy. In medieval times, a king's council was frequently referred to as a curia. Today, the most famous curia is the Curia of the Roman Catholic Church which assists the Roman Pontiff in conducting the business of the Church.[1]
SS OJ Satanic Science On Job OJ Obstruct Justice The brain about 78% water cant be sure how many drops it will take before truth drown
Hydrocephalus [a] /hadrsfls/, also known as "water on the brain", is a medical condition in which there is an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the ventricles, or cavities, of the brain. This may cause increase dintracranial pressure inside the skull and progressive enlargement of the head, convulsion, tunnel vision, and mental disability. Hydrocephalus can also cause death. It is more common in infants, [2]
although it can occur in older adults.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computational_neuroscience Computational neuroscience is the study of brain function in terms of the information processing properties of the structures that make up the nervous system. [1] It is an interdisciplinary science that links the diverse fields of neuroscience, cognitive science, and psychology with electrical engineering, computer science,mathematics, and physics. Computational neuroscience is distinct from psychological connectionism and from learning theories of disciplines such as machine learning, neural networks, and computational learning theory in that it emphasizes descriptions of functional and biologically realistic neurons (and neural systems) and their physiology and dynamics. These models capture the essential features of the biological system at multiple spatial-temporal scales, from membrane currents, proteins, and chemical coupling to network oscillations, columnar and topographic architecture, and learning and memory. These computational models are used to frame hypotheses that can be directly tested by biological and/or psychological experiments.
According to some theories of democracy, popular sovereignty is the founding principle of such a system.[3] However, the democratic principle has also been expressed as "the freedom to call something into being which did not exist before, which was not given and which therefore, strictly speaking, could not be known."[4] This type of freedom, which is connected to human "natality," or the capacity to begin anew, sees democracy as "not only a political system [but] an ideal, an aspiration, really, intimately connected to and dependent upon a picture of what it is to be human of what it is a human should be to be fully human."[5]
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Aggravate Attorney General Generate Responsibly Assigned Validate ATE
The Making of Wills
There were no dates in this history, but scrawled this way and that across every page were the words Benevolence Righteousness and Morality finally I began to make out what was written between the lines. The whole volume was but a single phrase, Eat People
Leaving that burning the books fore and aft
www.ojtask.DamageControl13.com Obstruct Justice truth and source kill
After all this spell doesnt make sense because it does!! AGGRAVATE WITS Would Insinuate Tyrannical Spell Attorney General Degenerate Responsibly Assigned Validate ATE Leading to the administration to be found in disrepute
www.DamageControl13.com
The Most SHOCKING Psychiatry Documentary EVER https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II96QkZaz1E ? 5
AGGRAVATE Must be adhered to at all costs to fairly debate the divvy up of the humanity ransacking decent bucks debation At no cost to the debaters with interred benefits
HA Humanity Achievement N/A AH Achieved Harvester
Bees Ants Sentient Beings and sum thin about Birds Freedom is as Stupid is Commonwealth Frog prince hoax folks croak
Once immaculate conception user friendly brain programmed with PRICK mi FIBIB Spring divine intervention Fall under friendly fire Winter their Lives SELF Summer Elite Luxury Fantasy
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HAARP runs wild
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In the name of God of, for and with the People WTF? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbACCGf6q-c
Ya cant arrest before realizing realizing permits humanity to begin to a
TEE Too Easy Eh!!
Alas available only when ya think!!
www.Amen.Infidels2014.com 8
Yamaka Jesuit Jewish Connect Does a person who understands X understand Y? Rich get richer poor get poorer
Those who greatly enlighten illusion are Buddhas; those who are greatly deluded about enlightenment are sentient beings.
Illusion 1.Something with deceptive appearance something that deceives the senses or mind, e.g. by appearing to exist when it does not or appearing to be one thing when it is in fact another 2.False Idea a false idea, conception, or belief about somebody or something 3.Deceptive power of appearances the ability of appearances to deceive the mind and senses, or the capacity of the mind and senses to be deceived by appearances
Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue The Master said The gentleman understands what is moral. The small man understands what is profitable
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Shall I tell you what knowledge is? When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; And when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it. This is knowledge." KKK
http://www.scribd.com/doc/53187051/To-United-Nations http://www.scribd.com/doc/57985401/To-United-Nations-Again UNAZIP United Nations Alien Zionist Insidious Puppets
The Star of David in the Leningrad Codex, 1008 CE Upon independence in 1948, the new Jewish state was formally named Medinat Yisrael, or the State of Israel, after other proposed historical and religious names including Eretz Israel ("the Land of Israel"), Zion, and Judea, were considered and rejected. [25] In the early weeks of independence, the government chose the term "Israeli" to denote a citizen of Israel, with the formal announcement made by Minister of Foreign Affairs Moshe Sharett. [26]
The name Israel has historically been used, in common and religious usage, to refer to the biblical Kingdom of Israel or the entire Jewish nation. [27] According to the Hebrew Bible the name "Israel" was given to the patriarch Jacob (Standard Yisrael, Isrl; Septuagint Greek: Isral; "struggle with God" [28] ) after he successfully wrestled with the angel of the Lord. [29]
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Jacob's twelve sons became the ancestors of the Israelites, also known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel or Children of Israel. Jacob and his sons had lived in Canaan but were forced by famine to go into Egypt for four generations until Moses, a great-great grandson of Jacob, [30]
led the Israelites back into Canaan during the "Exodus". The earliest archaeological artifact to mention the word "Israel" is the Merneptah Stele of ancient Egypt (dated to the late 13th century BCE). [31]
The area is also known as the Holy Land, being holy for all Abrahamic religions including Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Bah' Faith. GUISE Gods Universe Israel Self Exposed ? Holistic Emphasizing the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts. Concerned with wholes rather than analysis or separation into parts: holistic medicine; holistic ecology.
Roman Catholic RC Realist Conundrum
RC Pronounced Arsy World English Dictionary arsey or arsy (s) adj , arsier , arsiest aggressive, irritable, or argumentative arsy or arsy adj
Realist
Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict things accurately, from either a visual, social or emotional perspective Realism (international relations), the view that world politics are driven by competitive self-interest Realism (theatre), 19th century theatre movement focused on bringing fidelity of real life to texts and performances Literary realism, a literary movement stressing the depiction of contemporary life and society as it exists or existed Philosophical realism, belief that reality exists independently of observers 11
Moral realism or ethical realism, a non-nihilist view of morality that claims ethical sentences express propositions made true by objective features of the world, independent of subjective opinion Scientific realism, the doctrine that certain objects or theories in science are real Depressive realism, a theory that individuals suffering from clinical depression have a more accurate view of reality Ethnographic realism, a writing style that narrates the author's anthropological observations as if they were first-hand Legal realism, a jurisprudence emphasizing the substantive results of the law Tactical realism, a genre of combat simulations in computer gaming Magic realism, a literary genre Realism theory, the belief that cognitive biases are not "errors", but rather methods of dealing with the "real world" Vienna School of Fantastic Realism, art movement
PRICK mi FIBIB Political Religious Illusion Charlatan Kleptocracy media inciting Fickle Inherent Bias Ignorant Bliss Due Process
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy Popular sovereignty or the sovereignty of the people is the belief that the legitimacy of the state is created by the will or consent of its people, who are the source of all political power. It is closely associated to the social contract philosophers, among whom are Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Popular sovereignty expresses a concept and does not necessarily reflect or describe a political reality. [1]
12
It is often contrasted with the concept of parliamentary sovereignty, and with individual sovereignty.
Reality is the Truth impervious to perception yet precisely due to perception Truth that which God would observe whether or not He exists or whether or not one believes He exists IDEAL Simply Reality Sanely Dealt With
According to some theories of democracy, popular sovereignty is the founding principle of such a system.[3] However, the democratic principle has also been expressed as "the freedom to call something into being which did not exist before, which was not given and which therefore, strictly speaking, could not be known."[4] This type of freedom, which is connected to human "natality," or the capacity to begin anew, sees democracy as "not only a political system [but] an ideal, an aspiration, really, intimately connected to and dependent upon a picture of what it is to be humanof what it is a human should be to be fully human."[5]
Pro Cons KKK
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayfabe Kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe (pronounced /kefeb/) is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature. Referring to events or interviews as being a "chore" means that the event/interview has been "kayfabed" or staged, or is part of a wrestling angle while being passed off as legitimate. Kayfabe has also evolved to become a code word of sorts for maintaining this "reality" within the realm of the general public. Kayfabe is often seen as the suspension of disbelief that is used to create the non-wrestling aspects of promotions, such as feuds, angles, and gimmicks, in a similar manner with other forms of entertainment such as soap opera or film. In relative terms, a wrestler breaking kayfabe during a show would be likened to an actor breaking character on camera. Also, since wrestling is performed in front of a live audience, whose interaction with the show is crucial to the show's success (see pop), one might compare kayfabe to the fourth wall, since there is hardly any conventional fourth wall to begin with. In years past, one tool that promoters and wrestlers had in preserving kayfabe was in their ability to attract a loyal paying audience in spite of limited or nearly nonexistent exposure. Professional wrestling has long been shunned by mainstream media due to lingering doubts over its legitimacy, and its presentation on television was largely limited to self-produced programming, not unlike informercials of the present day. Scrutiny existed only in limited circumstances, where in certain U.S. states, promoters had to deal with activist athletic commissioners. It was commonplace for wrestlers to adhere to kayfabe in public, even when outside the ring and off-camera, in order to preserve the illusion that the competition in pro wrestling was not staged. This was due in no small part to feuds between wrestlers sometimes lasting for years, and which could be utterly destroyed in seconds if they were shown associating as friends in public, and thus potentially affect ticket revenue.
Kleptocracy, alternatively cleptocracy or kleptarchy, (from Ancient Greek: (thief) and (rule), "rule by thieves") is a form of political and government corruption where the government exists to increase the personal wealth and political power of its officials and the ruling class at the expense of the wider population, often without pretense of honest service. This type of government corruption is often achieved by 13
the embezzlement of state funds. Kleptocracies are generally associated with corrupt forms of authoritarian governments, particularly dictatorships, oligarchies, military juntas, or some other forms of autocratic and nepotist government in which no outside oversight is possible, due to the ability of the kleptocrat(s) to personally control both the supply of public funds and the means of determining their disbursal. Kleptocratic rulers typically treat their country's treasury as though it were their own personal bank account, spending the funds on luxury goods as they see fit. Many kleptocratic rulers also secretly transfer public funds into secret personal numbered bank accounts in foreign countries in order to provide them with continued luxury if/when they are eventually removed from power and forced to flee the country. Kleptocracy is most common in third-world countries where the economy (often as a legacy of colonialism) is dominated by resource extraction. Such incomes constitute a form of economic rent and are therefore easier to siphon off without causing the income itself to decrease (for example, due to capital flight as investors pull out to escape the high taxes levied by the kleptocrats). Karma (Sanskrit: ; IPA: [karm] ( listen); Pali: kamma) means action, work or deed; [1] it also refers to the principle of causality where intent and actions of an individual influence the future of that individual. [2]
Good intent and good deed contribute to good karma and future happiness, while bad intent and bad deed contribute to bad karma and future suffering. [3][4] Karma is closely associated with the idea of rebirth in some schools of Asian religions. [5] In these schools, karma in the present affects one's future in the current life, as well as the nature and quality of future lives - or, one's sasra. [6]
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Learned and Honourable Wisdom provides the advantage to take advantage of the sentient being Keep under HAT Honor Among Thieves OITINGO Once In There is No Getting Out
Apsis 1.Nearest or farthest point in orbit either of the two points in an orbit that are nearest to and farthest from the center of gravitational attraction 2. Buildings - Same as apse
Apse 1.Rounded projection on building POW Planet Occult Within
PRICK Political Religious Illusion Convoluted Kafabe
The artificial connection of the scientific structuring of a building with the sciences of the universe Astronomical funds siphoned from the Humanic to create Satanic Kingdom they flaunt teasing Thy Kingdom come political American Dream piety Pie in the Sky
Satanic Godic The nearest yet farthest from the truth yet to experience the gravity of it all reserved for the Humanic
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Love of War Business!! Play us as monkeys in the middle eh? 17
Jesuit 1. Member of Roman Catholic religious order A member of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order engaged in missionary and educational work worldwide. The order was founded by Saint Ignatius Loyola in 1534 with the objective of defending Catholicism against the Reformation. 2. Offensive Term An offensive term for somebody regarded as crafty or scheming, especially somebody who uses deliberately ambiguous or confusing words to deceive others
Yamaka Jesuit Jewish Connect
Yammer 1.Talk loudly and at length to talk, chat, or chatter noisily and continuously 2. Whine to whine or complain persistently about something 3. Howl or wail to make repeated howling sounds of pain or distress
Confucius say or was it I He who bang head against wall got nothing to lose
War Mongers Approximately 10% Satanic wealthy, but due their nature statistics accuracy not available on tax revenue records
Does a person who understands X understand Y?
Let x = An extraordinary abundance of self- proclaimed intellectuals to bring about Thy Kingdom that existed prior to their arrival and rapidly dissipates with their every enactment acted upon
Solve for Y
Yes Johnny You may use Truth and Thought
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaka
The Yamaka (; Pali for "pairs") is part of the Pali Canon, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. It is included in the Abhidhamma Pitaka, which according to the scriptures themselves was taught by the Buddha himself. Scholars do not take this literally, though some have suggested that some central ideas of the Abhidhamma may go back to him. The book is in ten chapters, each dealing with a particular topic of Buddhist doctrine: roots, aggregates and so on. The treatment is by way of questions and answers: Is X Y? But is Y X? This pairing of converse questions gives the book its name, which means "pair" in Pali. In addition to the identity questions above, the main types are: For a person (and/or in a place) that X arises/arose/will arise/cease, does/did/will Y ... ?
Does a person who understands X understand Y?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism
Buddhism (Pali/Sanskrit: Buddha Dharma) is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha (Pli/Sanskrit "the awakened one"). The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE.[1] He is recognized by Buddhists as an awakened or enlightened teacher who shared 18
his insights to help sentient beings end suffering (or dukkha), achieve nirvana, and escape what is seen as a cycle of suffering and rebirth. Two major branches of Buddhism are recognized: Theravada ("The School of the Elders") and Mahayana ("The Great Vehicle"). Theravadathe oldest surviving branchhas a widespread following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Mahayana is found throughout East Asia and includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Shingon, Tendai and Shinnyo-en. In some classifications Vajrayanaa subcategory of Mahayana practiced in Tibet and Mongoliais recognized as a third branch. While Buddhism remains most popular within Asia, both branches are now found throughout the world. Estimates of Buddhists worldwide vary significantly depending on the way Buddhist adherence is defined. Lower estimates are between 350500 million.[2] Buddhist schools vary on the exact nature of the path to liberation, the importance and canonicity of various teachings and scriptures, and especially their respective practices.[3] The foundations of Buddhist tradition and practice are the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma (the teachings), and the Sangha (the community). Taking "refuge in the triple gem" has traditionally been a declaration and commitment to being on the Buddhist path and in general distinguishes a Buddhist from a non-Buddhist.[4] Other practices may include following ethical precepts, support of the monastic community, renouncing conventional living and becoming a monastic, the development of mindfulness and practice of meditation, cultivation of higher wisdom and discernment, study of scriptures, devotional practices, ceremonies, and in the Mahayana tradition, invocation of buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Sentient being http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentient_beings_(Buddhism)
Sentient beings is a technical term in Buddhist discourse. Broadly speaking, it denotes beings with consciousness or sentience or, in some contexts, life itself.[1] Specifically, it denotes the presence of the five aggregates, or skandhas.[2] While distinctions in usage and potential subdivisions or classes of sentient beings vary from one school, teacher, or thinker to anotherand there is debate within some Buddhist schools as to what exactly constitutes sentience and how it is to be recognized[citation needed]it principally refers to beings in contrast with buddhahood. That is, sentient beings are characteristically not enlightened, and are thus confined to the death, rebirth, and suffering characteristic of Sasra.[3] However, Mahayana Buddhism simultaneously teaches (in the Tathagatagarbha doctrine particularly) that sentient beings also contain Buddha-naturethe intrinsic potential to transcend the conditions of samsara and attain enlightenment, thereby becoming a Buddha.[4] In Mahayana Buddhism, it is to sentient beings that the Bodhisattva vow of compassion is pledged. Furthermore, and particularly in Tibetan Buddhism and Japanese Buddhism, all beings (including plant life and even inanimate objects or entities considered spiritual or metaphysical by conventional Western thought) are or may be considered sentient beings.[5][6]
Those who greatly enlighten illusion are Buddhas; those who are greatly deluded about enlightenment are sentient beings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentience
Sentience is the ability to feel, or perceive, or be conscious, or have subjective experiences. 18th century philosophers used the term to distinguish the ability to think ("reason") from the ability to feel ("sentience"). In modern western philosophy, sentience is the ability to have sensations or experiences (known as "qualia"). For Eastern philosophy, sentience is a metaphysical quality of all things that requires respect and care. The term is central to the philosophy of animal rights, because sentience implies the ability to suffer, which entails certain rights. In science fiction, a non-human character described as "sentient" will typically have similar abilities, qualities and rights to a human being.
In the philosophy of consciousness, "sentience" can refer to the ability of any entity to have subjective perceptual experiences, or "qualia".[1] This is distinct from other aspects of the mind and consciousness, such as creativity, intelligence, sapience, self-awareness, and intentionality (the ability to have thoughts that mean something or 19
are "about" something). Sentience is a minimalistic way of defining "consciousness", which is otherwise commonly used to collectively describe sentience plus other characteristics of the mind. Some philosophers, notably Colin McGinn, believe that sentience will never be understood, a position known as "New Mysterianism". They do not deny that most other aspects of consciousness are subject to scientific investigation but they argue that subjective experiences will never be explained; i.e., sentience is the only aspect of consciousness that can't be explained. Other philosophers (such as Daniel Dennett) disagree, arguing that all aspects of consciousness will eventually yield to scientific investigation.
Although the term "sentience" is avoided by major artificial intelligence textbooks and researchers,[4] it is sometimes used in popular accounts of AI to describe "human level or higher intelligence" (or strong AI). This is closely related to the use of the term in science fiction. Some sources reserve the term "sapience" for human level intelligence and make a distinction between "sentience" and "sapience".[citation needed]
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents"[2] where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chances of success.[3] John McCarthy, who coined the term in 1956,[4] defines it as "the science and engineering of making intelligent machines."[5] The field was founded on the claim that a central property of humans, intelligencethe sapience of Homo sapienscan be so precisely described that it can be simulated by a machine.[6] This raises philosophical issues about the nature of the mind and the ethics of creating artificial beings, issues which have been addressed by myth, fiction and philosophy since antiquity.[7] Artificial intelligence has been the subject of optimism,[8] but has also suffered setbacks[9] and, today, has become an essential part of the technology industry, providing the heavy lifting for many of the most difficult problems in computer science.[10]
SAPIENCE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapience#Sapience Wisdom is a deep understanding and realizing of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to choose or act or inspire to consistently produce the optimum results with a minimum of time, energy or thought. It is the ability to optimally (effectively and efficiently) apply perceptions and knowledge and so produce the desired results. Wisdom is also the comprehension of what is true or right coupled with optimum judgment as to action. Synonyms include: sagacity, discernment, or insight. Wisdom often requires control of one's emotional reactions (the "passions") so that one's principles, reason and knowledge prevail to determine one's actions. A basic philosophical definition of wisdom is to make the best use of knowledge.[1] The opposite of wisdom is folly. The ancient Greeks considered wisdom to be an important virtue, personified as the goddesses Metis and Athena. To Socrates and Plato, philosophy was literally the love of Wisdom (philo-sophia). This permeates Plato's dialogues, especially The Republic, in which the leaders of his proposed utopia are to be philosopher kings: rulers who understand the Form of the Good and possess the courage to act accordingly. Aristotle, in his Metaphysics, defined wisdom as the understanding of causes, i.e. knowing why things are a certain way, which is deeper than merely knowing that things are a certain way.[2] Wisdom is also important within Christianity. Jesus emphasized it.[3][4] Paul the Apostle, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, argued that there is both secular and divine wisdom, urging Christians to pursue the latter. Prudence, which is intimately related to wisdom, became one of the fourcardinal virtues of Catholicism. The Christian philosopher Thomas Aquinas considered wisdom to be the "father" (i.e. the cause, measure, and form) of all virtues. In the Inuit tradition, developing wisdom was the aim of teaching. An Inuit Elder said that a person became wise when they could see what needed to be done and do it successfully without being told what to do. Nicholas Maxwell, a contemporary philosopher, advocates that academia ought to alter its focus from the acquisition of knowledge to seeking and promoting wisdom, which he defines as the capacity to realize what is of value in life, for oneself and others.[5] Psychological perspectives Psychologists have gathered data on commonly held beliefs or folk theories about wisdom.[6] These analyses indicate that although "there is an overlap of the implicit theory of wisdom with intelligence, perceptiveness, spirituality and shrewdness, it is evident that wisdom is a distinct term and not a composite of other terms."[7] Many, but not all, studies find that adults' self-ratings of perspective/wisdom do not depend on age.[8][9] This stands in contrast to the popular notion that wisdom increases with 20
age,[9] supported by a recent study showing that regardless of their education, IQ or gender, older adults possess superior reasoning about societal and interpersonal conflicts.[10] In many cultures the name for third molars, which are the last teeth to grow, is etymologically linked with wisdom, e.g. as in the English wisdom tooth. In 2009, a study reviewed which brain processes might be related to wisdom.[11] Researchers in the field of positive psychology have defined wisdom as the coordination of "knowledge and experience" and "its deliberate use to improve well being."[12] With this definition, wisdom can supposedly be measured using the following criteria.[8] A wise person has self-knowledge. A wise person seems sincere and direct with others. Others ask wise people for advice. A wise person's actions are consistent with his/her ethical beliefs. Measurement instruments that use these criteria have acceptable to good internal consistency and low test- retest reliability (r in the range of 0.35 to 0.67).[8] Religious perspectives Further information: Sophia (wisdom) Some religions have specific teachings relating to wisdom. Ancient Egypt Saa represents the personification of wisdom or the God of wisdom in Ancient Egyptian Mythology. Hebrew Bible
This section may be confusing or unclear to readers. Please help clarify the section; suggestions may be found on the talk page.(December 2010) In the Christian Bible and Jewish scripture, wisdom is represented by the sense of justice of the lawful and wise king Solomon, who asks God for wisdom in 2 Chronicles 1. Much of the Book of Proverbs, a book of wise sayings, is attributed to Solomon. In Proverbs 1:7 and 9:10, the fear of the Lord is called the beginning or foundation of wisdom while Proverbs 8:13 declares "To fear the Lord is to hate evil". In Proverbs 1:20, there is also reference to wisdom personified in female form, "Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares." Continuing in Proverbs 8:22-31, this personified wisdom is described as being present with God before creation began and even taking part in creation itself, delighting especially in human beings. It has been posited that an ancient belief existed among the Jews and Samaritans that both the wisest and most aged among them would grow caprine horns, which were known euphemistically as "rays of light" ( ), hence the following ancient Hebrew dictums:[13] From Wisdom's ("Power" or "an animal horn") Authority is born. His Wisdom shone (qaran) unto them like ("power" or "an animal horn") (qeren) of light - (perhaps a more poetic translation would be 'his wisdom shone like a powerful beam of light'). However this is most likely a mistranslation of the Hebrew 'Keren' which means 'pride/defiance' (Psalm 75:5) in the emotive context but 'animal horn' in the vulgate.[14] Possibly one of the most famous results of this error was Michelangelo's addition of horns to his statue of Moses. In a general sense the Hebrew for "horn" can be taken to represent the emotive and political concept of power. The word wisdom is mentioned 222 times in the Old Testament and New Testament of the Bible . Both the books of Proverbs and Psalms urge readers to obtain and to increase in wisdom. Here are some of the things that the Bible says that wisdom is responsible for: Building and establishing a house (Proverbs 24:3-4). Preserving life (Proverbs 3:21-23). Safety and a clear path (Proverbs 3:21-23). Better to own than gold or silver (Proverbs 16:16). Giver of patience and glory (Proverbs 19:11). New Testament Further information: Sophia_(wisdom) Furthermore, there is an oppositional element in Christian thought between secular wisdom and Godly wisdom. The apostle Paul states that worldly wisdom thinks the claims of Christ to be foolishness. However, to those who are being saved Christ represents the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:17-31) Also, Wisdom is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit according to Anglican, Catholic, and Lutheran belief. 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 gives an alternate list of nine virtues, among which wisdom is one. Qur'an In Islam, Wisdom is deemed as one of the greatest gifts humankind can enjoy. The Q'uran states : " He gives wisdom to whom He wills, and whoever has been given wisdom has certainly been given much good. And none will remember except those of understanding." [2:269]* There are a number of verses where the Q'uran specifically talks about the nature of wisdom. In Surah 22 Al-ajj (The Pilgrimage) it is said, "Do they not travel through the land, so that their hearts (and minds) may thus learn wisdom and their ears may thus learn to 21
hear? Truly it is not their eyes that are blind, but their hearts which are in their breasts" (verse 46). In another Surah Al-'An`m (The Cattle) it's said, "Say: "Come, I will rehearse what Allah (God) hath (really) prohibited you from": Join not anything as equal with Him; be good to your parents; kill not your children on a plea of want; We provide sustenance for you and for them; come not nigh to shameful deeds, whether open or secret; take not life, which Allah hath made sacred, except by way of justice and law: thus doth He command you, that ye may learn wisdom" (verse 151) Eastern religions and philosophy According to Confucius, wisdom can be learned by three methods: Reflection (the noblest), imitation (the easiest) and experience (the bitterest). Wisdom is not told by self but unless asked for by another. This means a wise man never tells his wisdom unless asked person to person. According to "Doctrine of the Mean," Confucius also said, "Love of learning is akin to wisdom. To practice with vigor is akin to humanity. To know to be shameful is akin to courage (zhi,ren,yi..three of Mengzi's sprouts of virtue)." Compare this with the beginning of the Confucian classic "Great Learning" which begins with "The Way of learning to be great consists in manifesting the clear character, loving the people, and abiding in the highest good" one can clearly see the correlation with the Roman virtue "prudence," especially if one transliterates clear character as clear conscience. (Quotes from Chan's Sources of Chinese Philosophy). Buddhist scriptures teach that a wise person is endowed with good bodily conduct, good verbal conduct, and good mental conduct.(AN 3:2) A wise person does actions that are unpleasant to do but give good results, and doesnt do actions that are pleasant to do but give bad results (AN 4:115). Wisdom is the antidote to the self-chosen poison of ignorance. The Buddha has much to say on the subject of wisdom including: He who arbitrates a case by force does not thereby become just (established in Dhamma). But the wise man is he who carefully discriminates between right and wrong.[15] He who leads others by nonviolence, righteously and equitably, is indeed a guardian of justice, wise and righteous.[16] One is not wise merely because he talks much. But he who is calm, free from hatred and fear, is verily called a wise man. [17] By quietude alone one does not become a sage (muni) if he is foolish and ignorant. But he who, as if holding a pair of scales, takes the good and shuns the evil, is a wise man; he is indeed a muni by that very reason. He who understands both good and evil as they really are, is called a true sage.[18] In Taoism, wisdom is construed as adherence to the Three Treasures (Taoism): charity, simplicity, and humility. Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power. (Tao Te Ching, 33, tr. S. Mitchell) Other religions In Mesopotamian religion and mythology, Enki, also known as Ea, was the God of wisdom and intelligence. Wisdom was achieved by restoring balance. In Norse mythology, the god Odin is especially known for his wisdom, often acquired through various hardships and ordeals involving pain and self-sacrifice. In one instance he plucked out an eye and offered it to Mmir, guardian of the well of knowledge and wisdom, in return for a drink from the well.[19] In another famous account, Odin hanged himself for nine nights from Yggdrasil, the World Tree that unites all the realms of existence, suffering from hunger and thirst and finally wounding himself with a spear until he gained the knowledge of runes for use in casting powerful magic.[20] He was also able to acquire the mead of poetry from the giants, a drink of which could grant the power of a scholar or poet, for the benefit of gods and mortals alike.[19] Sapience
Look up sophont in Wiktion ary, the free dictionary. Not to be confused with sentience. Sapience is often defined as wisdom, or the ability of an organism or entity to act with appropriate judgment, a mental faculty which is a component of intelligence or alternatively may be considered an additional faculty, apart from intelligence, with its own properties. Robert Sternberg[21] has segregated the capacity for judgment from the general qualifiers for intelligence, which is closer to cognizant aptitude than to wisdom. Displaying sound judgment in a complex, dynamic environment is a hallmark of wisdom. In fantasy fiction and science fiction, sapience describes an essential human property that bestows "personhood" onto a non- human. It indicates that a computer, alien, mythical creature or other object will be treated as a completely human character, 22
with similar rights, capabilities and desires as any other human character. The words "sentience", "self-awareness" and "consciousness" are used in similar ways in science fiction. The word sapience is derived from the Latin word sapientia, meaning wisdom.[22] Related to this word is the Latin verb sapere, which means "to taste, to be wise, to know"; the present participle of sapere forms part of Homo sapiens, the Latin binomial nomenclature created by Carolus Linnaeus to describe the human species. Linnaeus had originally given humans the species name of diurnus, meaning man of the day. But he later decided that the dominating feature of humans was wisdom, hence application of the name sapiens. His chosen biological name was intended to emphasize man's uniqueness and separation from the rest of the animal kingdom.
New Mysterianism is a philosophical position proposing that the hard problem of consciousness will never be explained; or at the least cannot be explained by the human mind at its current evolutionary stage. The unresolvable problem is how to explain sentience and qualia and their interaction with consciousness. Contents [hide] 1 Name 2 Philosophy 3 Adherents 4 See also 5 References 5.1 Citations 5.2 Other sources [edit] Name The "old mysterians" were not a discrete intellectual movement, but rather thinkers throughout history who have put forward a position that some aspects of consciousness may not be knowable or discoverable. They include Gottfried Leibniz, Samuel Johnson, and Thomas Huxley. Huxley wrote, "How it is that anything so remarkable as a state of consciousness comes about as a result of irritating nervous tissue, is just as unaccountable as the appearance of the Djinn, when Aladdin rubbed his lamp." [6, p. 229, quote] Owen Flanagan noted in his 1991 book Science of the Mind that some modern thinkers have suggested that consciousness may never be completely explained. Flanagan called them "the new mysterians" after the rock group Question Mark and the Mysterians.[1] The term "New Mysterianism" has been extended by some writers to encompass the wider philosophical position that humans do not have the intellectual ability to solve many hard problems, not just the problem of consciousness, at a scientific level. This position is also known as anti-constructive naturalism. [edit] Philosophy Main article: cognitive closure New Mysterianism is often characterized [by whom?] as a presupposition that some problems cannot be solved. Critics [who?] of this view argue that it is fallacious to assume that a problem cannot be solved just because we have not solved it yet. On the other hand, New Mysterians would say that it is just as absurd to assume that every problem can be solved. Crucially, New Mysterians would argue that they did not start with any supposition as to the solvability of the question, and instead reached their conclusion through logical reasoning. Their argument goes as follows: Subjective experiences by their very nature cannot be shared or compared. Therefore it is impossible to know what subjective experiences a system (other than ourselves) is having. This will always be the case, no matter what clever scientific tests we invent. Therefore, there are some questions about consciousness that will never be answered. Noam Chomsky distinguishes between problems, which seem solvable, at least in principle, through scientific methods, and mysteries, which do not seem solvable, even in principle. He notes that the cognitive capabilities of all organisms are limited by biology, e.g. a mouse will never speak like a human. In the same way, certain problems may be beyond our understanding. For example, in the mind-body problem, emergent materialism claims that humans are not smart enough to determine "the relationship between mind and matter.
What is the matter dear Did the BBBB Bully Brat Bias Beasts do their thing again How Many times do I have to tell you that is what they do it is their nature and we must respect nature 23
"[citation needed] Strong agnosticism applies this position to religion. [edit] Adherents Colin McGinn is the leading proponent of the New Mysterian position among major philosophers. Author and conservative columnist John Derbyshire has stated publicly that although formerly professing Christianity, he now considers himself to be a Mysterian. [1] American mathematics and science writer Martin Gardner considered himself to be a Mysterian.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reason The faculty of reason also known as rationality, or the faculty of discursive reason (in opposition to "intuitive reason") is a virtue that governs the exploratory interactions of humans with the universe - such as those employed in our practice of the natural sciences. It is a mental ability found in human beings and normally considered to be a definitive characteristic of human nature.[1] It is closely associated with such human activities as language, science, art, mathematics and philosophy. Reason, like habit or intuition, is a means by which thinking comes from one idea to a related idea. But more specifically, it is the way rational beings propose and consider explanations concerning cause and effect, true and false, and what is good or bad. In contrast to reason as an abstract noun, a reason is a consideration which explains or justifies some event, phenomenon or behaviour.[2] The ways in which human beings reason through an argument are the subject of inquiries in the field of logic. Reason is closely identified with the ability to self-consciously change beliefs, attitudes, traditions, and institutions, and therefore with the capacity for Freedom and self-determination.[3] Psychologists and cognitive scientists have attempted to study and explain how people reason, e.g. which cognitive and neural processes are engaged, and how cultural factors affect the inferences that people draw. The field of automated reasoning studies how reasoning may or may not be modeled computationally. Animal psychology considers the controversial question of whether animals can reason.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddha-nature
Buddha-nature or Buddha Principle (Buddha-dhtu), is taught, within Mahayana Buddhism, to be an intrinsic, immortal potential for reaching enlightenment that exists within the mind of every sentient being. Buddha-nature is not to be confused with the concept of Atman, or Self, but instead is viewed to be empty of defining characteristics (also see Sunyata and Nondualism). In some Tathagatagarbha scriptures, however, especially the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, the Buddha-nature is defined as Self which is permanent, blissful and pure.[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/tman_(Buddhism) The word tman (Sanskrit: ) or Atta (Pli) refers to a self. Occasionally the terms "soul" or "ego" are also used. The words tman and atta derive from the Indo-European root *t-men (breath) and are cognate with the Old English thm and German Atem.[1] Some Mahyna Buddhist sutras and tantras present other Buddhist teachings with positive language by asserting the ultimate reality of an atman which is equated with the essential nature of mind (Dalai Lama see relevant section below). This doctrine, also known as Tathgatagarbha, is also seen as the inborn potential to become a Buddha. Theravda Dhammakaya Movement of Thailand also teaches the reality of a true self, which it equates with nirvana.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_(Michelangelo)
The marble sculpture depicts Moses with horns on his head. This was the normal medieval Western depiction of Moses, based on the description of Moses' face as "cornuta" ("horned") in the Latin Vulgate translation of Exodus.[2] The Douay-Rheims Bible translates the Vulgate as, "And when Moses came down from the mount Sinai, he held the two tables of the testimony, and he knew not that his face was horned from the conversation of the Lord."[3] The Greek in the Septuagint translates as, "Moses knew not that the appearance of the skin of his face was glorified."[4] The Hebrew Masoretic text also uses words equivalent to "radiant",[5] suggesting an effect like a halo. Horns were symbolic of authority in ancient Near Eastern culture, and the medieval depiction had the advantage of giving Moses a convenient attribute by which he could easily be recognized in crowded pictures. According to Giorgio Vasari in his Life of Michelangelo, the Jews of Rome came like "flocks of starlings" to admire the statue every Shabat.
Hence the snow-job up to here in it!!
DAIS NAID Do as I Say Not as I Do
First to break the originals
Good is Evil or Evil is Good
As Romans prefer 25
Mount Sinai and the Ten Commandments Main article: Ten Commandments According to the Bible, after crossing the Red Sea and leading the Israelites towards the desert, Moses was summoned by God to Mount Sinai, also referred to as Mount Horeb, the same place where Moses had first talked to the Burning Bush, tended the flocks of Jethro his father-in-law, and later produced water by striking the rock with his staff and directed the battle with the Amalekites. Moses stayed on the mountain for 40 days and nights, a period in which he received the Ten Commandments directly from God. Moses then descended from the mountain with intent to deliver the commandments to the people, but upon his arrival he saw that the people were involved in the sin of the Golden Calf. In terrible anger, Moses broke the commandment tablets[30] and ordered his own tribe (the Levites) to go through the camp and kill everyone, including family and friends,[31] upon which the Levites killed about 3,000 people.[32] God later commanded Moses to inscribe two other tablets, to replace the ones Moses smashed,[33] so Moses went to the mountain again, for another period of 40 days and nights, and when he returned, the commandments were finally given. In Jewish tradition, Moses is referred to as "The Lawgiver" for this singular achievement of delivering the Ten Commandments.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius (Kng Fz, or K'ung-fu-tzu, lit. "Master Kong", 551478 BC). It is a complex system of moral, social, political, philosophical, and quasi-religious thought that influenced the culture and history of East Asia. It might be considered a state religion of some East Asian countries, because of state promotion of Confucian philosophies. Cultures and countries strongly influenced by Confucianism include mainland China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Vietnam, as well as various territories settled predominantly by Chinese people, such as Singapore. It might be that as many as 1.5 billion people follow Confucian ideals, according to Rick Cornish.[1] In Confucianism, human beings are teachable, improvable and perfectible through personal and communal endeavour especially including self-cultivation and self-creation. A main idea of Confucianism is the cultivation of virtue and the development of moral perfection. Confucianism holds that one should give up one's life, if necessary, either passively or actively, for the sake of upholding the cardinal moral values of ren and yi.[2] Contents [hide] 1 Themes in Confucian thought 1.1 Humanity 1.2 Ritual 1.3 Loyalty 1.4 Filial piety 1.5 Relationships 1.6 The gentleman 1.7 Rectification of names 2 Governance 26
3 Meritocracy 4 Influence in 17th-century Europe 5 Influence in modern times 6 Criticism 6.1 Women in Confucian thought 7 Debate over classification 7.1 Ahmadiyya view 8 Names 9 See also 10 References 11 Further reading 12 Translations of Texts Attributed to Confucius 12.1 The Analects (Lun Yu) 13 External links Themes in Confucian thought
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2009) Humanity is core in Confucianism. A simple way to appreciate Confucian thought is to consider it as being based on varying levels of honesty, and a simple way to understand Confucian thought is to examine the world by using the logic of humanity. In practice, the elements of Confucianism accumulated over time. There is the classical Wuchang () consisting of five elements: Ren (, Humanity), Yi (, Righteousness), Li (, Ritual), Zhi (, Knowledge), Xin (, Integrity), and there is also the classical Sizi () with four elements: Zhong (, Loyalty), Xiao (, Filial piety), Jie (, Continency), Yi (, Righteousness). There are still many other elements, such as Cheng (, honesty), Shu (, kindness and forgiveness), Lian (, honesty and cleanness), Chi (, shame, judge and sense of right and wrong), Yong (, bravery), Wen (, kind and gentle), Liang (, good, kindhearted), Gong (, respectful, reverent), Jian(, frugal), Rang (, modestly, self-effacing). Among all elements, Ren (Humanity) and Yi (Righteousness) are fundamental. Sometimes morality is interpreted as the phantom of Humanity and Righteousness.[3] Humanity Main article: Ren (Confucianism) Ritual and filial piety are indeed the ways in which one should act towards others, but from an underlying attitude of humaneness. Confucius' concept of humaneness (Chinese: ; pinyin:rn) is probably best expressed in the Confucian version of the Ethic of reciprocity, or the Golden Rule: "do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you." Confucius never stated whether man was born good or evil,[4] noting that 'By nature men are similar; by practice men are wide apart' [5]implying that whether good or bad, Confucius must have perceived all men to be born with intrinsic similarities, but that man is conditioned and inuenced by study and practise. Xunzi's opinion is that men originally just want what they instinctively want despite positive or negative results it may bring, so cultivation is needed. In Mencius' view, all men are born to share goodness such as compassion and good heart, although they may become wicked. The Three Character Classic begins with "People at birth are naturally good (kind-hearted)", which stems from Mencius' idea. All the views eventually lead to recognize the importance of human education and cultivation. Rn also has a political dimension. If the ruler lacks rn, Confucianism holds, it will be difficult if not impossible for his subjects to behave humanely. Rn is the basis of Confucian political theory: it presupposes an autocratic ruler, exhorted to refrain from acting inhumanely towards his subjects. An inhumane ruler runs the 27
risk of losing the "Mandate of Heaven", the right to rule. A ruler lacking such a mandate need not be obeyed. But a ruler who reigns humanely and takes care of the people is to be obeyed strictly, for the benevolence of his dominion shows that he has been mandated by heaven. Confucius himself had little to say on the will of the people, but his leading follower Mencius did state on one occasion that the people's opinion on certain weighty matters should be considered. Ritual Main article: Li (Confucianism) In Confucianism the term "ritual" (Chinese: ; pinyin: l) was soon extended to include secular ceremonial behavior, and eventually referred also to the propriety or politeness which colors everyday life. Rituals were codified and treated as a comprehensive system of norms. Confucius himself tried to revive the etiquette of earlier dynasties. After his death, people regarded him as a great authority on ritual behaviors. It is important to note that "ritual" has developed a specialized meaning in Confucianism, as opposed to its usual religious meanings. In Confucianism, the acts of everyday life are considered ritual. Rituals are not necessarily regimented or arbitrary practices, but the routines that people often engage in, knowingly or unknowingly, during the normal course of their lives. Shaping the rituals in a way that leads to a content and healthy society, and to content and healthy people, is one purpose of Confucian philosophy. The Rites
This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2009) Translations from the 17th century to the present have varied widely. Comparison of these many sources is needed for a true "general consensus" of what message Confucius meant to imply. Confucius argued that under law, external authorities administer punishments after illegal actions, so people generally behave well without understanding reasons why they should; whereas with ritual, patterns of behavior are internalized and exert their influence before actions are taken, so people behave properly because they fear shame and want to avoid losing face. In this sense, "rite" (Chinese: ; pinyin: l) is an ideal form of social norm. The Chinese character for "rites", or "ritual", previously had the religious meaning of "sacrifice". Its Confucian meaning ranges from politeness and propriety to the understanding of each person's correct place in society. Externally, ritual is used to distinguish between people; their usage allows people to know at all times who is the younger and who the elder, who is the guest and who the host and so forth. Internally, rites indicate to people their duty amongst others and what to expect from them. Internalization is the main process in ritual. Formalized behavior becomes progressively internalized, desires are channeled and personal cultivation becomes the mark of social correctness. Though this idea conflicts with the common saying that "the cowl does not make the monk," in Confucianism sincerity is what enables behavior to be absorbed by individuals. Obeying ritual with sincerity makes ritual the most powerful way to cultivate oneself: Respectfulness, without the Rites, becomes laborious bustle; carefulness, without the Rites, become timidity; boldness, without the Rites, becomes insubordination; straightforwardness, without the Rites, becomes rudeness. (Analects VIII, 2) Ritual can be seen as a means to find the balance between opposing qualities that might otherwise lead to conflict. It divides people into categories, and builds hierarchical relationships through protocols and ceremonies, assigning everyone a place in society and a proper form of behavior. Music, which seems to have played a significant role in Confucius' life, is given as an exception, as it transcends such boundaries and "unifies the hearts". Although the Analects heavily promote the rites, Confucius himself often behaved other than in accord with them. Loyalty 28
Loyalty (Chinese: ; pinyin: zhng) is the equivalent of filial piety on a different plane. It is particularly relevant for the social class to which most of Confucius' students belonged, because the only way for an ambitious young scholar to make his way in the Confucian Chinese world was to enter a ruler's civil service. Like filial piety, however, loyalty was often subverted by the autocratic regimes of China. Confucius had advocated a sensitivity to the realpolitik of the class relations in his time; he did not propose that "might makes right", but that a superior who had received the "Mandate of Heaven" (see below) should be obeyed because of his moral rectitude. In later ages, however, emphasis was placed more on the obligations of the ruled to the ruler, and less on the ruler's obligations to the ruled. Loyalty was also an extension of one's duties to friends, family, and spouse. Loyalty to one's family came first, then to one's spouse, then to one's ruler, and lastly to one's friends. Loyalty was considered one of the greater human virtues. Confucius also realized that loyalty and filial piety can potentially conflict. Filial piety Main article: Filial piety "Filial piety" (Chinese: ; pinyin: xio) is considered among the greatest of virtues and must be shown towards both the living and the dead (including even remote ancestors). The term "filial" (meaning "of a child") characterizes the respect that a child, originally a son, should show to his parents. This relationship was extended by analogy to a series of five relationships (Chinese: ; pinyin: wln):[6] The Five Bonds Ruler to Ruled Father to Son Husband to Wife Elder Brother to Younger Brother Friend to Friend Specific duties were prescribed to each of the participants in these sets of relationships. Such duties were also extended to the dead, where the living stood as sons to their deceased family. This led to the veneration of ancestors. The only relationship where respect for elders wasn't stressed was the Friend to Friend relationship. In all other relationships, high reverence was held for elders. The idea of Filial piety influenced the Chinese legal system: a criminal would be punished more harshly if the culprit had committed the crime against a parent, while fathers often exercised enormous power over their children. A similar differentiation was applied to other relationships. Now [PROC? clarification needed] filial piety is also built into law. People have the responsibility to provide for their elderly parents according to the law. The main source of our knowledge of the importance of filial piety is The Book of Filial Piety, a work attributed to Confucius and his son but almost certainly written in the 3rd century BCE. The Analects, the main source of the Confucianism of Confucius, actually has little to say on the matter of filial piety and some sources believe the concept was focused on by later thinkers as a response to Mohism. Filial piety has continued to play a central role in Confucian thinking to the present day. Relationships Relationships are central to Confucianism. Particular duties arise from one's particular situation in relation to others. The individual stands simultaneously in several different relationships with different people: as a junior in relation to parents and elders, and as a senior in relation to younger siblings, students, and others. While juniors are considered in Confucianism to owe their seniors reverence, seniors also have duties of benevolence and concern toward juniors. This theme of mutuality is prevalent in East Asian cultures even to this day. Social harmonythe great goal of Confucianismtherefore results in part from every individual knowing his or her place in the social order, and playing his or her part well. When Duke Jing of Qi asked about government, by which he meant proper administration so as to bring social harmony, Confucius replied: 29
There is government, when the prince is prince, and the minister is minister; when the father is father, and the son is son. (Analects XII, 11, trans. Legge) Mencius says: "When being a child, yearn for and love your parents; when growing mature, yearn for and love your lassie; when having wife and child(ren), yearn for and love your wife and child(ren); when being an official (or a staffer), yearn for and love your sovereign (and/or boss)."[7][cite this quote] The gentleman Main article: Junzi The term jnz (Chinese: ; literally "lord's child") is crucial to classical Confucianism. Confucianism exhorts all people to strive for the ideal of a "gentleman" or "perfect man". A succinct description of the "perfect man" is one who "combines the qualities of saint, scholar, and gentleman." In modern times the masculine translation in English is also traditional and is still frequently used. Elitism was bound up with the concept, and gentlemen were expected to act as moral guides to the rest of society. They were to: cultivate themselves morally; show filial piety and loyalty where these are due; cultivate humanity, or benevolence. The great exemplar of the perfect gentleman is Confucius himself. Perhaps the tragedy of his life was that he was never awarded the high official position which he desired, from which he wished to demonstrate the general well-being that would ensue if humane persons ruled and administered the state. The opposite of the Jnz was the Xiorn (Chinese: ; pinyin: xiorn; literally "small person"). The character in this context means petty in mind and heart, narrowly self-interested, greedy, superficial, or materialistic. Rectification of names Main article: Rectification of Names Confucius believed that social disorder often stemmed from failure to perceive, understand, and deal with reality. Fundamentally, then, social disorder can stem from the failure to call things by their proper names, and his solution to this was Zhngmng (Chinese: []; pinyin: zhngmng; literally "rectification of terms"). He gave an explanation of zhengming to one of his disciples. Zi-lu said, "The ruler of Wei has been waiting for you, in order with you to administer the government. What will you consider the first thing to be done?" The Master replied, "What is necessary to rectify names." "So! indeed!" said Zi-lu. "You are wide off the mark! Why must there be such rectification?" The Master said, "How uncultivated you are, Yu! A superior man, in regard to what he does not know, shows a cautious reserve. If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success. When affairs cannot be carried on to success, proprieties and music do not flourish. When proprieties and music do not flourish, punishments will not be properly awarded. When punishments are not properly awarded, the people do not know how to move hand or foot. Therefore a superior man considers it necessary that the names he uses may be spoken appropriately, and also that what he speaks may be carried out appropriately. What the superior man requires is just that in his words there may be nothing incorrect." (Analects XIII, 3, tr. Legge) Xun Zi chapter (22) "On the Rectification of Names" claims the ancient sage-kings chose names (Chinese: []; pinyin: mng) that directly corresponded with actualities (Chinese: [];pinyin: sh), but later generations confused terminology, coined new nomenclature, and thus could no longer distinguish right from wrong. Governance 30
Confucian temple in Kaohsiung, Taiwan,Republic of China To govern by virtue, let us compare it to the North Star: it stays in its place, while the myriad stars wait upon it. (Analects II, 1) Another key Confucian concept is that in order to govern others one must first govern oneself. When developed sufficiently, the king's personal virtue spreads beneficent influence throughout the kingdom. This idea is developed further in the Great Learning, and is tightly linked with the Taoist concept of wu wei (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: w wi): the less the king does, the more gets done. By being the "calm center" around which the kingdom turns, the king allows everything to function smoothly and avoids having to tamper with the individual parts of the whole. This idea may be traced back to early Chinese shamanistic beliefs, such as the king being the axle between the sky, human beings, and the Earth. Another complementary view is that this idea may have been used by ministers and counselors to deter aristocratic whims that would otherwise be to the detriment of the state's people. Meritocracy In teaching, there should be no distinction of classes. (Analects XV, 39) The main basis of his teachings was to seek knowledge, study, and become a better person. Although Confucius claimed that he never invented anything but was only transmitting ancient knowledge (see Analects VII, 1), he did produce a number of new ideas. Many European and American admirers such as Voltaire and H. G. Creel point to the revolutionary idea of replacing nobility of blood with nobility of virtue. Jnz (, lit. "lord's child"), which originally signified the younger, non-inheriting, offspring of a noble, became, in Confucius' work, an epithet having much the same meaning and evolution as the English "gentleman". A virtuous plebeian who cultivates his qualities can be a "gentleman", while a shameless son of the king is only a "small man". That he admitted students of different classes as disciples is a clear demonstration that he fought against the feudal structures that defined pre-imperial Chinese society. Another new idea, that of meritocracy, led to the introduction of the Imperial examination system in China. This system allowed anyone who passed an examination to become a government officer, a position which would bring wealth and honour to the whole family. The Chinese Imperial examination system seems to have been started in 165 BC, when certain candidates for public office were called to the Chinese capital for examination of their moral excellence by the emperor. Over the following centuries the system grew until finally almost anyone who wished to become an official had to prove his worth by passing written government examinations. His achievement was the setting up of a school that produced statesmen with a strong sense of patriotism and duty, known as Rujia (Chinese: ; pinyin: Rji). During the Warring States Period and the early Han Dynasty, China grew greatly and the need arose for a solid and centralized corporation of government officers able to read and write administrative papers. As a result, Confucianism was promoted by the emperor and the men its doctrines produced became an effective counter to the remaining feudal aristocrats who threatened the unity of the imperial state. 31
Since then Confucianism has been used as a kind of "state religion", with authoritarianism, a kind of legitimism, paternalism, and submission to authority used as political tools to rule China. Most Chinese emperors used a mix of Legalism and Confucianism as their ruling doctrine, often with the latter embellishing the former. Influence in 17th-century Europe
"Life and works of Confucius, by Prospero Intorcetta, 1687. The works of Confucius were translated into European languages through the agency of Jesuit scholars stationed in China.[8] Matteo Ricci started to report on the thoughts of Confucius, and father Prospero Intorcetta published the life and works of Confucius into Latin in 1687.[9] It is thought that such works had considerable importance[citation needed] on European thinkers[who?] of the period, particularly among the Deists and other philosophical groups of the Enlightenment who were interested by the integration of the system of morality of Confucius into Western civilization.[9][10] Influence in modern times Important military and political figures in modern Chinese history continued to be influenced by Confucianism, like the Muslim warlord Ma Fuxiang.[11] The New Life Movement relied heavily on Confucianism. The Kuomintang party purged China's education system of western ideas, introducing Confucianism into the curriculum. Education came under the total control of state, which meant, in effect, the Kuomintang party, via the Ministry of Education. Military and political classes on the Kuomintang's Three principles of the people were added. Textbooks, exams, degrees and educational instructors were all controlled by the staet, as were all universities.[12] Criticism For many years since the era of Confucius, there have generated various critiques against Confucianism, including Laozi's comment and Mozi's critique. Lu Xun also criticised Confucianism heavily for shaping Chinese people into the state they became in the late Qing Dynasty: this is greatly portrayed through his works A Madman's Diary and The True Story of Ah Q. In modern times, waves of critique along with vilification against Confucianism arose. Taiping Rebellion, May Fourth Movement and Cultural Revolution are some upsurges of those waves in China. Taiping rebels described many sages in Confucianism as well as gods in Taoism and Buddhism as bogie[?]. Marxists during Cultural Revolution described Confucius as the general representative of class of slave owners. Numerous opinions and interpretations of Confucianism of which many are actually opposed by Confucianism were invented.
Confucianism has a related principle idea called "He Er Bu Tong" (, peaceful but different or harmonious while diversified). Although people have differences in opinions, interests, preferences, profiles..., they should first keep peace, and people should live in harmony with each other and meanwhile keep their diversity. There are still other critique related Confucian ideas, e.g. If what others say is right and your fault is true, change it. If not, be careful of committing that kind of fault (,), Learn others' virtues, and reflect on your own weak points when you see others' (,). Women in Confucian thought 32
Confucianism "largely defined the mainstream discourse on gender in China from the Han dynasty onward,"[13] and its strict, obligatory gender roles as a cornerstone of family, and thus, societal stability, continue to shape social life throughout East Asia. Confucians taught that a virtuous woman was supposed to uphold three subordinations: be subordinate to her father before marriage, to her husband after marriage, and to her son after her husband died. Men could remarry and have concubines, whereas women were supposed to uphold the virtue of chastity when they lost their husbands.[14] Chaste widows were revered as heroes during the Ming and Qing periods,[13] and were deemed so central to Chinas culture and the fate of all peoples, the Yongle Emperor distributed 10,000 copies of the Biographies of Exemplary Women to various non-Chinese countries for their moral instruction. The Biographies of Exemplary Women, or Lien Zhuan, served as Confucianism's seminal textbook for Chinese women for two millennia, but cementing the "cult of chastity" as an exemplar of Chinese superiority also condemned many widows to lives of "poverty and loneliness."[13] However, recent reexaminations of Chinese gender roles suggest that Daoism and the ying-yang dichotomy played an even greater part in stifling female roles, and that many women flourished within Confucianism.[13] During the Han dynasty period, the important Confucian text Lessons for Women (Njie), was written by Ban Zhao (45-114 CE): by a woman, for women. She wrote the Njie ostensibly for her daughters, instructing them on how to live proper Confucian lives as wives and mothers. Although this is a relatively rare instance of a female Confucian voice, Ban Zhao almost entirely accepts the prevailing views concerning women's proper roles; they should be silent, hard-working, and compliant. She stresses the complementarity and equal importance of the male and female roles according to yin-yang theory, but she clearly accepts the dominance of the yang-male. Her only departure from the standard male versions of this orthodoxy is that she insists on the necessity to educate girls and women. We should not underestimate the significance of this point, as education was the bottom line qualification for being a junzi or "noble person,"...her example suggests that the Confucian prescription for a meaningful life as a woman was apparently not stifling for all women. Even some women of the literate elite, for whom Confucianism was quite explicitly the norm, were able to flourish by living their lives according to that model.[13] Debate over classification There is debate about the classification of Confucianism as a religion or a philosophy. Many attributes common among religionssuch as ancestor worship, ritual, and sacrificeapply to the practice of Confucianism; however, the religious features found in Confucian texts can be traced to traditional non-Confucian Chinese beliefs (Chinese folk religion). The position adopted by some is that Confucianism is a moral science or philosophy.[15] The problem clearly depends on how one defines religion. Since the 1970s scholars have attempted to assess the religious status of Confucianism without assuming a definition based on the Western model (for example, Frederick Streng's definition, "a means of ultimate transformation"[16]). Under such a definition Confucianism can legitimately be considered a religious tradition.[17] Ahmadiyya view Mirza Tahir Ahmad, the fourth Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, in his book Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth, has argued that Confucianism was a religion and elaborates further in attempting to explain through particular references that the religion in its original pristine form was a monotheistic religion divinely revealed to Confucius who he describes as a prophet of God.[18] Names Strictly speaking, there is no term in Chinese which directly corresponds to "Confucianism." Several different terms are used in different situations, several of which are of modern origin: "School of the scholars" (Chinese: ; pinyin: Rji) "Teaching of the scholars" (Chinese: ; pinyin: Rjio) "Study of the scholars" (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Rxu) "Teaching of Confucius" (Chinese: ; pinyin: Kngjio) "Kong Family's Business" (Chinese: ; pinyin: Kngjidin)[19] 33
Three of these use the Chinese character r, meaning "scholar". These names do not use the name "Confucius" at all, but instead center on the figure or ideal of the Confucian scholar; however, the suffixes of ji, jio, and xu carry different implications as to the nature of Confucianism itself. Rji contains the character ji, which literally means "house" or "family". In this context, it is more readily construed as meaning "school of thought", since it is also used to construct the names of philosophical schools contemporary with Confucianism: for example, the Chinese names for Legalism and Mohism end in ji. Rjio and Kngjio contain the Chinese character jio, the noun "teach", used in such as terms as "education", or "educator". The term, however, is notably used to construct the names of religions in Chinese: the terms for Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and other religions in Chinese all end with jio. Rxu contains xu 'study'. The term is parallel to -ology in English, being used to construct the names of academic fields: the Chinese names of fields such as physics, chemistry, biology, political science, economics, and sociology all end in xu. See also
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References ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=oOYQbqxfIk4C&pg=PT193&dq=1.5+billion+confucianism&hl=en&ei=K qpiTcz6O8y28QOP- YXyCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=1.5%20billion %20confucianism&f=false ^ Lo, Ping-cheung (1999), Confucian Ethic of Death with Dignity and Its Contemporary Relevance, Society of Christian Ethics ^ "Yuandao" by Han Yu: Ren and Yi are specific names, Dao and De (Dao De means morality) are phantom position() ^ Homer H. Dubs: 'Nature in the Teaching of Confucius', p. 233 ^ Lun Yu (Yang Huo) 13 May 2009 ^ Chinese Legal Theories ^ ^ The first was Michele Ruggieri who had returned from China to Italy in 1588, and carried on translating in Latin Chinese classics, while residing in Salerno ^ a b "Windows into China", John Parker, p.25, ISBN 0890730504 ^ The Eastern Origins of Western Civilisation, John Hobson, pp 194195, ISBN 0521547245 34
^ Stphane A. Dudoignon, Hisao Komatsu, Yasushi Kosugi (2006). Intellectuals in the modern Islamic world: transmission, transformation, communication. Taylor & Francis. p. 250.ISBN 00415368359. Retrieved 2010- 06-28. ^ Werner Draguhn, David S. G. Goodman (2002). China's communist revolutions: fifty years of the People's Republic of China. Psychology Press. p. 39. ISBN 0700716300. Retrieved 2011-04-09. ^ a b c d e Adler, Joseph A. (Winter 2006). "Daughter/Wife/Mother or Sage/Immortal/Bodhisattva? Women in the Teaching of Chinese Religions". ASIANetwork Exchange, vol. XIV, no. 2. Retrieved May 18, 2011. ^ Vohra, Ranbir (1999). China's Path to Modernization: A Historical Review from 1800 to the Present 3rd edition. Prentice Hall. ISBN 0130807478. ^ Centre for Confucian Science (Korea); Introduction to Confucianism ^ Streng, Frederick, "Understanding Religious Life," 3rd ed. (1985), p. 2 ^ Taylor, Rodney L., "The Religious Dimensions of Confucianism" (1990); Tu Weiming and Mary Evelyn Tucker, eds., "Confucian Spirituality," 2 vols. (2003, 2004); Adler, Joseph A., "Confucianism as Religion / Religious Tradition / Neither: Still Hazy After All These Years" (2006) ^ http://www.alislam.org/library/books/revelation/part_2_section_3.html ^ This phrase of a certain negative context became popular after its usage in many Anti-Confucianism movements in China, most notably the May Fourth Movement and the Cultural Revolution. See [1] and [2] for more details. Further reading Creel, Herrlee G. Confucius and the Chinese Way. Reprint. New York: Harper Torchbooks. (Originally published under the title Confuciusthe Man and the Myth.) Fingarette, Herbert. Confucius: The Secular as Sacred ISBN 1-57766-010-2. Ivanhoe, Philip J. Confucian Moral Self Cultivation. 2nd rev. ed., Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing. Nivison, David S. The Ways of Confucianism. Chicago: Open Court Press. Max Weber, The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism. Xinzhong Yao (2000) An Introduction to Confucianism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Translations of Texts Attributed to Confucius The Analects (Lun Yu) Confucian Analects (1893) Translated by James Legge. The Analects of Confucius (1915; rpr. NY: Paragon, 1968). Translated by William Edward Soothill. The Analects of Confucius: A Philosophical Translation (New York: Ballantine, 1998). Translated by Roger T. Ames, Henry Rosemont. The Original Analects: Sayings of Confucius and His Successors (New York: Columbia University Press, 1998). Translated by E. Bruce Brooks, A. Taeko Brooks. The Analects of Confucius (New York: W.W. Norton, 1997). Translated by Simon Leys Analects: With Selections from Traditional Commentaries (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 2003). Translated by Edward Slingerland. External links Find more about Confucianism on Wikipedia'ssister projects:
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Source texts from Wikisource 35
Textbooks from Wikibooks Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Entry: Confucius Interfaith Online: Confucianism Confucian Documents at the Internet Sacred Texts Archive. Oriental Philosophy, "Topic:Confucianism" [show]v d ePhilosophy
[show]v d eReligion topics
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Confucius First published Wed Jul 3, 2002; substantive revision Tue Sep 5, 2006 Confucius (551-479 BCE), according to Chinese tradition, was a thinker, political figure, educator, and founder of the Ru School of Chinese thought. His teachings, preserved in the Lunyu or Analects, form the foundation of much of subsequent Chinese speculation on the education and comportment of the ideal man, how such an individual should live his live and interact with others, and the forms of society and government in which he should participate. Fung Yu-lan, one of the great 20th century authorities on the history of Chinese thought, compares Confucius' influence in Chinese history with that of Socrates in the West. 1. Confucius' Life 2. Confucius' Social Philosophy 3. Confucius' Political Philosophy 4. Confucius and Education Bibliography Other Internet Resources Related Entries
1. Confucius' Life The sources for Confucius' life are later and do not carefully separate fiction and fact. Thus it is wise to regard much of what is known of him as legendary. Many of the legends surrounding Confucius at the end of the 2 nd
century BCE were included by the Han dynasty court historian, Sima Qian (145-c.85 BCE), in his well-known and often-quoted Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji). This collection of tales opens by identifying Confucius' ancestors as members of the Royal State of Song. It notes as well that his great grandfather, fleeing the turmoil in his native Song, had moved to Lu, somewhere near the present town of Qufu in southeastern Shandong, where the family became impoverished. Confucius is described, by Sima Qian and other sources, as having endured a poverty-stricken and humiliating youth and been forced, upon reaching manhood, to undertake such petty jobs as accounting and caring for livestock. Sima Qian's account includes the tale of how Confucius was born in answer to his parents' prayers at a sacred hill (qiu) called Ni. Confucius' surname Kong (which means literally an utterance of thankfulness when prayers have been answered), his tabooed given name Qiu, and his social name Zhongni, all appear connected to the miraculous circumstances of his birth. This casts doubt, then, on Confucius' royal genealogy as found in Sima Qian. Similarly, Confucius' recorded age at death, seventy-two, is a magic number with far-reaching significance in early Chinese literature. We do not know how Confucius himself was educated, but tradition has it that he studied ritual with the Daoist Master Lao Dan, music with Chang Hong, and the lute with Music-master Xiang. In his middle age Confucius is supposed to 36
have gathered about him a group of disciples whom he taught and also to have devoted himself to political matters in Lu. The number of Confucius' disciples has been greatly exaggerated, with Sima Qian and other sources claiming that there were as many as three thousand of them. Sima Qian goes on to say that, Those who, in their own person, became conversant with the Six Disciplines [taught by Confucius], numbered seventy-two. The 4 th century BCE Mencius and some other early works give their number as seventy. Perhaps seventy or seventy-two were a maximum, though both of these numbers are suspicious given Confucius' supposed age at death. At the age of fifty, when Duke Ding of Lu was on the throne, Confucius' talents were recognized and he was appointed Minister of Public Works and then Minister of Crime. But Confucius apparently offended members of the Lu nobility who were vying with Duke Ding for power (or was it the duke himself that Confucius had rubbed the wrong way?) and he was subsequently forced to leave office and go into exile. As in other ancient cultures, exile and suffering are common themes in the lives of the heroes of the early Chinese tradition. In the company of his disciples, Confucius left Lu and traveled in the states of Wei, Song, Chen, Cai, and Chu, purportedly looking for a ruler who might employ him but meeting instead with indifference and, occasionally, severe hardship and danger. Several of these episodes, as preserved in the Records of the Grand Historian, appear to be little more than prose retellings of songs found in the ancient Chinese Book of Songs, Confucius' life is thus rendered a re-enactment of the suffering and alienation of the personas of the poems. In any case, by most traditional accounts, Confucius returned to Lu in 484 BCE and spent the remainder of his life teaching, putting in order the Book of Songs, the Book of Documents, and other ancient classics, as well as editing the Spring and Autumn Annals, the court chronicle of Lu. Sima Qian's account also provides background on Confucius' connection to the early canonical texts on ritual and on music (the latter of which was lost at an early date). Sima Qian claims, moreover, that, In his later years, Confucius delighted in the Yithe famous, some might say infamous, divination manual popular to this day in China and in the West. The Analects passage which appears to corroborate Sima Qian's claim seems corrupt and hence unreliable on this point. Confucius' traditional association with these works led them and related texts to be revered as the Confucian Classics and made Confucius himself the spiritual ancestor of later teachers, historians, moral philosophers, literary scholars, and countless others whose lives and works figure prominently in Chinese intellectual history. Our best source for understanding Confucius and his thought is the Analects. But the Analects is a problematic and controversial work, having been compiled in variant versions long after Confucius's death by disciples or the disciples of disciples. Some have argued that, because of the text's inconsistencies and incompatibilities of thought, there is much in the Analects that is non-Confucian and should be discarded as a basis for understanding the thought of Confucius. Benjamin Schwartz cautions us against such radical measures. While textual criticism based on rigorous philological and historic analysis is crucial, and while the later sections [of the Analects] do contain late materials, the type of textual criticism that is based on considerations of alleged logical inconsistencies and incompatibilities of thought must be viewed with great suspicion. . . . While none of us comes to such an enterprise without deep-laid assumptions about necessary logical relations and compatibilities, we should at least hold before ourselves the constant injunction to mistrust all our unexamined preconceptions on these matters when dealing with comparative thought. (The World of Thought in Ancient China, p. 61) Book X of the Analects consists of personal observations of how Confucius comported himself as a thinker, teacher, and official. Some have argued that these passages were originally more general prescriptions on how a gentleman should dress and behave that were relabeled as descriptions of Confucius. Traditionally, Book X has been regarded as providing an intimate portrait of Confucius and has been read as a biographical sketch. The following passages provide a few examples. 37
Confucius, at home in his native village, was simple and unassuming in manner, as though he did not trust himself to speak. But when in the ancestral temple or at Court he speaks readily, though always choosing his words with due caution. (Lunyu 10.1) When at court conversing with the officers of a lower grade, he is friendly, though straightforward; when conversing with officers of a higher grade, he is restrained but precise. When the ruler is present he is wary, but not cramped. (Lunyu 10.2) On entering the Palace Gate he seems to contract his body, as though there were not sufficient room to admit him. If he halts, it must never be in the middle of the gate, nor in going through does he ever tread on the threshold. (Lunyu 10.4) When fasting in preparation for sacrifice he must wear the Bright Robe, and it must be of linen. He must change his food and also the place where he commonly sits. He does not object to his rice being thoroughly cleaned, nor to his meat being finely minced. (Lunyu 10.7, 10.8) When sending a messenger to enquire after someone in another country, he bows himself twice while seeing the messenger off. (Lunyu 10.15) In bed he avoided lying in the posture of a corpse On meeting anyone in deep mourning he must bow across the bar of his chariot. (Lunyu 10.24, 10.25) Analects passages such as these made Confucius the model of courtliness and personal decorum for countless generations of Chinese officials. By the 4 th century BCE, Confucius was recognized as a unique figure, a sage who was ignored but should have been recognized and become a king. At the end of the 4 th century, Mencius says of Confucius: Ever since man came into this world, there has never been one greater than Confucius. And in two passages Mencius implies that Confucius was one of the great sage kings who, according to his reckoning, arises every five hundred years. Confucius also figures prominently as the subject of anecdotes and the teacher of wisdom in the writing of Xunzi, a third century BCE follower of Confucius' teachings. Indeed chapters twenty-eight to thirty of the Xunzi, which some have argued were not the work of Xunzi but compilations by his disciples, look like an alternative, and considerably briefer, version of the Analects. Confucius and his followers also inspired considerable criticism from other thinkers. The authors of the Zhuangzi took particular delight in parodying Confucius and the teachings conventionally associated with him. But Confucius' reputation was so great that even the Zhuangzi appropriates him to give voice to Daoist teachings. 2. Confucius' Social Philosophy Confucius' teachings and his conversations and exchanges with his disciples are recorded in the Lunyu or Analects, a collection that probably achieved something like its present form around the second century BCE. While Confucius believes that people live their lives within parameters firmly established by Heavenwhich, often, for him means both a purposeful Supreme Being as well as nature and its fixed cycles and patternshe argues that men are responsible for their actions and especially for their treatment of others. We can do little or nothing to alter our fated span of existence but we determine what we accomplish and what we are remembered for. 38
Confucius represented his teachings as lessons transmitted from antiquity. He claimed that he was a transmitter and not a maker and that all he did reflected his reliance on and love for the ancients. (Lunyu 7.1) Confucius pointed especially to the precedents established during the height of the royal Zhou (roughly the first half of the first millennium, BCE). Such justifications for one's ideas may have already been conventional in Confucius' day. Certainly his claim that there were antique precedents for his ideology had a tremendous influence on subsequent thinkers many of whom imitated these gestures. But we should not regard the contents of the Analects as consisting of old ideas. Much of what Confucius taught appears to have been original to him and to have represented a radical departure from the ideas and practices of his day. Confucius also claimed that he enjoyed a special and privileged relationship with Heaven and that, by the age of fifty, he had come to understand what Heaven had mandated for him and for mankind. (Lunyu 2.4). Confucius was also careful to instruct his followers that they should never neglect the offerings due Heaven. (Lunyu 3.13) Some scholars have seen a contradiction between Confucius' reverence for Heaven and what they believe to be his skepticism with regard to the existence of the spirits. But the Analects passages that reveal Confucius's attitudes toward spiritual forces (Lunyu 3.12, 6.20, and 11.11) do not suggest that he was skeptical. Rather they show that Confucius revered and respected the spirits, thought that they should be worshipped with utmost sincerity, and taught that serving the spirits was a far more difficult and complicated matter than serving mere mortals. Confucius' social philosophy largely revolves around the concept of ren, compassion or loving others. Cultivating or practicing such concern for others involved deprecating oneself. This meant being sure to avoid artful speech or an ingratiating manner that would create a false impression and lead to self-aggrandizement. (Lunyu 1.3) Those who have cultivated ren are, on the contrary, simple in manner and slow of speech. (Lunyu 13.27). For Confucius, such concern for others is demonstrated through the practice of forms of the Golden Rule: What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others; Since you yourself desire standing then help others achieve it, since you yourself desire success then help others attain it. (Lunyu 12.2, 6.30). He regards devotion to parents and older siblings as the most basic form of promoting the interests of others before one's own and teaches that such altruism can be accomplished only by those who have learned self-discipline. Learning self-restraint involves studying and mastering li, the ritual forms and rules of propriety through which one expresses respect for superiors and enacts his role in society in such a way that he himself is worthy of respect and admiration. A concern for propriety should inform everything that one says and does: Look at nothing in defiance of ritual, listen to nothing in defiance of ritual, speak of nothing in defiance or ritual, never stir hand or foot in defiance of ritual. (Lunyu 12.1) Subjecting oneself to ritual does not, however, mean suppressing one's desires but instead learning how to reconcile one's own desires with the needs of one's family and community. Confucius and many of his followers teach that it is by experiencing desires that we learn the value of social strictures that make an ordered society possible (See Lunyu 2.4.). Nor does Confucius' emphasis on ritual mean that he was a punctilious ceremonialist who thought that the rites of worship and of social exchange had to be practiced correctly at all costs. Confucius taught, on the contrary, that if one did not possess a keen sense of the well-being and interests of others his ceremonial manners signified nothing. (Lunyu 3.3). Equally important was Confucius' insistence that the rites not be regarded as mere forms, but that they be practiced with complete devotion and sincerity. He [i.e., Confucius] sacrificed to the dead as if they were present. He sacrificed to the spirits as if the spirits were present. The Master said, I consider my not being present at the sacrifice as though there were no sacrifice. (Lunyu 3.12) While ritual forms often have to do with the more narrow relations of family and clan, ren, however, is to be practiced broadly and informs one's interactions with all people. Confucius warns those in power that they 39
should not oppress or take for granted even the lowliest of their subjects. You may rob the Three Armies of their commander, but you cannot deprive the humblest peasant of his opinion. (Lunyu 9.26) Confucius regards loving others as a calling and a mission for which one should be ready to die (Lunyu 15.9). 3. Confucius' Political Philosophy Confucius' political philosophy is also rooted in his belief that a ruler should learn self-discipline, should govern his subjects by his own example, and should treat them with love and concern. If the people be led by laws, and uniformity among them be sought by punishments, they will try to escape punishment and have no sense of shame. If they are led by virtue, and uniformity sought among them through the practice of ritual propriety, they will possess a sense of shame and come to you of their own accord. (Lunyu 2.3; see also 13.6.) It seems apparent that in his own day, however, advocates of more legalistic methods were winning a large following among the ruling elite. Thus Confucius' warning about the ill consequences of promulgating law codes should not be interpreted as an attempt to prevent their adoption but instead as his lament that his ideas about the moral suasion of the ruler were not proving popular. Most troubling to Confucius was his perception that the political institutions of his day had completely broken down. He attributed this collapse to the fact that those who wielded power as well as those who occupied subordinate positions did so by making claim to titles for which they were not worthy. When asked by a ruler of the large state of Qi, Lu's neighbor on the Shandong peninsula, about the principles of good government, Confucius is reported to have replied: Good government consists in the ruler being a ruler, the minister being a minister, the father being a father, and the son being a son. (LuNew Mysterianism is a philosophical position proposing that the hard problem of consciousness will never be explained; or at the least cannot be explained by the human mind at its current evolutionary stage. The unresolvable problem is how to explain sentience and qualia and their interaction with consciousness. Contents [hide] 1 Name 2 Philosophy 3 Adherents 4 See also 5 References o 5.1 Citations o 5.2 Other sources [edit] Name The "old mysterians" were not a discrete intellectual movement, but rather thinkers throughout history who have put forward a position that some aspects of consciousness may not be knowable or discoverable. They include Gottfried Leibniz, Samuel Johnson, and Thomas Huxley. Huxley wrote, "How it is that anything so remarkable as a state of consciousness comes about as a result of irritating nervous tissue, is just as unaccountable as the appearance of the Djinn, when Aladdin rubbed his lamp." [6, p. 229, quote] 40
Owen Flanagan noted in his 1991 book Science of the Mind that some modern thinkers have suggested that consciousness may never be completely explained. Flanagan called them "the new mysterians" after the rock group Question Mark and the Mysterians.[1] The term "New Mysterianism" has been extended by some writers to encompass the wider philosophical position that humans do not have the intellectual ability to solve many hard problems, not just the problem of consciousness, at a scientific level. This position is also known as anti- constructive naturalism. [edit] Philosophy Main article: cognitive closure New Mysterianism is often characterized [ by whom? ] as a presupposition that some problems cannot be solved. Critics [ who? ] of this view argue that it is fallacious to assume that a problem cannot be solved just because we have not solved it yet. On the other hand, New Mysterians would say that it is just as absurd to assume that every problem can be solved. Crucially, New Mysterians would argue that they did not start with any supposition as to the solvability of the question, and instead reached their conclusion through logical reasoning. Their argument goes as follows: Subjective experiences by their very nature cannot be shared or compared. Therefore it is impossible to know what subjective experiences a system (other than ourselves) is having. This will always be the case, no matter what clever scientific tests we invent. Therefore, there are some questions about consciousness that will never be answered. Noam Chomsky distinguishes between problems, which seem solvable, at least in principle, through scientific methods, and mysteries, which do not seem solvable, even in principle. He notes that the cognitive capabilities of all organisms are limited by biology, e.g. a mouse will never speak like a human. In the same way, certain problems may be beyond our understanding. For example, in the mind-body problem, emergent materialism claims that humans are not smart enough to determine "the relationship between mind and matter." [ citation needed ] Strong agnosticism applies this position to religion. [edit] Adherents Colin McGinn is the leading proponent of the New Mysterian position among major philosophers. Author and conservative columnist John Derbyshire has stated publicly that although formerly professing Christianity, he now considers himself to be a Mysterian. [1] American mathematics and science writer Martin Gardner considered himself to be a Mysterian. nyu 12.11) If I claim for myself a title and attempt to participate in the various hierarchical relationships to which I would be entitled by virtue of that title, then I should live up to the meaning of the title that I claim for myself. Confucius' analysis of the lack of connection between actualities and their names and the need to correct such circumstances is usually referred to as Confucius' theory of zhengming. Elsewhere in the Analects, Confucius says to his disciple Zilu that the first thing he would do in undertaking the administration of a state is zhengming. (Lunyu 13.3). Xunzi composed an entire essay entitled Zhengming. But for Xunzi the term referred to the proper use of language and how one should go about inventing new terms that were suitable to the age. For Confucius, zhengming does not seem to refer to the rectification of names (this is the way the term is most often translated by scholars of the Analects), but instead to rectifying behavior of people so that it exactly corresponds to the language with which they identify and describe themselves. Confucius believed that this sort of rectification had to begin at the very top of the government, because it was at the top that the discrepancy between names and actualities had originated. If the ruler's behavior is rectified then the people beneath him 41
will follow suit. In a conversation with Ji Kangzi (who had usurped power in Lu), Confucius advised: If your desire is for good, the people will be good. The moral character of the ruler is the wind; the moral character of those beneath him is the grass. When the wind blows, the grass bends. (Lunyu 12.19) For Confucius, what characterized superior rulership was the possession of de or virtue. Conceived of as a kind of moral power that allows one to win a following without recourse to physical force, such virtue also enabled the ruler to maintain good order in his state without troubling himself and by relying on loyal and effective deputies. Confucius claimed that, He who governs by means of his virtue is, to use an analogy, like the pole-star: it remains in its place while all the lesser stars do homage to it. (Lunyu 2.1) The way to maintain and cultivate such royal virtue was through the practice and enactment of li or ritualsthe ceremonies that defined and punctuated the lives of the ancient Chinese aristocracy. These ceremonies encompassed: the sacrificial rites performed at ancestral temples to express humility and thankfulness; the ceremonies of enfeoffment, toasting, and gift exchange that bound together the aristocracy into a complex web of obligation and indebtedness; and the acts of politeness and decorumsuch things as bowing and yieldingthat identified their performers as gentlemen. In an influential study, Herbert Fingarette argues that the performance of these various ceremonies, when done correctly and sincerely, involves a magical quality that underlies the efficacy of royal virtue in accomplishing the aims of the ruler. 4. Confucius and Education A hallmark of Confucius' thought is his emphasis on education and study. He disparages those who have faith in natural understanding or intuition and argues that the only real understanding of a subject comes from long and careful study. Study, for Confucius, means finding a good teacher and imitating his words and deeds. A good teacher is someone older who is familiar with the ways of the past and the practices of the ancients. (See Lunyu 7.22) While he sometimes warns against excessive reflection and meditation, Confucius' position appears to be a middle course between studying and reflecting on what one has learned. He who learns but does not think is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger. (Lunyu 2.15) Confucius, himself, is credited by the tradition with having taught altogether three thousand students, though only seventy are said to have truly mastered the arts he cherished. Confucius is willing to teach anyone, whatever their social standing, as long as they are eager and tireless. He taught his students morality, proper speech, government, and the refined arts. While he also emphasizes the Six Arts -- ritual, music, archery, chariot-riding, calligraphy, and computation - - it is clear that he regards morality the most important subject. Confucius' pedagogical methods are striking. He never discourses at length on a subject. Instead he poses questions, cites passages from the classics, or uses apt analogies, and waits for his students to arrive at the right answers. I only instruct the eager and enlighten the fervent. If I hold up one corner and a student cannot come back to me with the other three, I do not go on with the lesson. (Lunyu 7.8). Confucius' goal is to create gentlemen who carry themselves with grace, speak correctly, and demonstrate integrity in all things. His strong dislike of the sycophantic petty men, whose clever talk and pretentious manner win them an audience, is reflected in numerous Lunyu passages. Confucius finds himself in an age in which values are out of joint. Actions and behavior no longer correspond to the labels originally attached to them. Rulers do not rule and subjects do not serve, he observes. (Lunyu 12.11; cf. also 13.3) This means that words and titles no longer mean what they once did. Moral education is important to Confucius because it is the means by which one can rectify this situation and restore meaning to language and values to society. He believes that the most important lessons for obtaining such a moral education are to be found in the canonical Book of Songs, because many of its poems are both beautiful and good. Thus Confucius places the text first in his curriculum and frequently quotes and explains its lines of verse. For this reason, the Lunyu is also an important source for Confucius' understanding of the role poetry and art more generally play in the moral education of gentlemen as well as in the reformation of society. Recent archaeological discoveries in China of 42
previously lost ancient manuscripts reveal other aspects of Confucius's reverence for the Book of Songs and its importance in moral education. These manuscripts show that Confucius had found in the canonical text valuable lessons on how to cultivate moral qualities in oneself as well as how to comport oneself humanely and responsibly in public. When the stables were burnt down, on returning from court, Confucius said, 'Was anyone hurt?' He did not ask about the horses. Analects X.11 (Arthur Waley translation) or 10-13 (James Legge translation) The passage conveys the lesson that by not asking about the horses, Confucius demonstrated that a sage values human beings over property; readers of this lesson are led to reflect on whether their response would follow Confucius's, and to pursue ethical self- improvement if it would not. Confucius, an exemplar of human excellence, serves as the ultimate model, rather than a deity or a universally true set of abstract principles. For these reasons, according to many Eastern and Western commentators, Confucius's teaching may be considered a Chinese example of humanism.[29] One of his most famous teaching was the Golden Rule (in the positive form) and Silver Rule (in the negative form):
"What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others."
Zi gong (a disciple of Confucius) asked: "Is there any one word that could guide a person throughout life?" The Master replied: "How about 'shu' [reciprocity]: never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself?" Analects XV.24, tr. David Hinton L, y and rn The Confucian theory of ethics as exemplified in L () is based on three important conceptual aspects of life: ceremonies associated with sacrifice to ancestors and deities of various types, social and political institutions, and the etiquette of daily behavior. It was believed by some that l originated from the heavens, but Confucius stressed the development of l through the actions of sage leaders in human history. His discussions of l seem to redefine the term to refer to all actions committed by a person to build the ideal society, rather than those simply conforming with canonical standards of ceremony. In the early Confucian tradition, l was doing the proper thing at the proper time, balancing between maintaining existing norms to perpetuate an ethical social fabric, and violating them in order to accomplish ethical good. Training in the l of past sages cultivates in people virtues that include ethical judgment about when l must be adapted in light of situational contexts. In early Confucianism, the concept of li is closely related to y (), which is based upon the idea of reciprocity. Y can be translated as righteousness, though it may simply mean what is ethically best to do in a certain context. The term contrasts with action done out of self-interest. While pursuing one's own self-interest is not necessarily bad, one would be a better, more righteous person if one's life was based upon following a path designed to enhance the greater good. Thus an outcome of y is doing the right thing for the right reason. Just as action according to L should be adapted to conform to the aspiration of adhering to y, so y is linked to the core value of rn (). Rn is the virtue of perfectly fulfilling one's responsibilities toward others, most often translated as "benevolence" or "humaneness"; translator Arthur Waley calls it "Goodness" (with a capital G), and other translations that have been put forth include "authoritativeness" and "selflessness." Confucius's moral system was based upon empathy and understanding others, rather than divinely ordained rules. To develop one's spontaneous responses of rn so that these could guide action intuitively was even better than living by the rules of y. To cultivate one's attentiveness to rn one used another Confucian version of the Golden Rule: "What one does not wish for oneself, one ought not to do to anyone else; what one recognises as desirable for oneself, one ought to be willing to grant to others." (Confucius and Confucianism, Richard Wilhelm) Virtue, in this Confucian view, is based upon harmony with other people, produced through this type of ethical practice by a growing identification of the interests of self and other. Politics Confucius' political thought is based upon his ethical thought. He argues that the best government is one that rules through "rites" (l) and people's natural morality, rather than by using bribery and coercion. He explained that this is one of the most important analects: "If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of shame. If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of the shame, and moreover will become good." (Translated by James Legge) in the Great Learning (). This "sense of shame" is an internalisation of duty, where the punishment precedes the evil action, instead of following it in the form of laws as in Legalism. 43
Confucius looked nostalgically upon earlier days, and urged the Chinese, particularly those with political power, to model themselves on earlier examples. In times of division, chaos, and endless wars between feudal states, he wanted to restore the Mandate of Heaven () that could unify the "world" (, "all under Heaven") and bestow peace and prosperity on the people.[30] Because his vision of personal and social perfections was framed as a revival of the ordered society of earlier times, Confucius is often considered a great proponent of conservatism, but a closer look at what he proposes often shows that he used (and perhaps twisted) past institutions and rites to push a new political agenda of his own: a revival of a unified royal state, whose rulers would succeed to power on the basis of their moral merits instead of lineage.[31][32] These would be rulers devoted to their people, striving for personal and social perfection,[33] and such a ruler would spread his own virtues to the people instead of imposing proper behavior with laws and rules.[34] While he supported the idea of government by an all-powerful sage, ruling as an Emperor, his ideas contained a number of elements to limit the power of rulers. He argued for according language with truth, and honesty was of paramount importance. Even in facial expression, truth must always be represented. In discussing the relationship between a king and his subject (or a father and his son), he underlined the need to give due respect to superiors. This demanded that the inferior must give advice to his superior if the superior was considered to be taking the wrong course of action.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius
Confucius (Chinese: ; pinyin: Kng Z; WadeGiles: K'ung-tzu, or Chinese: ; pinyin: Kng Fz; WadeGiles: K'ung-fu-tzu), literally "Master Kong",[1] (traditionally 28 September 551 BC 479 BC)[2] was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period. The philosophy of Confucius emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. These values gained prominence in China over other doctrines, such as Legalism () or Taoism () during the Han Dynasty[3][4][5] (206 BC AD 220). Confucius' thoughts have been developed into a system of philosophy known as Confucianism (). Because no texts survive that are demonstrably authored by Confucius, and the ideas most closely associated with him were elaborated in writings that accumulated over the period between his death and the foundation of the first Chinese empire in 221 BC, many scholars are very cautious about attributing specific assertions to Confucius himself. His teachings may be found in the Analects of Confucius (), a collection of aphorisms, which was compiled many years after his death. For nearly 2,000 years he was thought to be the editor or author of all the Five Classics ()[6][7] such as the Classic of Rites () (editor), and the Spring and Autumn Annals () (author). Confucius' principles had a basis in common Chinese tradition and belief. He championed strong familial loyalty, ancestor worship, respect of elders by their children (and, according to later interpreters, of husbands by their wives), and the family as a basis for an ideal government. He expressed the well-known principle, "Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself", one of the earlier versions of the Golden Rule. Contents [hide] 1 Personal life and family 2 Names 3 Philosophy 3.1 Ethics 3.1.1 L, y and rn 3.2 Politics 4 Disciples and legacy 5 Visual portraits 6 Memorials of Confucius 7 Descendants 8 Ahmadiyya views of Confucius 9 See also 10 References 44
11 Further reading 12 External links Personal life and family According to tradition, Confucius was born in 551 B.C., in the Spring and Autumn Period, at the beginning of the Hundred Schools of Thought philosophical movement. Confucius was born in or near the city of Qufu (), in the Chinese State of Lu () (now part of Shandong Province). Early accounts say that he was born into a poor but noble family that had fallen on hard times.[8] Confucius was from a warrior family. His father Shulianghe () had military exploits in two battles and owned a fiefdom. The Records of the Grand Historian (), compiled some four centuries later, states that Confucius was born as a result of a yehe (), or "illicit union".[9] His father died when Confucius was three years old,[10] and he was brought up in poverty by his mother. His social ascendancy linked him to the growing class of sh (), a class whose status lay between that of the old nobility and the common people, that comprised men who sought social positions on the basis of talents and skills, rather than heredity. As a child, Confucius was said to have enjoyed putting ritual vases on the sacrifice table.[9] He married a young girl named Qi Guan () at 19 and she gave birth to their first child, Kong Li, () when he was 20. Confucius is reported to have worked as a shepherd, cowherd, clerk, and a book- keeper.[11] His mother died when Confucius was 23, and he entered three years of mourning. Confucius is said to have risen to the position of Justice Minister () in Lu at the age of 53.[12] According to the Records of the Grand Historian, the neighboring state of Qi () was worried that Lu was becoming too powerful. Qi decided to sabotage Lu's reforms by sending 100 good horses and 80 beautiful dancing girls to the Duke of Lu. The Duke indulged himself in pleasure and did not attend to official duties for three days. Confucius was deeply disappointed and resolved to leave Lu and seek better opportunities, yet to leave at once would expose the misbehavior of the Duke and therefore bring public humiliation to the ruler Confucius was serving, so Confucius waited for the Duke to make a lesser mistake. Soon after, the Duke neglected to send to Confucius a portion of the sacrificial meat that was his due according to custom, and Confucius seized this pretext to leave both his post and the state of Lu.[9][13] According to tradition, after Confucius's resignation, he began a long journey (or set of journeys) around the small kingdoms of northeast and central China, including the states of Wei (), Song (), Chen () and Cai ().[14] At the courts of these states, he expounded his political beliefs but did not see them implemented. According to the Zuo Commentary to the Spring and Autumn Annals, Confucius returned home when he was 68.[12] The Analects depict him spending his last years teaching disciples and transmitting the old wisdom via a set of texts called the Five Classics.[15][16] Burdened by the loss of both his son and his favourite disciples,[17][18] he died at the age of 72 or 73.[19] Names
The tomb of Confucius in Qufu. Kong Qiu (), as Confucius is commonly known, is a combination of his surname () and his given name (), and he was also known as Zhong Ni (), which is his courtesy name. The name "Confucius" was first Latinised and introduced to Europe by the Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci. Other forms of Romanisations are Kng Fz (orKng f z) in pinyin, and K'ung fu-tzu in Wade-Giles (or, less accurately, Kung fu-tze). 45
Fz means teacher. Since it was disrespectful to call the teacher by name according to Chinese culture, he is known as just "Master Kong", or Confucius, even in modern days. The character 'fu' is optional; in modern Chinese he is more often called Kng Zi (). In 1 C.E. (first year of the Yuanshi Era of the Han Dynasty), he was given his first posthumous name: , Lord Bochngxanni, which means "Laudably Declarable Lord Ni." His most popular posthumous names are , Zhshngxinsh, lit. "The Most Sage Venerated Late Teacher" (comes from 1530, the ninth year of the Jianing period of the Ming Dynasty); , Zhshng, "the Greatest Sage"; , Xinsh, literally meaning "first teacher". It has been suggested that '' can be used, however, to express something like, "the Teacher who assists the wise to their attainment".[20]He is also commonly known as Wnshshbio, "Role Model for Teachers through the Ages". Philosophy Main article: Confucianism
Although Confucianism is often followed in a religious manner by the Chinese, arguments continue over whether it is a religion. Confucianism discusses elements of the afterlife and views concerning Heaven, but it is relatively unconcerned with some spiritual matters often considered essential to religious thought, such as the nature of the soul.
The Analects of Confucius. In the Analects (), Confucius presents himself as a "transmitter who invented nothing".[6] He puts the greatest emphasis on the importance of study,[21][22] and it is the Chinese character for study (or learning) that opens the text. In this respect, he is seen by Chinese people as the Greatest Master.[23] Far from trying to build a systematic theory of life and society or establish a formalism of rites, he wanted his disciples to think deeply for themselves and relentlessly study the outside world,[24] mostly through the old scriptures and by relating the moral problems of the present to past political events (like the Annals) or past expressions of feelings by common people and reflective members of the elite, preserved in the poems of the Book of Odes ().[25][26] Ethics One of the deepest teachings of Confucius may have been the superiority of personal exemplification over explicit rules of behavior. His moral teachings emphasized self-cultivation, emulation of moral exemplars, and the attainment of skilled judgment rather than knowledge of rules, Confucius's ethics may be considered a type of virtue ethics. His teachings rarely rely on reasoned argument, and ethical ideals and methods are conveyed more indirectly, through allusions, innuendo, and even tautology. This is why his teachings need to be examined and put into proper context in order to be understood.[27][28] A good example is found in this famous anecdote:
When the stables were burnt down, on returning from court, Confucius said, 'Was anyone hurt?' He did not ask about the horses. Analects X.11 (Arthur Waley translation) or 10-13 (James Legge translation) The passage conveys the lesson that by not asking about the horses, Confucius demonstrated that a sage values human beings over property; readers of this lesson are led to reflect on whether their response would follow Confucius's, and to pursue ethical self- improvement if it would not. Confucius, an exemplar of human excellence, serves as the ultimate model, rather than a deity or a universally true set of abstract principles. For these reasons, according to many Eastern and Western commentators, Confucius's teaching may be considered a Chinese example of humanism.[29] One of his most famous teaching was the Golden Rule (in the positive form) and Silver Rule (in the negative form):
"What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others."
Zi gong (a disciple of Confucius) asked: "Is there any one word that could guide a person throughout life?" The Master replied: "How about 'shu' [reciprocity]: never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself?" Analects XV.24, tr. David Hinton L, y and rn The Confucian theory of ethics as exemplified in L () is based on three important conceptual aspects of life: ceremonies associated with sacrifice to ancestors and deities of various types, social and political institutions, and the etiquette of daily behavior. It was believed by some that l originated from the heavens, but Confucius stressed the development of l through the actions of sage leaders in human history. His discussions of l seem to redefine the term to refer to all actions committed by a person to build the ideal society, rather than those simply conforming with canonical standards of ceremony. 46
In the early Confucian tradition, l was doing the proper thing at the proper time, balancing between maintaining existing norms to perpetuate an ethical social fabric, and violating them in order to accomplish ethical good. Training in the l of past sages cultivates in people virtues that include ethical judgment about when l must be adapted in light of situational contexts. In early Confucianism, the concept of li is closely related to y (), which is based upon the idea of reciprocity. Y can be translated as righteousness, though it may simply mean what is ethically best to do in a certain context. The term contrasts with action done out of self-interest. While pursuing one's own self-interest is not necessarily bad, one would be a better, more righteous person if one's life was based upon following a path designed to enhance the greater good. Thus an outcome of y is doing the right thing for the right reason. Just as action according to L should be adapted to conform to the aspiration of adhering to y, so y is linked to the core value of rn (). Rn is the virtue of perfectly fulfilling one's responsibilities toward others, most often translated as "benevolence" or "humaneness"; translator Arthur Waley calls it "Goodness" (with a capital G), and other translations that have been put forth include "authoritativeness" and "selflessness." Confucius's moral system was based upon empathy and understanding others, rather than divinely ordained rules. To develop one's spontaneous responses of rn so that these could guide action intuitively was even better than living by the rules of y. To cultivate one's attentiveness to rn one used another Confucian version of the Golden Rule: "What one does not wish for oneself, one ought not to do to anyone else; what one recognises as desirable for oneself, one ought to be willing to grant to others." (Confucius and Confucianism, Richard Wilhelm) Virtue, in this Confucian view, is based upon harmony with other people, produced through this type of ethical practice by a growing identification of the interests of self and other. Politics Confucius' political thought is based upon his ethical thought. He argues that the best government is one that rules through "rites" (l) and people's natural morality, rather than by using bribery and coercion. He explained that this is one of the most important analects: "If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of shame. If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of the shame, and moreover will become good." (Translated by James Legge) in the Great Learning (). This "sense of shame" is an internalisation of duty, where the punishment precedes the evil action, instead of following it in the form of laws as in Legalism. Confucius looked nostalgically upon earlier days, and urged the Chinese, particularly those with political power, to model themselves on earlier examples. In times of division, chaos, and endless wars between feudal states, he wanted to restore the Mandate of Heaven () that could unify the "world" (, "all under Heaven") and bestow peace and prosperity on the people.[30] Because his vision of personal and social perfections was framed as a revival of the ordered society of earlier times, Confucius is often considered a great proponent of conservatism, but a closer look at what he proposes often shows that he used (and perhaps twisted) past institutions and rites to push a new political agenda of his own: a revival of a unified royal state, whose rulers would succeed to power on the basis of their moral merits instead of lineage.[31][32] These would be rulers devoted to their people, striving for personal and social perfection,[33] and such a ruler would spread his own virtues to the people instead of imposing proper behavior with laws and rules.[34] While he supported the idea of government by an all-powerful sage, ruling as an Emperor, his ideas contained a number of elements to limit the power of rulers. He argued for according language with truth, and honesty was of paramount importance. Even in facial expression, truth must always be represented. In discussing the relationship between a king and his subject (or a father and his son), he underlined the need to give due respect to superiors. This demanded that the inferior must give advice to his superior if the superior was considered to be taking the wrong course of action. Disciples and legacy See also: Disciples of Confucius Confucius's teachings were later turned into an elaborate set of rules and practices by his numerous disciples and followers who organized his teachings into the Analects.Confucius' disciples and his only grandson, Zisi, continued his philosophical school after his death. These efforts spread Confucian ideals to students who then became officials in many of the royal courts in China, thereby giving Confucianism the first wide-scale test of its dogma. Two of Confucius's most famous later followers emphasized radically different aspects of his teachings. In the centuries after his death, Mencius ()[35] and Xun Zi ()[36] both composed important teachings elaborating in different ways on the fundamental ideas associated with Confucius. Mencius (4th century BC) articulated the innate goodness in human beings as a source of the ethical intuitions that guide people towards rn, y, and l, while Xun Zi (3rd century BC) underscored the realistic and materialistic aspects of Confucian thought, stressing that morality was inculcated in society through tradition and in individuals through training. In time, their writings, together with the Analects and other core texts came to constitute the philosophical corpus of Confucianism. 47
This realignment in Confucian thought was parallel to the development of Legalism, which saw filial piety as self-interest and not a useful tool for a ruler to create an effective state. A disagreement between these two political philosophies came to a head in 223 BC when the Qin state conquered all of China. Li Ssu, Prime Minister of the Qin Dynasty convinced Qin Shi Huang to abandon the Confucians' recommendation of awarding fiefs akin to the Zhou Dynasty before them which he saw as counter to the Legalist idea of centralizing the state around the ruler. When the Confucian advisers pressed their point, Li Ssu had many Confucian scholars killed and their books burnedconsidered a huge blow to the philosophy and Chinese scholarship. Under the succeeding Han Dynasty and Tang Dynasty, Confucian ideas gained even more widespread prominence. Under Wudi, the works of Confucius were made the official imperial philosophy and required reading for civil service examinations in 140 BC which was continued nearly unbroken until the end of the 19th Century. As Moism lost support by the time of the Han, the main philosophical contenders were Legalism, which Confucian thought somewhat absorbed, the teachings of Lao-tzu, whose focus on more mystic ideas kept it from direct conflict with Confucianism, and the new Buddhist religion, which gained acceptance during the Southern and Northern Dynasties era. Both Confucian ideas and Confucian-trained officials were relied upon in the Ming Dynasty and even the Yuan Dynasty, although Kublai Khan distrusted handing over provincial control. During the Song Dynasty, the scholar Zhu Xi (AD 1130-1200) added ideas from Daoism and Buddhism into Confucianism. In his life, Zhu Xi was largely ignored, but not long after his death his ideas became the new orthodox view of what Confucian texts actually meant. Modern historians view Zhu Xi as having created something rather different, and call his way of thinking Neo- Confucianism. Neo-Confucianism held sway in China, Korea, and Vietnam[37] until the 19th century.
"Life and works of Confucius", by Prospero Intorcetta, 1687. The works of Confucius were translated into European languages through the agency of Jesuit scholars stationed in China.[38] Matteo Ricci started to report on the thoughts of Confucius, and father Prospero Intorcetta published the life and works of Confucius into Latin in 1687.[39] It is thought that such works had considerable importance on European thinkers of the period, particularly among the Deists and other philosophical groups of the Enlightenment who were interested by the integration of the system of morality of Confucius into Western civilization.[40][41] In the modern era Confucian movements, such as New Confucianism, still exist but during the Cultural Revolution, Confucianism was frequently attacked by leading figures in the Communist Party of China. This was partially a continuation of the condemnations of Confucianism by intellectuals and activists in the early 20th Century as a cause of the ethnocentric close- mindedness and refusal of the Qing Dynasty to modernize that led to the tragedies that befell China in the 19th Century. Confucius's works are studied by scholars in many other Asian countries, particularly those in the Sinosphere, such as Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Many of those countries still hold the traditional memorial ceremony every year. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community believes Confucius was a Divine Prophet of God, as was Lao-Tzu and other eminent Chinese personages.[42] In modern times, Asteroid 7853, "Confucius", was named after the Chinese thinker. Visual portraits No contemporary painting or sculpture of Confucius survives, and it was only during the Han Dynasty that he was portrayed visually. Carvings often depict his legendary meeting with Laozi. Since that time there have been many portraits of Confucius as the ideal philosopher. In former times, it was customary to have a portrait in Confucius Temples; however, during the reign of Hongwu Emperor (Taizu) of the Ming dynasty it was decided that the only proper portrait of Confucius should be in the temple in his hometown, Qufu. In other temples Confucius is represented by a memorial tablet. In 2006, the China Confucius Foundation commissioned a standard portrait of Confucius based on the Tang dynasty portrait by Wu Daozi. 48
Memorials of Confucius Soon after Confucius' death, Qufu, his hometown became a place of devotion and remembrance. It is still a major destination for cultural tourism, and many people visit his grave and the surrounding temples. In pan-China cultures, there are many temples where representations of the Buddha, Laozi and Confucius are found together. There are also many temples dedicated to him, which have been used for Confucianist ceremonies. The Chinese have a tradition of holding spectacular memorial ceremonies of Confucius () every year, using ceremonies that supposedly derived from Zhou Li () as recorded by Confucius, on the date of Confucius' birth. This tradition was interrupted for several decades in mainland China, where the official stance of the Communist Party and the State was that Confucius and Confucianism represented reactionary feudalist beliefs which held that the subservience of the people to the aristocracy is a part of the natural order. All such ceremonies and rites were therefore banned. Only after the 1990s, did the ceremony resume. As it is now considered a veneration of Chinese history and tradition, even Communist Party members may be found in attendance. In Taiwan, where the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) strongly promoted Confucian beliefs in ethics and behavior, the tradition of the memorial ceremony of Confucius () is supported by the government and has continued without interruption. While not a national holiday, it does appear on all printed calendars, much as Father's Day does in the West. Descendants See also: Family tree of Confucius in the main line of descent Confucius' descendants were repeatedly identified and honored by successive imperial governments with titles of nobility and official posts. They were honored with the rank of a marquis thirty-five times since Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, and they were promoted to the rank of duke forty-two times from the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang first bestowed the title of "Duke Wenxuan" on Kong Suizhi of the 35th generation. In 1055, Emperor Renzong of Song first bestowed the title of "Duke Yansheng" on Kong Zongyuan of the 46th generation. Despite repeated dynastic change in China, the title of Duke Yansheng was bestowed upon successive generations of descendants until it was abolished by the Nationalist Governmentin 1935. The last holder of the title, Kung Te-cheng of the 77th generation, was appointed Sacrificial Official to Confucius. Kung Te-cheng was offered the position of puppet Emperor of China in 1937 by the Japanese, but Kung declined the offer.[43] Te-cheng died in October 2008, and his son, Kung Wei-yi, the 78th lineal descendant, had died in 1989. Kung Te-cheng's grandson, Kung Tsui-chang, the 79th lineal descendant, was born in 1975; his great-grandson, Kung Yu-jen, the 80th lineal descendant, was born in Taipei on January 1, 2006. Te-cheng's sister, Kong Demao, lives in mainland China and has written a book about her experiences growing up at the family estate in Qufu. Another sister, Kong Deqi, died as a young woman.[44] Another prominent descendant of Confucius was Premier of the Republic of China and Finance Minister H. H. Kung, of the 75th generation, as indicated by the generation name (Hsiang; pinyin: Xing)[45][46][47] Confucius's family, the Kongs, has the longest recorded extant pedigree in the world today. The father-to-son family tree, now in its 83rd generation,[48] has been recorded since the death of Confucius. According to the Confucius Genealogy Compilation Committee, he has 2 million known and registered descendants, and there are an estimated 3 million in all.[49] Of these, several tens of thousands live outside of China.[49] In the 14th century, a Kong descendant went to Korea, where an estimated 34,000 descendants of Confucius live today.[49] One of the main lineages fled from the Kong ancestral home in Qufu during the Chinese Civil War in the 1940s, and eventually settled in Taiwan.[44] Because of the huge interest in the Confucius family tree, there was a project in China to test the DNA of known family members.[50] Among other things, this would allow scientists to identify a common Y chromosome in male descendants of Confucius. If the descent were truly unbroken, father-to-son, since Confucius's lifetime, the males in the family would all have the same Y chromosome as their direct male ancestor, with slight mutations due to the passage of time.[51] However, in 2009, the family authorities decided not to agree to DNA testing.[52] Bryan Sykes, professor of genetics at Oxford University, understands this decision: "The Confucius family tree has an enormous cultural significance," he said. "It's not just a scientific question."[52] The DNA testing was originally proposed to add new members, many of whose family record books were lost during 20th-century upheavals, to the Confucian family tree.[53] The fifth and most recent edition of the Confucius genealogy was printed by the Confucius Genealogy Compilation Committee (CGCC). It was unveiled in a ceremony at Qufu on September 24, 2009.[54][55] Women are now included for the first time.[56] Note that this only deals with those whose lines of descent are documented historically. Using mathematical models, it is easy to demonstrate that people living today have a much more common ancestry than commonly assumed, so it is likely that many more have Confucius as an ancestor.[57] Ahmadiyya views of Confucius Ahmadiyya Muslim Community believes that Confucius was a prophet of God.[58] 49
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References ^ More commonly abbreviated to Chinese: ; pinyin:Kngz; see Names section ^ "Confucius (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)". Plato.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2010-11-07. ^ Ban 111, vol.56 (Chinese language only) ^ Gao 2003[citation needed] ^ Chen 2003[citation needed] ^ a b The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, VII.1[dead link] ^ Kang 1958[citation needed] ^ Chien 1978 ^ a b c Sima 109 B.C.E. - 91 B.C.E., vol.47 ^ Chien 1978, p. 25 ^ Legge 1895, Book 5, V ^ a b Temple Of Confucius, 2001 ^ The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, XVIII.4 ^ Chien 1978, pp. 3746 ^ Watson 1996 ^ The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, IX.14 ^ The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, XI.8, 9, 10 and 11 ^ Classic of Rites 300 BC, Tangong Part 1 ^ Chien 1978, pp. 5053 ^ Zhang 1988, p. 76 ^ Chien 1978, pp. 117120 ^ The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, I.1[dead link] ^ Gu 1658, vol. 51, sec. 9 ^ The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, III.3[dead link];VI.13[dead link] and XVII.11[dead link] ^ The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, XIII.5[dead link];XVII.9[dead link] ^ The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, VI.25[dead link] ^ Derrida 1983, p. 63 ^ Du 2005 ^ Lee 1995, pp. 13 ^ The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, XVI.2[dead link] ^ The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, XIV.9[dead link] ^ Zhang 2002, p. 208 ^ The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, VI.24 and 30[dead link]; XIV.16 and 17[dead link] ^ The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, II.20[dead link];XII.19[dead link] ^ Legge 1895 ^ Xun 325 BC - 238 BC ^ Li 2005 ^ The first was Michele Ruggieri who had returned from China to Italy in 1588, and carried on translating in Latin Chinese classics, while residing in Salerno 50
^ "Windows into China", John Parker, p.25 ^ "Windows into China", John Parker, p.25, ISBN 0890730504 ^ "The Eastern origins of Western civilization", John Hobson, p194-195, ISBN 0521547245 ^ "Revelation Rationality Knowledge and Truth". Alislam.org. Retrieved 2010-11-07. ^ Herbert Roslyn Ekins, Theon Wright (1938). China fights for her life, Volume 2. Whittlesey house. p. 315. Retrieved 2010- 06-28. ^ a b Kong Demao, The House of Confucius (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1988). ^ "CHINA: Potent Mrs. Chiang". TIME. Monday, Nov. 26, 1928. Retrieved May 22, 2011. ^ "Foreign News: Warlike Confucian". TIME. Monday, Jan. 17, 1938. Retrieved May 22, 2011. ^ "Generalissimo and Madame Chiang Kai-Shek".TIME. Jan. 3, 1938. Retrieved May 22, 2011. ^ "Confucius family tree revision ends with 2 mln descendants". En.ce.cn. Retrieved 2010-11-07. ^ a b c "Updated Confucius family tree has two million members". News.xinhuanet.com. 2008-02-16. Retrieved 2010-11- 07. ^ "DNA test to clear up Confucius confusion". Ye2.mofcom.gov.cn. 2006-06-18. Retrieved 2010-11-07. ^ "DNA Testing Adopted to Identify Confucius Descendants". China.org.cn. 2006-06-19. Retrieved 2010-11-07. ^ a b Jane Qiu (2008-08-13). "Inheriting Confucius". Seedmagazine.com. Retrieved 2010-11-07. ^ "Confucius descendents say DNA testing plan lacks wisdom". Eng.bandao.cn. 2007-08-21. Retrieved 2010-11-07. ^ "Confucius' Family Tree Recorded biggest". Chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2009-09-27. ^ "New Confucius Genealogy out next year". China Internet Information Center. 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-01. "With a history of over 2,500 years covering more than 80 generations, and the longest family tree in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records, the fifth edition of the Confucius Genealogy will be printed in several volumes in 2009, according to an organizer of the Confucius Genealogy Compilation Committee (CGCC)." ^ "Confucius family tree to record female kin". Chinadaily.com.cn. 2007-02-02. Retrieved 2010-11-07. ^ www.stat.yale.edu Common Ancestors Article ^ Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth. Islamic International Publications. "Windows into China", John Parker, ISBN 0890730504 "The Eastern origins of Western civilization", John Hobson, ISBN 0521547245 Further reading Clements, Jonathan (2008). Confucius: A Biography. Stroud, Gloucestershire, England: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7509- 4775-6. Confucius (1997). Lun yu, (in English The Analects of Confucius). Translation and notes by Simon Leys. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-04019-4. Confucius (2003). Confucius: AnalectsWith Selections from Traditional Commentaries. Translated by E. Slingerland. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing. (Original work published c. 551479 BC) ISBN 0-87220-635-1. Creel, Herrlee Glessner (1949). Confucius and the Chinese Way. New York: Harper. Creel, Herrlee Glessner (1953). Chinese Thought from Confucius to Mao Tse-tung. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2005). "Confucianism: An Overview". In Encyclopedia of Religion (Vol. C, pp 18901905). Detroit: MacMillan Reference USA. Dawson, Raymond (1982). Confucius. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0192875361. Dollinger, Marc J. (1996). "Confucian Ethics and Japanese Management Practices," in Sterling Harwood, ed., Business as Ethical and Business as Usual Boston: Jones & Bartlett. Fingarette, Hebert (1998). Confucius : the secular as sacred. Long Grove, Ill.: Waveland Press. ISBN 1577660102. Mengzi (2006). Mengzi. Translation by B.W. Van Norden. In Philip J. Ivanhoe & B.W. Van Norden, Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy. 2nd ed. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing. ISBN 0-87220-780-3. Ssu-ma Ch'ien (1974). Records of the Historian. Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang, trans. Hong Kong: Commercial Press. Van Norden, B.W., ed. (2001). Confucius and the Analects: New Essays. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-513396-X. Vidal, Gore (1981). Creation. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-394-50015-6. Confucius appears as one of the main characters in this novel, which gives a very sympathetic and human portrait of him and his times. External links
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Textbooks from Wikibooks Confucius on In Our Time at the BBC. (listen now) Multilingual web site on Confucius and the Analects Confucius entry by Jeffrey Riegel in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Works by Confucius at Project Gutenberg Confucian Analects (Project Gutenberg release of James Legge's Translation) French translation by Edouard Chavannes of Sima Qian's biography of Confucius (see pp.283-435) in the Records of the Grand Historian Familiar Discourses (Jia yu,), containing traditions about Confucius' early life New modern and detailed TV series about Confucius made by CCTV Core philosophical passages in the Analects of Confucius.
Categories: 479 BC deaths | 551 BC births | 5th-century BC philosophers | 5th-century BC historians | Ancient Chinese philosophers | Confucius | Chinese Confucianists | Classical humanists | Confucianism | Education theory | Founders of religions | Guqin players | Moral philosophers | People from Qufu | Secularism | State of Lu | Zhou Dynasty historians | Zhou Dynasty musicians
Burning of the books and burying of the scholars (traditional Chinese: ; simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: Fnsh Kngr) is a phrase that refers to a policy and a sequence of events in the Qin Dynasty of Ancient China, between the period of 213 and 206 BC. During these events, the Hundred Schools of Thought were pruned; legalism survived. One side effect was the marginalization of the thoughts of the school of Mozi and the survival of the thoughts of Confucius. 52
Contents [hide] 1 Book burning 2 Burial of the scholars 3 See also 4 Notes 5 External links [edit]Book burning According to the Records of the Grand Historian, after Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, unified China in 221 BC, his chancellor Li Si suggested suppressing the intellectual discourse to unify all thoughts and political opinions. This was justified by accusations that the intelligentsia sang false praise and raised dissent through libel. Beginning in 213 BC, all classic works of the Hundred Schools of Thought except those from Li Si's own school of philosophy known as legalism were subject to book burning. Qin Shi Huang burned the other histories out of fear that they undermined his legitimacy, and wrote his own history books. Afterwards, Li Si took his place in this area. Li Si proposed that all histories in the imperial archives except those written by the Qin historians be burned; that the Classic of Poetry, the Classic of History, and works by scholars of different schools be handed in to the local authorities for burning; that anyone discussing these two particular books be executed; that those using ancient examples to satirize contemporary politics be put to death, along with their families; that authorities who failed to report cases that came to their attention were equally guilty; and that those who had not burned the listed books within 30 days of the decree were to be banished to the north as convicts working on building the Great Wall. The only books to be spared in the destruction were books on war, medicine, agriculture and prophecy. [1] [edit]Burial of the scholars After being deceived by two alchemists while seeking prolonged life, Qin Shi Huangdi ordered more than 460 scholars in the capital to be buried alive in the second year of the proscription, though an account given by Wei Hong in the 2nd century added another 700 to the figure. As some of them were also Confucian scholars, Fusu counselled that, with the country newly unified, and enemies still not pacified, such a harsh measure imposed on those who respect Confucius would cause instability.[2] However, he was unable to change his father's mind, and instead was sent to guard the frontier in a de facto exile. The quick fall of the Qin Dynasty was attributed to this proscription. Confucianism was revived in the Han Dynasty that followed, and became the official ideology of the Chinese imperial state. Many of the other schools had disappeared.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Confucius
A Temple of Confucius or Confucian temple (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Kng mio) is a temple devoted to the memory of Confucius and the sages and philosophers of Confucianism. Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Structure 3 Worship 4 Confucian temples outside mainland China 4.1 Taiwan 4.2 Vietnam 4.3 Korea 4.4 Japan 4.5 Indonesia 4.6 Malaysia 5 Alternate names 6 Temples 7 External links [edit]History 53
The largest and oldest Temple of Confucius is found in Confucius's hometown, present-day Qufu in Shandong Province. It was established in 479 BC, one year after Confucius's death, at the order of the Duke Ai of the State of Lu, who commanded that the Confucian residence should be used to worship and offer sacrifice to Confucius. The temple was expanded repeatedly over a period of more than 2,000 years until it became the huge complex currently standing. The development of state temples devoted to the cult of Confucius was an outcome of his gradual canonisation. In 195 BC, Han Gao Zu, founder of the Han Dynasty (r. 206195 BC), offered a sacrifice to the spirit of Confucius at his tomb in Qufu. Sacrifices to the spirit of Confucius and that of Yan Hui, his most prominent disciple, began in the Imperial University (Biyong) as early as 241. In 454, the first state Confucian temple was built by the Liu Song dynasty of south China (420 to 479). In 489, the Northern Wei constructed a Confucian temple in the capital, the first outside of Qufu in the north. In 630, the Tang Dynasty decreed that schools in all provinces and counties should have a Confucian temple, as a result of which temples spread throughout China. Well- known Confucian shrines include the Confucian Temple in Jianshui, the Confucian Temp in Xi'an (now the Forest of Steles), the Fuzi Miao in Nanjing, and the Confucian Temple in Beijing, first built in 1302. In addition to Confucian temples associated with the state cult of Confucius, there were also ancestral temples belonging to the Kong lineage, buildings commemorating Confucius's deeds throughout China, and private temples within academies. [edit]Structure
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II96QkZaz1E The Most SHOCKING Psychiatry Documentary EVER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI_7sssPKE0 Kevin Annett - The Vatican, Pedophilia & The Royals on Shattering The Matrix Radio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf9yzHwOeUc WATCH NOW "IN A NUTSHELL" if this doesn't scare you into reality, I don't know what will !!! Neurosis
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I wanna live humanity clan 911 conspiracy solved nip WW III Sane people must demand crimes against humanity satanic be brought to trial to prove their sanity Otherwise Toot Toot Tootsie Good Bye!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_fp5kaVYhk Rothschild collapse Russia economy 911 to destroy financial records etc.
Know truth of vanished 370 status quo whoa humanity woes Media personnel most complicit in crimes against humanity
Somewhat like the Titanic that was actually the Olympic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azHQDceOJqU PROJECT CAMELOT: DAVID HAWKINS RE FLIGHT 370 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDGgXfXlxCA
London Terrorist Capital QE Sayonara Tel Aviv https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUgWhUkkzr4 Leuren Moret: Flight 370 downing was U.S. Navy Energy weapons demo for Putin; Rothschild patent scam; Payback for Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal verdicts vs. Israel, US and UK
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FEEIn-tirU Did J.P. Morgan , Rothschild ,And Federal Reserve Bankers Sink Titanic Soldiers are pawns of Rothschild
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGLY0_UmdTc LEXXTEX - 276 - THE TITANIC " THE UNTOLD STORY OF ITS MYSTERIOUS SINKING " Actually Olympic for insurance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOca_wTZ5BQ The Titanic Conspiracy The Great Deception Jekyll Island meeting
State Secret Privilege Bush 9/11 Cover - up The state secrets privilege is an evidentiary rule created by United States legal precedent. Application of the privilege results in exclusion of evidence from a legal case based solely on affidavits submitted by the government stating that court proceedings might disclose sensitive information which might endanger national security. [1][2][3][4][5][6] United States v. Reynolds, [7] which involved military secrets, was the first case that saw formal recognition of the privilege. Following a claim of "state secrets privilege", the court rarely conducts an in camera examination of the evidence to evaluate whether there is sufficient cause to support the use of this doctrine. This results in court rulings in which even the judge has not verified the veracity of the assertion. [1] The privileged material is completely removed from the litigation, and the court must determine how the unavailability of the privileged information affects the case. [3][5]
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the privilege is increasingly used to dismiss entire court cases, instead of only withholding the sensitive information from a case. [1] Also in 2001, George W. Bush issued 57
Executive Order 13233extending the accessibility of the state secrets privilege to also allow former presidents, their designated representatives, or representatives designated by their families, to invoke it to bar records from their tenure. [5]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPIfgmuN4ns In this lecture by Michel Chossudovsky, he blows away the smokescreen put up by the mainstream media, that 9/11 was an attack on America by "Islamic terrorists". Through meticulous research, he has uncovered a military-intelligence ploy behind the September 11 attacks, and the cover-up and complicity of key members of the Bush Administration. According to Chossudovsky, the "war on terrorism" is a complete fabrication based on the illusion that one man, Osama bin Laden, outwitted the $40 billion-a-year American intelligence apparatus. The "war on terrorism" is a war of conquest. Globalisation is the final march to the "New World Order", dominated by Wall Street and the U.S. military-industrial complex. September 11, 2001 provides a justification for waging a war without borders. Washington's agenda consists in extending the frontiers of the American Empire to facilitate complete U.S. corporate control, while installing within America the institutions of the Homeland Security State. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yowqX2ngHl4 The whole truth about the Iraq war The War on Iraq, filmmaker Robert Greenwald chronicles the Bush Administration's determined quest to invade Iraq following the events of September 11, 2001. The film deconstructs the administration's case for war through interviews with U.S intelligence and defense officials, foreign service experts, and U.N. weapons inspectors -- including a former CIA director, a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia and even President Bush's Secretary of the Army. Their analyses and conclusions are sobering, and often disturbing, regardless of one's political affiliations.
Iraq War http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Khut8xbXK8&feature=related Illegal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L777RhL_Fz4&feature=related Secrets in Plain Sight
All evidence appears to support the great probability a diversionary nuclear war commencincing with Marshall Law and Fema Holocausts will take place this year as the aliens make out like bandits ET go home with the Gold for their environment leaving Earth as they long ago left Mars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kcSR_VUy1Y&feature=relmfu Where did gold go? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWZELJA_fSU&feature=related Fraud documents blown up Enron Rockefeller
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhROd7Jt3-w&feature=related 911 hoax of ultimate evil folk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXr_sGrUFO4&feature=related Total Proof no Planes hit the Buildings
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-rFagA-32M&feature=relmfu Sound recordings Proof of Demolition http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0xzsbSbVUE After overcoming the willing suspension of disbelief High Ranking US Major General Exposes September 11 58
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68LUHa_-OlA CIA Whistleblower Susan Lindauer EXPOSES Everything! "Extreme Prejudice"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVKGRB3cygg Why The Military Knows Israel Did 9/11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWUQ_N_vHc0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20LkYvEZOZs WikiLeaks Iraq Shooting Video Analysis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h-qX5-0xgo US soldiers War Crimes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjsFSrSN7-k US. war crimes in Iraq [Part 1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmoMuy0vZjc US. war crimes in Iraq [Part 2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6M2AIma98k US. war crimes in Iraq [Part 3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i0d3NdtIeM US. war crimes in Iraq [Part 4]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqKQFcFT4TY A Must Watch!! Dirty Wars!! US War Masters!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmoXze-Higc Propaganda Terms in the Media and What They Mean - Noam Chomsky
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01e8-zSLkg0 Noam Chomsky on Ron Paul's 9/11 Theories: "What He Said Is Completely Uncontroversial"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn5y659VI7Q Noam Chomsky on WikiLeaks, Obama's Targeted Assassinations and Latin America's Break From US
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBI9mC77igo Chomsky explains who U.S. leaders work for and what they have done.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iJjtEMamjc The Julian Assange Show: Noam Chomsky & Tariq Ali (E10)
On and on no end of evidence for anyone interested in amassing to finally end the Struggle of Humankind 59
Forthright Forthwith Forthcoming FFF
In the name of God of, for and with the People WTF? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbACCGf6q-c
FFF Fickle Fate Finger
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II96QkZaz1E The Most SHOCKING Psychiatry Documentary EVER
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luNgPO-vqBw&feature=related Hitlers Rothchilds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmgJE8hrL1Y Rothschild 2 World Wars http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzLIz27GqWs Rothschild Federal Reserve http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhL2gxjemLg Bank Cartels Federal Reserve http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx0vrR2BFp8 Money out of thin air http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onWb_ripZ3c How Rothschild controlled the modern world Goldsmiths first bankers started cheating as in Gutenberg Time to bring Crooks before a legal court Central Banks Plutocracy Money Changers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roR3sSunqpo Where have the Rothschilds gone? Rothschild Zionist SS Secret Society not about Jewish people http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htquSM-hYpo Meltdown: The men who crashed our world Greenspan major criminal Wheres the Gold?
Fwd: Breaking News: Easter Proclamation Abolishes the Papacy - see attached youtubes and please post Kevin A To George DufortMe Apr 20 at 12:54 PM Breaking News Release: Easter Sunday, April 20, 2014 at 4 pm GMT Easter Proclamation Abolishes the Papacy - Common Law Court and Covenanted Christians issue joint statement http://youtu.be/1zvtuHT7Cl4 http://youtu.be/48nIMwXOMCY 61
Maastricht, Holland and Rome: Today, at sunrise on Easter, April 20, 2014, ceremonies in Rome, London, Maastricht and at the key energy centers of the earth proclaimed and invoked the spiritual disestablishment of the church of Rome and the entity governing it. The Maastricht Proclamation was made by Rev. Kevin Annett at the oldest catholic church outside of Italy. The Proclamation was preceded by sunrise exorcism ceremonies at the Vatican and dozens of other locations under the authority of spiritual elders. To quote their statement, "This third and final exorcism of the dark entity of Rome is accomplished. The power of that false church is forever broken, and replaced by a new spiritual gathering of free men and women under a new Covenant with the Creator. "The new Covenant stands solely on the authority, judgement and laws of God, and nullifies the de facto rule of church and state that wrongfully posed as lawful and legitimate authorities over mankind. The new Covenant replaces those de facto, criminal powers with the de jure, lawful government of God that overturns and replaces all unjust, man made authority of church and state." The new Covenant issued today's Proclamation, which follows.The Proclamation has supreme spiritual and lawful authority and binding power under the laws of heaven and earth, and all free men and women are empowered to actively enforce it. I, Kevin Daniel of the House Annett, give witness and judgement today to this Act and accomplishment of God on behalf of the Court and the Covenant. Issued by ITCCS Central, Brussels and the Covenanted Congregational Charter, New York - 20 April, 2014
.................. A GLOBAL EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION MADE UNDER THE LAW OF GOD AND MAN (This Proclamation is issued and available in thirteen languages) Invoking the Legal and Spiritual Disestablishment of the Church of Rome and its adjunct bodies, the Vatican and the Holy See AND 62
Issued as a Binding De Jure Annulment and Emancipation Order by The International Common Law Court of Justice and The Covenant of Free Congregational Christians on Easter Sunday the 20 th Day of April in the year 2014 TO BE PUBLICLY PROCLAIMED AND ENACTED
Let it Be Known and made effect by all men and women, persons and authorities that under the Supreme Law of God as embodied in the Common Law of Nature and Natural Right, as of this day, the institution and entity of the Church of Rome, its officers, clergy, adjunct and derivative bodies and corporate entirety, is now and forever abolished and disestablished as a corporate and a spiritual body. All people and powers formerly under its authority and influence and owing it allegiance are now and forever emancipated and freed from such obligatory servitude. Having violated and waged unrelenting war on God and humanity through its history of crime, murder, apostasy, child sacrifice and idolatry, and thereby repudiated its covenanted requirement of duty to uphold the honor of Heaven and Earth, and the life and dignity of mankind, the Church of Rome has nullified its basis for existence and brought upon itself the status of a renegade transnational criminal organization in the eyes of God and man, and under the laws of both heaven and earth. The ultimate authority of God as expressed in De Jure common law courts of judgment and in congregations of just, truthful men and women does therefore nullify the existence of the Church of Rome, the alleged Apostolic Succession, and its so-called Canon Law. Therefore, as of this day, all such law, statutes, and all church offices and officials are declared to be forever abolished and possessing no effect or binding authority in heaven or on earth. All Church of Rome officials and agents, commencing with Jorge Bergoglio, so-called Pontiff of the Church of Rome, every Cardinal of the Roman Curia, the heads of the Vatican Bank and Adolfo Pachon, chief Superior of the Jesuit Order, are hereby ordered to immediately stand down from and relinquish their offices. The wealth, property and movable assets of the Church of Rome are hereby forfeited and declared to be under the common ownership of the People of the world, and may be peacefully seized and occupied by them. Every member, employee and adherent of the Roman Catholic Church is hereby released from all of their vows, allegiance and obligations to the Church of Rome, and are freed to gather and worship in whatever congregational form that God and their conscience compels, separate from the disestablished Roman church. The sheriffs and peace officers of lawful common law courts, assisted by the free people of the world, are henceforth authorized and encouraged to enact and enforce this Annulment and Emancipation Proclamation wherever possible, under the supreme and sovereign authority of God and the Law of Nations. 63
The people of God who have been lost and held in bondage within the spiritual captivity of the false church of Rome are now free to assemble in covenanted congregations which stand solely under the law of God and recognizing no other legitimate authority, for the establishment of God's kingdom on earth. The long night of spiritual tyranny and Vatican crime is over. Let the free people of the Earth and all true servants of God and Christ cleanse their lands of the Lie and the Murder formerly enthroned in Rome. Proclaimed and enacted as on this Resurrection Sunday by The International Common Law Court of Justice with the collaboration of the The Covenant of Free Congregational Christians (The Covenanters) This Proclamation is accompanied by a third and final exorcism and spiritual reclamation ceremony in Rome and throughout the world, on this Easter Sunday, April 20, 2014 I n Coram Deo: I nvoked in God's presence - As God wills it, it is accomplished A Lawful and Binding Act made under the Divine and Common Law. The power to bind and free now resides in God alone and through God's free, covenanted people. www.iclcj.com , www.covenantedcommunity.org itccscentral@gmail.com
www.itccs.org
-- See the evidence of Genocide in Canada and other crimes at www.hiddennolonger.com and at the website of The International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State at www.itccs.org, and at www.iclcj.com, the site for the Common Law court network.
An International, multi-lingual ITCCS site can be found at: http://kevinannettinternational.blogspot.fr/ The complete Common Law Court proceedings of Genocide in Canada are found at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvhfXAd08TE - Common Law Court Proceedings - Genocide in Canada (Part One) - 1 hr. 46 mins.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPKFk_L7y9g - Common Law Court Proceedings - Genocide in Canada (Part Two) - 1 hr. 47 mins.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ormOIlOi4Vc - Final Court Verdict and Sentencing - 8 mins. 30 secs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IylfBxm3sMg - Authorizations and Endorsements of 64
ITCCS/Kevin Annett by indigenous eyewitnesses - 10 mins.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CReISnQDbBE - Irene Favel, Eyewitness to the incineration of a newborn baby by a priest at Muscowegan Catholic Indian school, Saskatchewan, 1944
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBUd3UXt6fI - Other key testimonies from our Court case against genocide in Canada
Kevin Annett is a Nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize (2013). Messages for him can be left at 250-591-4573 (Canada) or 386-323-5774 (USA). His personal website is www.KevinAnnett.com .
"I gave Kevin Annett his Indian name, Eagle Strong Voice, in 2004 when I adopted him into our Anishinabe Nation. He carries that name proudly because he is doing the job he was sent to do, to tell his people of their wrongs. He speaks strongly and with truth. He speaks for our stolen and murdered children. I ask everyone to listen to him and welcome him." Chief Louis Daniels - Whispers Wind Elder, Crane Clan, Anishinabe Nation, Winnipeg, Manitoba
-- See the evidence of Genocide in Canada and other crimes at www.hiddennolonger.com and at the website of The International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State at www.itccs.org, and at www.iclcj.com, the site for the Common Law court network.
An International, multi-lingual ITCCS site can be found at: http://kevinannettinternational.blogspot.fr/ The complete Common Law Court proceedings of Genocide in Canada are found at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvhfXAd08TE - Common Law Court Proceedings - Genocide in Canada (Part One) - 1 hr. 46 mins.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPKFk_L7y9g - Common Law Court Proceedings - Genocide in Canada (Part Two) - 1 hr. 47 mins.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ormOIlOi4Vc - Final Court Verdict and Sentencing - 8 mins. 30 secs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IylfBxm3sMg - Authorizations and Endorsements of ITCCS/Kevin Annett by indigenous eyewitnesses - 10 mins.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CReISnQDbBE - Irene Favel, Eyewitness to the incineration of a newborn baby by a priest at Muscowegan Catholic Indian school, Saskatchewan, 1944 65
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBUd3UXt6fI - Other key testimonies from our Court case against genocide in Canada
Kevin Annett is a Nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize (2013).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrAZac5SdBI Albert Rivera Ex-Jesuit Interview - Exposing The Vatican & Jesuits - NewWorldOrder https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhoPTvXn_t0 Jesuit - Pope Francis I - 666 Mark of the Beast - Final Warning Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WkKmU_W8NU Dark secrets of the Catholic Church; Ex nun Confesses https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clU-9-1U3dw Documentary: Nuns Abuse & Crimes against Thousands of Women Revealed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl6DgOLefGk&list=PLDuN8n2rH5bFdde-3RnUjInAchRwweQeP Catholic Church Scandal Nuns stealing babies and selling off in corrupt adoption business 2 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zd8-Xy26TE World Bank Whistleblower Harassed By DoJ - Support Her https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0G4rIXkEXk World Bank Whistleblower is on Main Stream Media Stations with Warning- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGEYloihE9g Illuminati Whistleblower "They Worship lucifer" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCKHFIYjvhg MUST WATCH - The Vatican and the New World Order