Philosophy and Religion in China and the Mediterranean

I: Greece:

A: Religion and Philosophy: Greek religion was based on civic cults. Each city
venerated most of the pantheon, but also had particular gods whom it worshipped. The
cults had a cohesive effect on the small Greek poleis. The main form of worship was
animal sacrifice. Offerings were given in order to secure the favour of a deity or to avert
his wrath. Priesthoods were generally hereditary and held by aristocrats. Greek pagan
theology did not seek to answer the great questions of the human condition. Philosophy
began to assume that role in the fifth century with the establishment of two Classical
schools of Academic (Plato) and Peripatetic (Aristotle). The great social change of the
Hellenistic period led to the development of two further philosophies: Stoicism and
Epicureanism. Each focussed on the individual and his place in the cosmos. This
appealed to the citizens of large Hellenistic cities, such as Antioch and Alexandria, whose
lives were more anonymous than their Classical counterparts.

B: Academic: Socrates (469-399) created the third great branch of Greek philosophy:
ethics. His pupils, Plato and Xenophon, recorded his ideas. Plato though was the most
profound. His early dialogues, such as the Laches and Lysis, consider the question what
is virtue through a dialogue about individual virtues, such as courage and friendship. The
essential question is what is right action? Later works, such as the Republic, tied together
all the philosophical ideas to describe the first utopia. Plato sought to explain the world
in abstract terms. All that exists is just a corrupted corporeal version of a perfect and
intangible Form.

C: Peripatetic: Aristotle (384-22) was the most versatile philosopher of the ancient
world. He wrote extensively on Physics, Logic and Ethics. Aristotle was the first literary
critic, a great commentator on politics and an astute scientist who describes anatomy and
reproduction. Where Plato worked through abstract thought and speculation, Aristotle
was principally interested in practical observation (empiricism) and deduction.

D: Stoicism: Stoic philosophy developed in Athens in the third century. It was based on
the theory that all was composed of fire, of various fine and coarse qualities. Time was
divided into ages, which repeated themselves exactly in a cyclical fashion. Zeno, its
founder, taught that man must live in accordance with his nature. This entailed accepting
one's social class and the circumstances of one's life. One must fulfill one's duty
cheerfully and with a detached spirit. One must live in the world and not withdraw.

E: Epicureanism: Epicurean philosophy, on the other hand, believed that the world was
a random accretion of particles, which formed and dissolved without reason.
Consequently, the greatest good was personal happiness. One could achieve this through
withdrawal from the world and a moderate pursuit of pleasures. Excess of any kind must
be avoided because it detracts from happiness. All four philosophic schools were popular
with the aristocracy and began to assume the qualities of religious belief. They appealed
to displaced elites in the large, impersonal new cities of the Hellenistic kingdoms.
II: China:

A: Background and Comparison: In China, new philosophical schools grew up for some
similar reasons as in Greece. Each sought to answer common questions about the human
condition. What does it mean to be human? What is the ideal man like? But Chinese
philosophies had a political dimension, which was generally lacking in the Greek. After
the crises of the Late Zhou period, philosophers sought to understand the causes of
political disintegration and how best to remedy it. The Chinese had an expectation of
political as well as cultural unity, which was absent in Hellenic thinking. In both regions
though, adherents considered these philosophical systems as equal to and interchangeable
with traditional religious beliefs. Religious outlook was pluralistic.

B: Confucianism: As in the case of Socrates, Confucius (551-479) was a great teacher

and moral exemplar who attracted disciples. These disciples wrote down his sayings and
teaching in the Analects. Confucius sought to describe the ideal gentleman (junzi). In
addition to being a master of tradition and cultural refinement, the junzi must be
benevolent, humane, dutiful, righteous and filial. This tradition was living and could be
modified by those with understanding. Confucius advocated Li (a combination of ritual,
ceremony, propriety and good etiquette). It was the basis of good social order in which
each class kept to its own place and duties. The Late Zhou dynasty was a period of
profound social change with unparalleled social mobility. Confucius sought to answer
the problem of chaos by returning to a golden age of the past.

C: Mohism: Mozi (470-391) developed a different explanation for the political chaos in
Late Zhou China. He believed that disunity and warfare arose because rulers employed
favourites in high office rather than good men who were well-qualified. The answer was
to avoid partiality and to use the best officials, regardless of their birth or social status.
Similarly private individuals needed to overcome their partiality to family and customs.
His strongly argumentative tone influenced the beginnings of rhetoric and logic in China.

D: Taoism: Laozi (fl 6th century) wrote the Tao Te Ching, the seminal text of Taoism. It
is filled with mystical and cryptic poems about the Tao, the Way. The way emphasises
harmony through the balancing of opposite qualities, such as good and bad. Laozi
advocated a return to a simplistic life in nature as the answer to political chaos.

E: Legalism: Legalists, such as Han Feizi (280-33) emphasised practical problems of

political control over ethical concerns. They were openly cynical about methods of
raising revenue, retaining power and waging war. Good social order was to be found, not
in customs, such as Li, but in strict enforcement of the law and a system of rewards.