Confucianism and Daoism
When we look at Confucianism and consider its common ground with Daoism as well as its differences, we see history, core ideas and similar objectives that tie the two philosophies together. Both arose from the desire for order, peace and harmony after long periods of war and chaos. Both parted ways in how they approached the idea of whether people should treat each other as equals, and how that approach affects basic human interaction. To understand both philosophies better, we first need to look at a concept that preceded them: the Mandate of Heaven. As described by author Patrick Bresnan in Awakening: A History of Eastern Thought, "The Mandate of Heaven refers to the belief that the earthly king presides as something of a steward to the gods. His rule is legitimate only so long as he fulfills the will of heaven, which is to say, to govern wisely and well, in the interest of all. If he allows selfish interest to replace concern for the common good, he will lose the Mandate of Heaven, and thus the right to rule." (Bresnan, 303) There are four principles that make up the mandate according to Kallie Szczepanski in thoughtco.com https://www.thoughtco.com/the-mandate-of-heaven-195113 : 1) Heaven grants the emperor the right to rule, 2) Since there is only one Heaven, there can only be one emperor at any given time, 3) The emperor's virtue determines his right to rule, and 4) No one dynasty has the permanent right to rule. How did these two philosophies apply this set of principles and to what extent did they agree with those principles?
Within this context let's first consider the question of what Confucius meant by saying that human nature had gotten out of harmony with the larger natural order that it is a part of, whether that disharmony is still true today, and how if so. It seems clear when we look at Confucius' most important priorities, that he approached things with a sense of hierarchy, authority, superiority, and family structure that all dated back to the Mandate of Heaven and beyond. His sense of order was based on the tradition of family and the roles of superiority and sageness within that structure: "Confucius, too, looked back to a 'golden age' when the feudal system had been strong, when everything had been in its appointed place...he did study the history of the Zhou with great thoroughness...To Confucius' mind, the overriding concern was order...not just any kind of order would suffice; it must be a natural order. Confucius believed that there is a right ordering of society that is natural to it, in the same way that there is a right ordering to all of the things of nature...Everything is an expression of the working of the whole. The ancients had understood this, but their descendants, pursuing selfish interests, had strayed from the path...Right leadership can reestablish that harmony." (Bresnan, 308) We can see the exact order that Confucius wanted to impose as illustrated in his Five Cardinal Relationships:
Finally let's consider Daoism in its opposition to Confucianism and what they especially disliked about it. Let's also apply this to the Mandate of Heaven. In Confucianism, natural order is based on traditional social hierarchy. Daoism takes a much broader view of the natural order: "Over time, the concept of Dao became more and more abstract. Dao came to be regarded as the impersonal and infinite force, cosmic in scope, that stood behind the being and the unfolding of the natural order." (Bresnan, 334) "Daoism is founded on a deep love of nature...Humans, unfortunately have the ability to get out of sync with the harmony of Dao...To the Daoist, restoring humanity's proper harmony within the natural order thus becomes the only matter of real importance...The simple, natural life that the Daoists cherished was seen to be smothered in the complex, highly formalized way of the Confucian system." (Bresnan,338-339) Clearly Daoism would also oppose the ordered rationalization imposed in the Mandates of Heaven: "Wu wei is the way of living of a man or woman who is in harmony with Dao-accepting, yielding, always flexible, more like bamboo than an oak, more like water than a rock." (Bresnan, 341)
Works Cited
Bresnan, Patrick S. Awakening, An Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought. Routledge 2018
Comments
Post a Comment