The Concept of Ren and Confucian Ecological Horizons
The present comes from the past and the two must always be in step. Our activities shape the future of our planet. The earth as we know it today is facing an unprecedented ecological crisis. Its cause is the relentlessly increasing exploitation of the planet’s available resources to make up for the demands of the economy. It has become apparent that these environmental problems are predominantly the repercussions of human activities vis-à-vis nonhuman and nonliving things that co-inhabitate the earth. As pointed out by Lynn White in his article, “The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis”, the fate of the ecology depends on what humans think about themselves in relation to things in the environment (White Jr 1973). Lynn White brings an important point to our attention. If human beings consider the environment as an important entity of their life, then they will strive to protect and sustain it; in contrast, if they cannot conceive of a connection for the things in environment, the world will continue to degrade. The problem at hand is that, since the beginning of the economic era, people seem to have lost themselves, even more so than before, to wealth and social standing. The economy market triggered people to nurture their selfish desires and alienate from the rest of the world. As a result of that, human nature is often described as self-centered. However, according Mencius – the one who instigated the writings of the Confucian traditions – this is not originally the case. If, as according to Mencius, people are not self-centered, then should one refer to Lynn White’s statement, there remains hope in humans to come up with solutions that engages sustainable ecology. This ...
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...storing force. These different interpretations support the idea that humans and the universe fundamentally possess the same original nature, which is to give life. To further contest that the human nature is, deep inside, evil, Mencius suggests to examine a different situation – that of a child on the verge of falling into a well – and how one would respond to it. If anyone individual witnesses a child who is about to fall into a well, one cannot help a feeling of alarm and commiseration, and will impulsively urge to save the child. “This life-giving impulse reveals out deepest nature, even though it can be blocked and distorted in many ways before we can act on it”(Kalton 2010). This situation itself is sufficient to prove that human nature is essentially good. Mencius described this emotion of commiseration is described as ren – the core Confucian idea of goodness.
As time passes, our population continues to increase and multiply; yet, on the other hand, our planet’s resources continue to decrease and deplete. As our population flourishes, human beings also increase their demands and clamor for the Earth’s natural products, yet are unable to sacrifice their surplus of the said resources. Garret Hardin’s work highlighted the reality that humans fail to remember that the Earth is finite and its resources are limited. Hardin’s article revealed that people are unable to fathom that we indeed have a moral obligation to our community and our natural habitat — that we are not our planet’s conquerors but its protectors. We fail to acknowledge and accept that we only have one Earth and that we must protect and treasure it at all costs. Despite all our attempts at annihilating the planet, the Earth will still be unrelenting — it will still continue to be present and powerful. Human beings must recognize that we need this planet more than it needs us and if we persist on being egocentric and covetous, in the end it is us who will
It is widely debatable whether humans are inherently good or evil. From the past, people had their own opinions on this topic, and the debate still goes on today. The Aphorism 17.2 “The Master said: By nature men are pretty much alike; it is learning and practice that set them apart.” from Confucius Analects conveys Confucius’s view of human nature. Confucianism was the most important philosophy of China throughout the history and it greatly influenced China. The relevance of Aphorism 17.2 to China’s many of history can be easily seen.
Whether or not humans are instinctively good or evil has been a much talked about debate for many years and is known as an unanswerable question. Determinists, such as Thomas Hobbs, have come to the conclusion that humans are naturally evil and it is within our basic instincts to be greedy, selfish and otherwise drawn to chaos. Hobbs states that “our true nature arises in times of strife and it is within us, when threatened, to self preserve.” I on the other hand disagree with this famous philosophers take on human nature. In this short essay, I will argue that human beings are born with the instinct to be good and to love one another, as well as to be loved.
While humans are becoming increasingly aware of the environmental issues that are occurring in the world, most human systems are still unsustainable. Being sustainable in a society means that humans treat Earth like it has a limited supply of resources that need to be carefully managed in order to prevent damage to the world around us (Chiras, D. D., 2016). So, being unsustainable is the opposite; when humans treat the world like they are dominant over it, as well as believing that the Earth has an unlimited supply of resources that should be consumed by humans. Human beliefs and practices influence unsustainability, which can, and often do, correspond with the root cause of the problem.
The majority of this piece is dedicated to the author stating his opinion in regards to civilization expanding beyond its sustainable limits. The author makes it clear that he believes that humans have failed the natural environment and are in the process of eliminating all traces of wilderness from the planet. Nash points out facts that strengthen his argument, and quotes famous theologians on their similar views on environmental issues and policies. The combination of these facts and quotes validates the author’s opinion.
In Confucianists, the thought of morality is comprehensive. In moral theory of Confucianism, Confucians contend that morality begins with an individual, right at this point and right at this time. A central part of morality in this philosophy is ReI (humanness) (Moral Theory and Practice 1). Humanness being at the center is the only way and strategy of determining character, and behaving in a way to establish others. At the core of Confucian philosophy, it is believed that morality is invariable. This means that morality cannot be performed in different environments but should be a continous action throughout existence. Almost all practices from the book of Genesis onwards reveals a wisdom of things that should be done right. Among the founders of Confucianism (Mencius) developed a question on morality. This query revolved around the scenario that has a child aged three sitting at the border of the well and an onlooker is watching. What should the observer
Many years ago, people saw the wilderness as a savage wasteland, but today, it is viewed as “the last remaining place where civilization, that all too human disease, has not fully infected the earth.” (Cronon) He discusses this changed point of view by stating the difficulties that society will have rectifying environmental ailments if it stops viewing wilderness as “a dualistic picture in which the human is completely outside the nature.” (Cronon) This is understandable because humans rely on others to create opinions, and they do not know how to form their own thoughts and solutions to issues such as environmental ones. Therefore, it is with great importance that humans begin to learn how to formulate their own thoughts and share those personal thoughts with others, such as sharing solutions about environmental
Mencius believed that human nature was inherently good. Through his writing, Mencius tends to use metaphors to get his point across, some of which were very hard to understand. One that he uses to explain his theories is, “Human nature is inherently good, just like water flows inherently downhill” (Mencius 79). He makes it seem as if it is obvious that human nature is good by the way he states how water flows downhill. He also states, “You can make them evil, but that says nothing about human nature” (Mencius 79). Even though some points were made effectively, his writing style and overuse of metaphors that no one understands made his argument weak. Overall, Mencius truly believed that the human nature of man was inherently good.
Confucius, the founding philosopher of Confucianism, never explicitly details what he believes to be the inherent nature of humans. However, through his teachings and writings, his opinion can be understood to be that humans reach good nature, through self-cultivation and self-improvement. He believes that humans are improvable and teachable, but lack virtue. “Confucius
The fundamental and perfect nature of humans is that of compassion and caring for one another; the human species is one that is social, and therefore humans have an underlying instinct to care for others. Mencius understands this, and attempts to illustrate this point in several different arguments to different people throughout his series of books on the subject of the human nature. However, if human nature is compassionate, and therefore, yang, then the corruption of human nature brings forth yin, and seeing both are at constant odds with each other, the corruption of human nature brings forth the conflict in the Dao.
Confucius is known for stressing that human nature is intrinsically good. He stresses that human beings are born with the ability for differentiating between wrong and right. A person may not be aware from infancy which acts are tolerable and which acts are not, but all offspring feel shame, and once the children learn which deeds are bad or good, they have a normal tendency to consent of the former and criticize of the latter (Van and Bryan 27).
In his essay, The Ethics of Respect for Nature, Paul Taylor presents his argument for a deontological, biocentric egalitarian attitude toward nature based on the conviction that all living things possess equal intrinsic value and are worthy of the same moral consideration. Taylor offers four main premises to support his position. (1) Humans are members of the “Earth’s community of life” in the same capacity that nonhuman members are. (2) All species exist as a “complex web of interconnected elements” which are dependent upon one another for their well-being. (3) Individual organisms are “teleological centers of life” which possess a good of their own and a unique way in which to pursue it. (4) The concept that humans are superior to other species is an unsupported anthropocentric bias.
Confucius’ social philosophy is greatly directed towards the concept of ren. Ren symbolizes the characteristics of goodness and altruism, and is defined as being “compassionate”. However, displaying concern for others involves disparaging onself. Confucius declared that ‘a clever tongue and fine appearance are rarely signs of Goodness” (1.3) and believed one should avoid clever speech and a flattering manner, characteristics which would ultimately produce a false impression and lead to self-praising. On the contrary, those who have practiced ren are “slow to speak, but quick to act” (4.24) which differentiates ones who acquire genuine virtue from ones who acquire misleading virtue. To Confucius, such virtue is practiced through the Golden Rule: “What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others.” Confucius believed that human nature is essentially good, and that negative experiences may suppress the good nature of people, but goodwill will ultimately bring about its attainment. Ren initiates from the family through filial piety. Confucius considers loyalty to parents and older siblings as a form of promoting the interests of others before one’s own and stresses that only those who have learned self-discipline can achieve such selflessness. If we can be compassionate to our family, we can do the same to the people around us in our society. We can depict the meaning of ren to portray the importance of the principle in the ‘...
Therefore, it is because of our moral duty to all other TCL’s that humans are superior to all other Teleological Centers of Life. Only humans, because of moral agency, are capable of recognizing that all TCL’s have a good of their own. Organisms that lack moral agency cannot understand or appreciate the inherent worth of other beings. As a result, they cannot adopt the attitude of respect for nature. It would be incomprehensible for a plant to understand what is good for a human. Likewise, to believe that a tree or blade of grass can respect nature in the same capacity as a human is ridiculous.
Anthropocentrism is the school of thought that human beings are the single most significant entity in the universe. As a result, the philosophies of those with this belief reflect the prioritization of human objectives over the well-being of one’s environment. However, this is not to say that anthropocentric views neglect to recognize the importance of preserving the Earth. In fact, it is often in the best interests of humans to make concerted efforts towards sustaining the environment. Even from a purely anthropocentric point of view, there are three main reasons why mankind has a moral duty to protect the natural world.