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Lee Yearley, the Religious Studies professor of Stanford University, works mainly in comparative religious ethics and poetics. His focus is particularly on materials from China and the West. For example, both his book Mencius and Aquinas: Theories of Virtue and Conceptions of Courage (abbreviated as Mencius and Aquinas below) and Journal Virtues and Religious Virtues in the Confucian Tradition discuss the field of early Chinese thoughts as well as relating Chinese cultures with western religions.
First of all, both his book and journal offer basic religious background of Confucianism, Daoism, and Christianity. In the book Mencius and Aquinas, before fully discussing about the connection and differences between Mencius and Aquinas, Yearley first
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Roetz Heiner who wrote a book review of Mencius and Aquinas argued: “To compare Mencius and Aquinas seems prima facie a queer undertaking. Are they not inconceivably different in their overall perspectives, their cultural and religious context, and in the ways they present their philosophies? Lee H. Yearley himself repeatedly points out the striking dissimilarities between the two thinkers” (Heiner 174). Recognizing that religious expressions of human beings are neither all the same nor all different, Yearley states that his book will map “part of the middle ground between the same and the different” for it sill chart “similarities within differences and differences within similarities” and thus “discuss the normative conclusions the process produces” (Yearley 24). His opening chapter outlines the general differences and similarities between Mencius and Aquinas; e.g. propriety (li), fate (ming), and attention (ssu) are lacking in Aquinas; revelation, church, or sacraments are not found in Mencius. He relates such a “comparative philosophy of religions” to three areas of ethics; injunctions, lists of virtues arranged in a hierarchical order, and ways or forms of life “protected by the injunctions and picked out by the virtues. Yearley describes the contexts for the ideas of virtue of Mencius and Aquinas, which …show more content…
Although these two ideologies seem to be completely irrelevant， Yearley connects them with one characteristic that the two religions have – they both emphasizes the relationship between people’s daily lives and sacred beliefs. In his journal, Yearley claims that the heaven and human mortal world are substantially interrelated. Divinity does not contradict with or break worldly living environment, but completes it and vise versa. In other words, human virtues are accompanied by religious virtues. Believing in particular religion does not replace people’s original daily life, but greatly improves
Saint Thomas of Aquainas may have been one of the greatest thinkers who attempted to bridge the proverbial gap between faith and reason. His Sacred Doctrine which was the initial part of his Summa Theologica was the basis for his conclusion about the existence of God. Aquinas tended to align his beliefs close with Aristotle's supposition that there must be an eternal and imputrescible creator. In comparison, Anselm's impressions were influenced largely by Plato. In his text Proslogion he outlined his Ontological argument that regarding the existence of God. It was simply that God was the ultimate and most perfect being conceivable, and that his state of existing is greater than not existing therefore god, being perfect in every way, must exist. This is where their paths divide, and although they essentially reach the same determination they paint the picture quite differently.
“Confucius.” Science and Its Times. Ed. Neil Schlager and Josh Lauer. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Gale Biography in Context. Web. 13 Feb. 2011.
Filial piety is as closely associated with Confucius teaching as it is one of the virtues of Confucianism. Confucius once said, “Among human practices, none is greater than xiao” (Chan, Alan Kam-Leung; Tan, Sor-hoon). There is no doubt that filial piety remained the important aspect of Chinese society, where as the philosophers such as Confucius strongly pushed forward the idea of filial piety. A ...
Have you ever walked 9000 miles? Well Thomas Aquinas did on his travels across Europe. Thomas had a complex childhood and a complex career. Thomas Aquinas has many achievements/accomplishments. History would be totally different without St.Thomas Aquinas. There would be no common law and the United States Government would not be the same without the common law.
Confucianism is a philosophy and way of life formed in China by Confucius, an early Chinese philosopher. It began as a simple concept with ideals of personal virtue, simple filial piety, and basic gender distinctions and social inequalities. But, over time with the emergence of Neo-Confucianism it began to transform into a way of life that was degrading towards women with certain hostilities towards rivaling religions. In its early period, from around 500 B.C.E to the Common Era, Confucianism changed in that it became the leading belief system and a major part of Chinese tradition. From the transition into the Common Era to the end of the Classical time period, Confucianism was altered because of a loss of popularity following the collapse of the Han dynasty and the corruption in the governing political system. In its ending period, the post-classical era, Confucianism underwent perhaps its biggest adjustments with the emergence of Neo-Confucianism. The ideas and virtues presented in the “rebirth of Confucian philosophies” of intolerance of foreign religions and extreme filial piety...
Religion is an interesting aspect in the Chinese context because of the part it played in history. Christianity did not spread as successfully in the East as it did in Europe and the isolated thoughts of the Chinese at the time. The fundamentals of Confucianism include and encourage humanities pursuit of knowledge and understanding of their self and...
For those individuals that choose to look into the philosophy of Confucius, Confucianism recognizes that the quest for virtue is ordinary and providential. However, in this quest of moral aptness Confucius tried to offer other people the fervent self love that he had greatly embodied. To actually make oneself as perfect as possible was the central concern of life. Al...
Scholars Press, Atlanta : 1991. Armand Maurer. Being and Knowing: Studies in Thomas Aquinas and Later Medieval Philosophers, Papers in Mediæval Studies, no. 10. Pontifical Institute of Mediæval Studies, Toronto : 1990. Thomas Aquinas.
Peter Abelard was a renowned dialectician from 1079 to 1142. He subjected theological doctrines to logical analysis. In other words, he used rational argument to discover truth. Saint Thomas Aquinas, was a believer in the power of reason, giving St. Augustine's theory an alternate approach. He taught in Paris and Italy during the years 1225 to 1274. Both of these new age thinkers changed the way Catholic followers viewed the "natural world."
Confucius’s counsel and guidance recorded in The Analects instilled wisdom when they were first recorded and continue to provide a thought provoking analysis of life and the checkpoints that guide it. The Master’s commentary on restraint, diligence, decency, and citizenship are well intended and relevant. Politics and the role of government also come under scrutiny as Confucius offers his insights in bettering the organization of power. His proverb-like admonitions use clear examples of everyday life allowing them to be understood and easily digested. Confucius’s own eagerness and willingness to share goodness he experienced makes it easier to apply and practice in one’s own life.
Part One: What is a The “problem with Greek Rationality” stems from the quote, “What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem?” This quote subjects us to thinking that the medieval philosophers believed that there was a certain gap between their line of thought and the Greek line of thought. However, this gap is not the same distance for every one of the great medieval philosophers. Some thinkers from that period believed that they could use reasoning, like the Greeks, to prove the revelations were true.
Aquinas’ Cosmological Arguments The Cosmological Argument for the existence of God, as propounded by Thomas Aquinas, also known as the Third Way. It is the third of Five Ways in Aquinas's masterpiece, "The Summa" (The Five Ways). The five ways are: the unmoved mover, the uncaused causer, possibility and. necessity, goodness, truth and nobility and the last way the teleological.
Van Norden, Bryan W. “Introduction,” in Confucius and the Analects: New Essays, ed. Bryan W. Van Norden (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 3-38.
When first looking at the relationship between philosophy and religion, I found it easier to explain the differences rather than the similarities. I began this paper the same way I do others. This generally involves a profound amount of research on the topic at hand. However, in contrast to the other papers I have done, the definitions of philosophy and religion only raised more questions for me. It was fascinating how the explanations differed dramatically from author to author.
“All of morals comes down to the virtues.” (Keenan, 142) Keenan asserts that these virtues are the cardinal virtues, consisting of courage, temperance, justice, and prudence, and date back to Aristotle in Ancient Greece. The word cardinal is derived from the root, cardo, meaning hinge. Simply stated, the Christian moral life hinges on the cardinal virtues. Keenan suggests an updating of the cardinal virtues to become justice, fidelity, self-care, and prudence. He provides reasoning for the new virtue list. He defines each virtue with its social implications. For example, individuals should seek to set up society with equal justice for all persons. These descriptions help the Christian understand when the virtues are best applicable to self and/or others. Thomas Aquinas adds three theological virtues to the mix: faith, hope, and charity. Familiar from the thirteenth chapter of I Corinthians, these virtues seek to help Christian theologians through the ages maintain the integrity of the Gospel and continue to make it relevant in the modern world. Keenan recounts Bernard of Clairvaux’s beliefs that cultivating the virtues is a way to assimilate with the humanity of Jesus. (Keenan, 136) According to Aquinas, “Every human action is a moral action.” (Keenan, 142) The purpose of the virtues is to guide Christians, and when the Christian studies and applies the virtues to his life, his actions will demonstrate morality. The Bible heralds in Proverbs 3:32, “Devious people are detestable to the Lord, but the virtuous are his close