Synthesis Paper 1.E Revised

What is Philosophy as demonstrated in Ancient Chinese Philosophy by Confucius in the way he specifies the solution to the philosophical problem?

Philosophy as demonstrated in Ancient Chinese Philosophy by Confucius in the way he specifies the solution to the philosophical problem is about making standards which humanity should abide in. This means that Confucius is making ideals that should be followed by humanity when a person is to be considered a sage or a wise man. These ideals are based on humanity as a whole. Although these things are the ones that should be done, Confucius does not force people to do these things.

The standards are made up of two; the man should be family oriented and that the man should regulate and be regulated by the use of virtue.

First is the man should be family oriented. The family plays an important role in the person’s development as the kind of person the child may become reflects the family too.

The family does not only serve as a little society in which will protect a person but it also serves as the training grounds of a person as to what he will become. The family is the one who teaches a person the things he needs to do as a preparation for a bigger world. It is where the person is being formed to the kind of person he is to be.

It is in the family that the person learns the sense of responsibility. This is to say that it is there that he learns how to control his words and actions. It is through the family that the person is trained to handle duties. Great things start from small ones. So, the person is being trained in the family by small amounts of tasks that would prepare him in bigger responsibilities that he would be handling as he grows and extends his horizon.

When one has learned the sense of responsibility, he learns to be somehow a good family man as he learns to prioritize things. Being a good family man is to learn how to be better human being because if a person is a better human being, he knows what to do first. He would be considerate of his actions. He would know what is to be prioritized and what is to not to be. Being a better human being is being responsible to his actions and decisions. It is being liable to the consequences he might face.

The sense of being family oriented is being held responsible to the family. Meaning, the person is accountable to what may happen in his family as he is the one who is molding them to be better human beings. He serves as the guide to other family members as to what they would become. He becomes the reference point of the others.

The next standard is that the man should regulate and be regulated by the use of virtue.

The person must be molded in the family first. The molding of the person is through the use of virtue and not by force. This means that the person must be motivated to do or to act by the use of virtues or ethical behaviors.

When a person is motivated by force, his actions or deeds are not coming from within him, thus he would not be efficient to what he does. He would not be able to perform his tasks well as he is not sincere or committed to it. Force would only result to unsatisfactory outcomes.

When one is motivated by virtue, then the person would be passionate to what he does. One can see the dedication he has putted in his work, thus it would be efficient. Virtues, then would result to satisfactory outcomes.

If one is to be regulated by virtue and not by force, then the virtues should not be imposed to the person. This means that in order to be efficient, he should be the source of the realization. Yes, he is taught of the virtues but it should not be imposed on him. He should be the one to realize the worth of the virtue. If then, in order to realize the virtues, he should be led through examples. These examples are what the person sees or observes in his surroundings. It is what others had done and that he saw the effects of these virtues. He should not be forced to do the same as it would be a form of deception mot just to the people but to the person himself.

Since the man turns out to be responsible enough of his actions and that was well regulated by the use of virtues, his actions too on to the next generation is also the same. Meaning, he would also regulate the other people, basically his family members, by the use of virtues into teaching them to be responsible family members and later on responsible citizens or leaders of the society.

Therefore, Philosophy as demonstrated in Ancient Chinese Philosophy by Confucius in the way he specifies the solution to the philosophical problem is about making standards which humanity should abide in. This means to say that Confucius made ideals which are to be family oriented and to regulate and regulated by the virtues in which will guide the people to be not lost in their way of living. These standards will keep them from going far from humanity. Although these things are the ones that should be done, Confucius does not force people to do these things.