Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ethics.
Confucius
o Respect is expressed by the character jen (indicates an
attitude of respect toward self and others).
o Jen enables a social group to exist. Respect is necessary
because human beings are social beings.
o The social framework defines the accepted range of
respectful conduct toward others (respect for personae in
accordance with dynamic social roles).
o Basic insights on intrasocial behavior patterns were made
available to Confucius by tradition (e.g. the concept of Five
Relationships, which involves the authority of one person
over another).
Confucius wants to remold this tradition, in the sense
that there should be a reform coming from within
there should be a positive social interaction
among people.
This reform is only possible through the concept of
respectwhich Confucius describes as the unifying
thread that underlies all virtues in the Confucian
system of ethics.
o Jen is also used by Confucius to convey the essence of his
moral philosophy.
Here, respect predominates.
Jen involves more than an emotional appeal. It is not
simply benevolence, compassion to humaneness and
goodwill, or love.
The meaning of jen must include a sense
of human interaction that the focus is
on man himself and what he can morally
accomplish in relation to others.
o The root of broader social interaction (WHAT DRIVES THE
SOCIAL) is the reciprocal cultivation of respect toward
and for others and self.
Confucius: An educated man wears an air of respect.
Be respectful and loyal.
o Li and i both exemplify and provide concrete support for
jen, while the chn-tzu is its personification.
o Li / Duty
Social roles that define the limit and boundaries; li
specifies the limits of ethical behavior, of what is and
is not socially acceptable conduct
Starts from the family
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Kant
o Human beings are worthy of respect because they are
rational beings.
o The imperative of ethics to respect others derives from our
shared rational naturereason confers personhood.
o Three main elements of the program for positive social
interaction:
Roots of respect, directed at persons as rational
beings
Respect for the moral law, a product of reason as
guided by judgment
Ideal of moral conduct in the good will, personifying
respect through the principle of humanity
o Respect for Persons: The Community of Rational Beings
Rationality provides the common context of human
interaction.