PHIL322 Mid term: Confucianism is Best Suited for the Kingdom
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Course
BUS/MKTG
Institution
Thompson River University (TRU
)
Societies are built by human beings for human beings and any other animals or things which add to the wellbeing of human societies. Thus central to any form of social organization must be the human being in his or her individual capacity. To understand human needs and human desires it is important ...
Societies are built by human beings for human beings and any other animals or things
which add to the wellbeing of human societies. Thus central to any form of social organization
must be the human being in his or her individual capacity. To understand human needs and
human desires it is important to get to the core of the human nature. The nature of the human
being is intrinsically good. Every individual wants to co-exist and prosper. If this is truly the
nature of the human being then the best philosophy for any kingdom must be that which
strengthens these values. I present that Confucianism is the best suited philosophy for the
kingdom because it observes the aforementioned principles of the human being thus when
followed effectively would have the best possible outcome.
To proceed with the justification of the importance of Confucianism and what gives it
advantage over others as the Kingdom’s official philosophy it is important to note their
differences. Beginning in the chaotic era of late Zhou, Daoism began as an outgrown of
Confucianism through an escapist movement that preached the gospel of timeliness (pp 18). It
follows the philosophy of Laozi, a historical legend who wrote the famous Daodejing. Daoism
advocates the belief of The Dao, meaning the way of the cosmos. It further states that for human
beings to achieve maximum happiness possible they need to be more passive. Ultimately,
according to Daoism, human beings should aim to live in harmony with the cosmos. The Daoist
values include acting without acting, a refrain from conventional education, an embrace of
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simple life and the enjoining and sustenance of self-sustaining communities (Kohn, 3). For the
chaotic state created by the warring period, Daoism seeks a refrain from the ambition and
attempt to fix the government and the system as a whole. Eventually, the philosophy claims,
every piece of society will fall in place if divorced from human intervention. Refrain from
education and a less government is also central to this school of thought. Thus it would seem that
the central philosophy here is held in a kind of paradox; on the one hand human beings are asked
to refrain from doing yet the act of refraining, in and of itself, require action.
The other school of thought that can be implemented to see the kingdom through the
warring period crisis and lead its people to prosperity is legalism. This school of thought departs
from a point of total mistrust in the innate goodness of human beings. Founded by Shang Yang
in the years between 390 – 388 BCE, the Legalist philosophy was based on the ideas of an iron
fist administrator in the Qin state (Zhao, 41). Yang advocated for strong administration and a
strong government. Central to the legalist philosophy was the creation and implementation of
clear and strict laws, harsh penalties for those who break the law and a focus of strong arm
government agencies like the military and agriculture. According to this school of thought no
other sections of society are worth government and or even human intervention. It advocates an
extreme form of specialization of labor in administration, military, and agriculture. But its
biggest weakness is its origination from an elite member of society. A top brass administrator has
no connection with the ground and is therefore unable to understand the needs of the people.
Of these three schools of thought Confucianism is the best suited to lead the kingdom to
prosperity. The philosophy takes to account the nature of human beings in its central philosophy.
Unlike Daoism, Confucianism is not religious or philosophical and keeps it teachings very
simple and practical. This simplicity and practicality of Confucius’ teaching can perhaps be
traced to his humble beginnings as a commoner. Thus its values are based on human feelings and
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