Confucianism and Taoism Two contrasting views of life essay

Confucianism and Taoism Two contrasting views of life essay Confucianism and Taoism: Two contrasting views of life? essay Confucianism and Taoism: Two contrasting views of life? essayAny cultural factor should be considered as part of the system that gave rise to it. A single factor which is torn from a socio-historical context can be easily understood wrongly. It is impossible to speak on Taoism out of socio-cultural context in which it is originated. This context is Confucianism, without which, perhaps, there would not be Taoism. These two religions have common roots, but they are still two contrasting vies of life.Taoism emerged in 5-4 centuries BC and it seemed to be an â€Å"opponent† of the dominant ethical system of Confucianism (Yu, 2008). The postulates of these studies often seem to be diametrically opposed (in this case, the philosophical Taoism is discussed as social and philosophical teachings, not as the methods of psycho-physical training and alchemical practice).The main difference between the Confucian and Taoist cultures is the attitudes toward human nature, from which â€Å"di stribution of roles†, established between them in the traditional Chinese culture, implies. Both scholars have suggested the need for change in order to get closer to the â€Å"true essence of a man† but the question is what was invested in this concept and methods of updating the true nature?Confucians believed that the true essence of man is humanity (jen), the good, true human beginning. Self-education, the development of a â€Å"humane† beginning (the carrier of high moral and psychological qualities) and the suppression of a â€Å"wild†, â€Å"evil† were understood under the self-improvement. At the time of Taoism appearance Confucianism was the official doctrine, the foundation of the state structure. â€Å"The central figure†, the ideal of Confucianism chun-tzu is a â€Å"noble man†, the support of the Confucian mind. Its virtues: self-control, justice, piety, and social responsibility. Its goal is public service; personality i n Confucian ethics is subjected to the society (Chen, 2010).Confucian culture is elite; the basic medium of its distribution is the noble people (mostly government officials whose main activity consists in the administration of the state). Hence the desire to order governing and ritualizing all possible spheres of life is. Similar to the psychological sphere, the changes achieved by limiting the adverse factors, mainly through the acquisition of behavior norms, the control (first external and then internal). A permanent control over own mental sphere and the preservation of permanent self-control were considered as virtue of the â€Å"noble man†. The most important method on self-improvement is also related with self-observation, designed to identify â€Å"wrong† that should be eliminated.On the other hand, Taoists, condemning the â€Å"barbarism†, wildness, susceptibility to passion, understood a true human nature initially under inherent to every phenomenon co smic principle, which embodies the same laws of nature for all the universal. The highest goal of Taoism is the identification and ultimate actualization of the â€Å"true beginning† in a man and the complete submission to it, â€Å"merging† with a single flow of the universe movement.There is originally no question about morality and the public wellbeing. Taoism focuses on individual improvement. The moral growth comes naturally as the union of the adept with Tao, but it is not imposed from outside. Hence, the behavior of the Taoist is less constrained by the conventional rules. Their place is taken by the natural rules that come with a deep transformation of the individual and, therefore, they are not perceived as a constraint. Thus, Taoism is more humanistic comparing to Confucianism, which is initially focused on the education of the decent member of society and the maintenance of public order.Assessing the vulnerability to passions as negative as the Confucians di d, Taoists were opposed to the forcible suppression of unwanted aspects of human nature. Instead of fighting with him, the cultivation of a state of rest, detachment including alienation from man’s own passions was practiced in the Taoist tradition. â€Å"Self† takes the position of an observer providing a stream of consciousness opportunity to flow itself:â€Å"Having reached the limit of emptiness, observing peace and tranquility, looking at the mutual origination of things, Ill contemplate only its permanent return† (Tao Te Ching) (Kirkland, 1998).Different ways of perceiving themselves and world Taoists and Confucians have different â€Å"views† on life perception. Confucian thinking is necessarily binary, dichotomic, based on learning the phenomena in terms of their opposition, on the opposition of pairs such as â€Å"natural – cultural†, â€Å"tranquility – movement†, â€Å"good – evil†, â€Å"subject â₠¬â€œ object†, etc. In human nature Confucians clearly separated and opposed the â€Å"natural† (passions) and â€Å"cultural†, designed to restrain these passions. Such an approach, which opens the way to the analytical knowledge of the world, allows ordering a picture of the world, at the same time â€Å"splits† the world in the oppositions, depriving it of its integrity. In this case everything what does not fit into this artificial model of the world is distorted or ignored. Confucian upbringing also contributed to the internal confrontation, leading to intrapersonal conflicts.For the Taoist life’s view, the social rules and norms are perceived as: 1) violence against the person, 2) convention, artificial formation, thus, preventing the appearance of the true nature of man, and 3) a factor that increases the separation of a man from the world (Dickerson, 2006).Taoist view of life is holistic, so-called â€Å"contradictions† are combined, p resented as inseparable interacting poles of the whole, and this interaction is the source of movement and development. Unity with Tao blurs the line between object and subject, â€Å"self† and â€Å"non-self†, the man and the world.Confucius sees the main task of the philosophy in the preservation and transmission of the ancient culture to the descendants. The person as a member of society is in the center of his teaching. The main human quality, according to Confucius, is the humanity, or â€Å"love to people† (jen). Humanity is also a universal law, the meaning of which Confucius formulated in the form of â€Å"golden rule† of morality, â€Å"Do not wish anyone anything what you don’t want for yourself† (Nuyen, 2001).Confucius devoted much attention to issues of state governance. In his view, the relationship between citizens and subordinates should be regulated by analogy to the relationship in the family. Everyone must adhere to his res ponsibilities and do not deviate from them. In this case, he becomes a â€Å"noble man† and is guided by justice, rather than petty personal gain, as the â€Å"low men† do. In contrast to Confucianism, focusing on the social aspects of reality, Taoism addressed exclusively to the inner world of a man. Only in himself, in the depths of his mind and soul, a person can open Tao the mystical essence of the life, its underlying cause, meaning and ultimate goal. The main principle of Taoism is â€Å"Everything comes from Tao; Tao is in and returns to Tao†. Being on the path of self-contemplation and opening Tao, a person can attain physical immortality by going to a higher level of existence.While Taoism and Confucianism have some similarities, they still have contrasting views of life. Taoism, with its concept of non-action, traditionally in opposition to Confucianism, preached the service to the emperor and public. This opposition was so deep that it was even refle cted in the work of Jesuit missionaries: for instance, Matteo Ricci was in a close contact with the Confucian elite and rejected Taoism as a pagan practice while his opponent Michele Ruggieri argued the similarities between the concepts of Tao and the Logos. However, the explicit opposition of these traditions existed mostly on the surface. In reality, in full accordance with the Taoist life view, both doctrines are inseparable poles of a single socio-cultural phenomenon. Their interaction leads to interpenetration enriching equally both traditions.