StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Asian Philosophy - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Asian Philosophy" tells us about Chinese philosophy. It is divided into three parts, each representing a broad field of Asian philosophy: Indian Philosophy, Buddhism, and Chinese Philosophy (Japanese thought is briefly examined in a chapter on Zen Buddhism in the second section)…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93.9% of users find it useful
Asian Philosophy
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Asian Philosophy"

Prior to the unification of China during the Qin dynasty in 221 B.C.E., which brought to an end the orthodox period of Chinese philosophy, Confucianism had one last remarkable proponent, Xunzi, whose thoughts embodies the greatest development of the discipline in the period of the Warring States. Whereas the ideas of Kongzi and Mengzi are preserved merely in little-by-little sayings, Xunzi’s ideas have been carried to the present in the form of strongly constructed treatises that provide a continued discussion of several subject matters and along represent an extraordinarily logical system of arguments (Ivanhoe, 2002). Even though his writing is not to a certain extent vibrant and colorful like that of Zhuangzi, his approach is much more well-designed and powerful, sometimes bursting into poetry that influentially expresses his infatuation with the Confucian way of life (ibid).   

A great part of Xunzi’s attempt is committed to passionately defending Confucianism against different challenges. For instance, he fervently expresses disapproval of Mozi’s denouncement of ritual and music and claims forcefully that these cultural types are completely indispensable. He also rejects Laozi and Zhuangzi for supporting that people accept the perspective of Heaven and leave out traditional virtues in favor of submitting to the natural torrent of things (Ivanhoe, 2001).

For Xunzi, the hazards to Confucianism originate not merely external to the tradition, but as well as from within it, in the appearance of Mengzi’s principle that human nature is good. In Xunzi’s judgment, such an argument weakens the power of ritual as a practical guideline to behavior, ruins the essentiality of acquiring knowledge, and merely flies in front of the facts. Xunzi makes the contradictory assertion that human nature is bad, but this should not be interpreted as claiming that people in nature take pleasure in evil deeds (ibid). Rather, his emphasis is that people lack any innate path to right behavior and conduct and that without the outside control of ritual, they will resort to bad behavior and be reduced to a disordered, impoverished condition strongly suggestive of the state of nature portrayed by Thomas Hobbes (Ivanhoe, 2001).

On the other hand, Mengzi contends that humans have a nature, that they should go after. Indeed, he contradicts Xunzi’s philosophy by suggesting that ethical nurturing must integrate transgressing one’s nature. Nevertheless, Mengzi argues against the idea that there are developing righteous predispositions in one’s nature. He often illustrates these predispositions using an allegory of ‘sprouts’ and evaluates ethical nurturance to taking care of these ‘sprouts’ (Ivanhoe, 2002, 85).

Mengzi explains different kinds of evidence for the presence of ethical ‘sprouts’ (ibid) in humans, involving a good deal conducts of adults who naturally demonstrate these predispositions whose empathy for an ox being forced to slaughter shows his emerging compassion and thought trials such as questioning what institutions are about how an ordinary human would respond to the sight of a child about to fall into a cliff, or to the sight of the dead bodies of beloveds rotting by the pavements (Ivanhoe, 2002).

In his own period, Xunzi was a famous scholar and was even granted high office at some stage of his life. Among his followers were Han Feizi and Li Si, who was influential in ushering about the Qin state’s supremacy over China. Xunzi may even have survived to tell the tale of this event. Other supporters of his were accountable for preserving traditional Chinese texts (Ivanhoe, 2001).

In spite of Xunzi’s significant position in ancient Chinese scholastic history, when Mengzi’s insights later became favored, Xunzi was declined for arguing that human nature is bad, and his writings were significantly abandoned for centuries. In the contemporary world, however, there has been a restoration of intellectual enthusiasm in Xunzi, and he is once more receiving the consideration he ought to have (ibid).

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Asian Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
Asian Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1550514-asian-philosophy
(Asian Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
Asian Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1550514-asian-philosophy.
“Asian Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1550514-asian-philosophy.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Asian Philosophy

Asian Philosophy That Has Influence on the United States

In fact, the American belief to always strive to become better is Asian Philosophy in origin particularly Confucianism.... While it have originated in the East, Asian Philosophy that has influence in United s: Confucianism American society may think of itself as purely western in orientation but is in fact influenced by various cultures including Asian Philosophy.... In fact, the American belief to always strive to become better is Asian Philosophy in origin particularly Confucianism....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

Asian Philosophy

However, there have been recent calls for a new translation because of two major drawbacks of the current Other (s) Asian Philosophy Yoga Sutra is regarded as one of the major ical works ofIndian philosophy that is dated between 2nd and 3rd century CE.... Although little is known about Patanjali, its author, it is certain that Yoga is not the first texts in the Indian philosophy (Ranganathan 1).... In my… on, Yoga Sutra particularly stands out among other Indian philosophy texts by virtue of being the, most widely translated and read Indian text in the English world....
1 Pages (250 words) Article

Asian Philosophy

Asian Philosophy that has its roots in the Hindu philosophies, tells of various aspects pertaining to the fundamental realities and the different experiences of life.... Good examples are the distinctions between Advaita Asian Philosophy of Affiliation: Asian Philosophy Asian Philosophy that has its roots in the Hindu philosophies, tells of various aspects pertaining to the fundamental realities and the different experiences of life....
1 Pages (250 words) Article

Reflection paper: Asian Philosophy

The main objective of this paper is to write a reflection paper on Asian Philosophy by analyzing Sadhana's Pada's book II which is talking about Yoga.... Reflection paper: Asian Philosophy Reflection paper: Asian Philosophy The main objective of this paper is to write a reflection paper on Asian Philosophy by analyzing Sadhana's Pada's book II which is talking about Yoga.... Also in order to know what is wrong or right we need to practice yoga that grounds our moral philosophy to that of nature....
1 Pages (250 words) Article

Asian philosphy reflection

This sutra elaborates the nature of the first three interior limbs Asian Philosophy reflection of affiliation The focus of this essay is the topic reflected in book III is known as “the concentration binds the minds on to a single area”.... n the closing pages, Patanjali succeeds to offer an alternative but systematic philosophy of understanding how soteriological freedom from disturbances of the mind is similar with moral freedom to live in accordance to one's uppermost responsibility, which is attributed to the normative theory of the social relations....
1 Pages (250 words) Article

Confucius and Gautama

Still, their ways to enlightening are rapidly… e fact that Asian Philosophy is different from the western one often leads to the conclusion that the different kinds of it are similar to each other.... The fact that Asian Philosophy is different from the western one often leads to the conclusion that the different kinds of it are similar to each other.... First of all, Confucian philosophy is based on the principles of decent way of life in order to create a strong and functioning state where people happily live together and respect each other....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

A comparison between western and east Asian philosophies

Even during ancient times, penal codes were enforced as a sense of corrective justice, but Confucius espoused a system whereby the political emphasis in Eastern philosophy was to support a more elitist system where virtues of fairness were perceived to be the humane course of actions.... … To begin, let us consider the prevailing East asian mindset that typically goes into the consideration of areas of law and justice.... It should be noted that East asian thought typically includes a wide range of traditional philosophies combining a mix of Japanese, Korean, and Chi-nese ideas that span more than 2,500 years of history (Moody 166)....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Asian Philosophy and Religious Humanism Explained by Confucius

The paper "Asian Philosophy and Religious Humanism Explained by Confucius" discusses the phenomenon of pleasing ancestors and spirits, supernatural phenomena of Confucius, the idea that how people believed in the afterlife, heaven, and day of judgment, why the wisdom of the modern world relies on rational thinking....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us