Hello all...I am not sure if anyone actually reads my work but I decided since I am ill and can not sleep, that what better can I spend my night than posting an extra blog for history.
While reading the selected points that was taken out of the The Superior Man can you automatically tell that Confucius was a kind of philosopher. Not all of it makes sense to me but some of it does. Like many philosophers, they normally wrote words to live by. They also wrote about how to live a wise life or even wrote things that made people stop and give it another thought. These points that are posted seem a lot to do with righteousness or what Confucius considers the way to live a righteous life. If you were to follow these laws, you would be a "Superior Man", which may mean that this philosophy may have been more directed towards men, since Confucianism is a major Easter Philosophy.
Even though philosophies are meant to convey a positive nature, I feel that a lot of these, ah sayings?, written points are a single man's oppinion. Not following these laws shouldn't make you unrighteous since no one can be perfect, but also following all these laws doesn't make you righteous either. Let's take an example: "The superior man undergoes three
changes. Looked at from a distance, he appears stern; when approached, he is
mild; when he is heard to speak, his language is firm and decided." This passage just seems to put a lot of pressure on a person to have to follow, but in no way does it define righteousness, maybe only in his eyes it does. This passage just seems to be someone's simple guideline of how to act outside the house. Also we must consider another person's view of this. Maybe someone who tries to follow this point may come off as arrogant or negative. Imagine everyone talking acting like that!
Here is one that makes me laugh: "What the superior man seeks, is in
himself. What the mean man seeks, is in others."That must mean Confucius found a lot of people mean, most notingly his Teachers. Seeking something in someone isn't always a bad thing, but it can mean you are encouraging someone. Maybe you trust that they can do a good just and so you seek that in someone's work. I enjoy watching Chess Blitz competitions, and when I watch my favorite competitor, I expect him to give it his best of his abilities, just as a mother wants their children to succeed or do their best in their activities. This doesn't make them mean people. I am guessing Confucius had a bad history of people expecting too much out of him or pushing him too hard so now he is taking out all of his grief with this biased passage.
I don't mean to attack this philosopher at all, in fact I am sure he was far wise than I am and most people who live in our (rather lacking) generation. A lot of what he has to say I greatly agree should be followed, such as his points on respecting the heavens and what is high and above us. What my point is, is that not following these guidelines does not make a person more righteous than another. It is simply one man's interpretation of it. He is neither a prophet or a great divine but just another person, just like me and you. Just like everyone has their own definitions of justice or love, this passage is just an example of a man's view of what makes a person righteous.
by Andrew Murillo
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