follow the instructions
Edwingary
EthicsMoralsandtheGoodLife.pptxMorality and Living Well
Phil 105, Ben Birkenstock
(sources include Edward Slingerland,Module 2 - Carving and Polishing With Confucius/Kongzi
Confucius: Ritual teaches us to act freely
Why do we follow 禮（礼, li)?
Is it because it is inherently right?
Is it because it makes us happy?
Is it because it gives power to the ruler?
Confucius: Ritual enables us to act freely
论语1.12 / Analects 1.12:
有子曰：“礼之用，和为贵。先王之道斯为美，小大由之。有所不行，知和而和，不以礼节之，亦不可行也。”
The philosopher You said, "In practicing the rules of propriety, harmony is to be prized. In the ways prescribed by the ancient kings, this is the excellent quality, and in things small and great we follow them. Yet it is not to be observed in all cases. If one, knowing how such harmony should be prized, manifests it, without regulating it by the rules of propriety, this likewise is not to be done."
Confucius: Ritual enables us to act freely
We do not know how to solve life’s problems.
We are stuck;
we offend people without wanting to
we become people who want to offend others
we cannot be happy even if we want to
we cannot make society harmonious
we have good desires with bad outcomes:
Confucius: Ritual enables us to act freely
Analects 8.2
子曰：“恭而无礼则劳，慎而无礼则葸，勇而无礼则乱，直而无礼则绞。君子笃于亲，则民兴于仁；故旧不遗，则民不偷。”
The Master said, "Respectfulness, without the rules of propriety, becomes laborious bustle; carefulness, without the rules of propriety, becomes timidity; boldness, without the rules of propriety, becomes [disobedience]; straightforwardness, without the rules of propriety, becomes rudeness. When those who are in high stations perform well all their duties to their relations, the people are aroused to virtue. When old friends are not neglected by them, the people are preserved from meanness."
Confucius: Ritual enables us to act freely
We use ritual all the time to teach us how to interact:
We shake hands or bow when we meet
We eat our food in a certain way when we are with others
We dress in a certain way
None of these things are things that Children do when they are born. So,
By teaching children to follow social rituals, we give them a sense of respect
By teaching children to say thank you, we teach them to feel grateful
By teaching people to follow rituals, we teach them to desire and to live in harmony
this is why we follow them even when we are alone
SCIENCE ON SOCIAL ANIMALS
Confucius: Ritual enables us to act freely
Analects 17.9
子曰：“小子！何莫学夫诗？诗，可以兴，可以观，可以群，可以怨。迩之事父，远之事君。多识于鸟兽草木之名。”
The Master said, "My children, why do you not study the Book of Poetry? The Odes serve to stimulate the mind. They may be used for purposes of self-contemplation. They teach the art of sociability. They show how to regulate feelings of resentment. From them you learn the more immediate duty of serving one's father, and the remoter one of serving one's prince. From them we become largely acquainted with the names of birds, beasts, and plants."
Confucius: a free person expresses themselves through ritual
Analects 13.5
子曰：“诵诗三百，授之以政，不达；使于四方，不能专对；虽多，亦奚以为？”
The Master said, "Though a man may be able to recite the three hundred odes, yet if, when intrusted with a governmental charge, he knows not how to act, or if, when sent to any quarter on a mission, he cannot give his replies unassisted, notwithstanding the extent of his learning, of what practical use is it?"
Confucius: a free person expresses themselves through ritual
When we are formed through ritual, we must be able to use it to realize harmony and happiness
A virtuous, happy life expresses itself through ritual
A virtuous person does not follow ritual blindly
A virtuous person allows ritual to guide their attitudes
A virtuous person therefore is able to apply ritual sincerely and graciously
Confucius: a free person expresses themselves through ritual
Analects 2.7, 8
子游问孝。子曰：“今之孝者，是谓能养。至于犬马，皆能有养；不敬，何以别乎？”
Zi You asked what filial piety was. The Master said, "The filial piety nowadays means the support of one's parents. But dogs and horses likewise are able to do something in the way of support; - without reverence, what is there to distinguish the one support given from the other?"
子夏问孝。子曰：“色难。有事弟子服其劳，有酒食先生馔，曾是以为孝乎？”
Zi Xia asked what filial piety was. The Master said, "The difficulty is with the countenance. If, when their elders have any troublesome affairs, the young take the toil of them, and if, when the young have wine and food, they set them before their elders, is THIS to be considered filial piety?"
Confucius: a free person expresses themselves through ritual
Analects 12.2
仲弓问仁。子曰：“出门如见大宾，使民如承大祭。己所不欲，勿施于人。在邦无怨，在家无怨。”
Zhong Gong asked about perfect virtue. The Master said, "It is, when you go abroad, to behave to every one as if you were receiving a great guest; to employ the people as if you were assisting at a great sacrifice; not to do to others as you would not wish done to yourself; to have no murmuring against you in the country, and none in the family."
Confucius: a free person expresses themselves through ritual
Analects 6:18
子曰：“质胜文则野，文胜质则史。文质彬彬，然后君子。”
The Master said, "Where native substance overwhelms cultural refinement, we have a rustic, uncivilized person; where cultural refinement is excess of native substance, we have the manners of a clerk [procedures without heart or authenticity]. When cultural refinement and native substance are equally blended, we then have the man of virtue."
Laozi:ritual creates the opportunity for jealousy and insincerity
We do not know how to solve life’s problems.
We are stuck;
we are taught ritual, but it just increases the difference between ruler and servant
we are taught manners, but it just makes us more sensitive to others opinions
we are taught ethics, but it just gives us an excuse to say we are better than others
we have natural desires for good things, but society turns them into competition for wealth and honour
Laozi:ritual creates the opportunity for jealousy and insincerity
Daodejing Chapter Two:
天下皆知美之为美，斯恶已。皆知善之为善，斯不善已。
When the people of the Earth all know beauty as beauty,
There arises (the recognition of) ugliness.
When the people of the Earth all know the good as good,
There arises (the recognition of) evil.
Laozi:ritual creates the opportunity for jealousy and insincerity
道德经 18 / Daodejing 18:
大道废，有仁义；智慧出，有大伪；六亲不和，有孝慈；国家昏乱，有忠臣。
WHEN the Great Tao was abandoned,
There appeared humanity and justice.
When intelligence and wit arose, There appeared great hypocrites.
When the six relations lost their harmony,
There appeared filial piety and paternal kindness.
When darkness and disorder began to reign in a kingdom,
There appeared the loyal ministers.
Laozi:free people avoid ritual and honour; they find Harmony spontaneously
The fact that and social rituals and conditioning give us unhelpful, confliciting desires shows that:
Our worst problems are unnatural
They are caused by valuing success and correctness too much
Laozi:free people avoid ritual and honour; they find Harmony spontaneously
So, in order to be free from hurting others and ourselves through greed,
We must realize that social rituals and virtues are artificial and counterproductive
We must seek to value shame and failure
We must not try to become ethical people, but rather reduce our artificial desires
Since a good life cannot be forced, trying to attain it by rituals and rules is like trying to make grass grow by pulling on it!
Laozi:ritual creates the opportunity for jealousy and insincerity
道德经 19 / Daodejing 19:
绝圣弃智，民利百倍；绝仁弃义，民复孝慈；绝巧弃利，盗贼无有。此三者以为文不足。故令有所属：见素抱朴，少私寡欲。
DROP sageliness, abandon wisdom, And the people will be benefited a hundredfold.
Drop humanity, abandon justice, And the people will return to being filial and kind
Drop cleverness, abandon profit, And robbers and thieves will cease to be. These three are the criss-cross of Tao, And are not sufficient in themselves. Therefore, they should be subordinated To a Higher principle: See the Simple and embrace the Primal, Diminish the self and curb the desires!
Laozi:free people avoid ritual and honour; they find Harmony spontaneously
However, we should not necessarily behave immorally
Different versions of the Laozi are maybe less anti-Confucian…
郭店《老子甲》1 (道德经19) ／ Guodian Laozi A 1 (Daodejing 19)
绝智弃辩，民利百倍。绝巧弃利，盗贼亡有。绝伪弃虑，民复季子。
DROP wisdom, abandon distinctions,
And the people will be benefited a hundredfold.
Drop cleverness, abandon profit,
And robbers and thieves will cease to be.
Drop artifice, abandon reflection,
And the people will return to [being filial, or regular family patterns?].
Group Discussion
If you were the leaders of:
A country (the government)
A corporation/company
A family (the parents)
A religious group (e.g. Church, Temple, Monastery)
And your population, employees, members, or children told you that they think you should reduce, or have no more, laws or rules,
How would you respond? As a Confucian, or as a Daoist? Which way is more healthy and effective?
Discuss and write the names of your group on a document to turn in at the end of class
The Bhagavad Gita: Duty with Detachment
excerpt of the Mahabharata, epic poem composed c. 500 bce - 500 ce
Contextual Note:
The Gita is compatible with a variety of philosophies, from non-dualist one’s such as Advaita to dualist ones such as Yoga.
The Gita teaches that our true, eternal self observes the actions of our body - like God’s self observes the actions of its ‘body,’ the universe - unaffected.
The Bhagavad Gita: Duty with Detachment
excerpt of the Mahabharata, epic poem composed c. 500 bce - 500 ce
Some groups would read our self and universe as identical to the ‘Supreme Self’ of Brahman’s infinite awareness
Others would read our self and universe as a smaller part of God’s awareness and/or his body, that can have a personal, devoted relationship with God
This can be seen in the unique way in which the speaker of the Gita, Krishna - a personal Avatar of God - speaks of himself as the supreme, unconditional, infinite spirit (Brahman).
The Bhagavad Gita: Duty with Detachment
Gita 15:
“An eternal portion of me [Krishna] it is, which, becoming an individual soul in the mortal world, draws (to itself) the senses with the mind as the sixth…And presiding over the senses of hearing and seeing, and touch, and taste, and smell, and the mind, he enjoys sensuous objects…Devotees making efforts perceive him abiding within their selfs…Entering the earth 1, I by my power support all things; and becoming the juicy moon, I nourish all herbs. I becoming the fire, and dwelling in the bodies of (all) creatures…And I am placed in the heart of all 3; from me (come) memory, knowledge, and their removal; I alone am to be learnt from all the Vedas; I am the author of the Vedântas [Upanisads]...
The Bhagavad Gita: Duty with Detachment
Gita 15:
…There are these two [persons] in the world, the destructible and the indestructible. The destructible (includes) all things. The unconcerned one is (what is) called the indestructible. But the being supreme is yet another, called the highest self, who as the inexhaustible lord, pervading the three worlds, supports (them). And since I transcend the destructible, and since I am higher also than the indestructible, therefore am I celebrated in the world and in the Vedas as the best of beings. He who, undeluded, thus knows me the best of beings, worships me every way…knowing everything..He who knows this, has done all he need do…”
The Bhagavad Gita: Duty with Detachment
excerpt of the Mahabharata, epic poem composed c. 500 bce - 500 ce
At this time, war and tyranny threatened cosmopolitan harmony in North India
Renunciant groups (‘出家人’）threatened that social, familial, and ritual activity resulted in karmabhanda (羯磨，因 果报 应), bad fate and many afterlives.
Krishna, however, points out that our description of cause and effect is just that: a description
our words/thoughts are not the events we describe themselves
The world of cause and effect acts around us
The Atman (true self/consciousness) observes but is not affected
The Bhagavad Gita: Duty with Detachment
Gita Ch. 3: “He whose mind is deluded by egoism thinks himself the doer of the actions, which, in every way, are done by the qualities of nature. But he…who knows the truth about the difference from qualities and the difference from actions, knowing that qualities as senses merely rest on qualities as objects, does not become attached.”
The Bhagavad Gita: Duty with Detachment
Gita Ch. 3:
“17. But the man who is devoted to the Self, and is satisfied with the Self, and content in the Self alone, he has no obligatory duty.
18. He has no object in this world (to gain) by doing (an action), nor (does he incur any loss) by non-performance of action,—nor has he (need of) depending on any being for any object.
19. Therefore, do thou always perform actions which are obligatory, without attachment;—by performing action without attachment, one attains to the highest.”
The Bhagavad Gita: Duty with Detachment
Therefore, the Gita recommends that we do our actions as a devotion to God or the Self, with no concern for the outcome.
When we act for a specific outcome, we imagine that our true self can be affected by the physical world
This causes us to become attached to the results/fruits of our actions
This in turn leads to fear, greed, and conflict
The Bhagavad Gita: Duty with Detachment
Gita Ch. 4:
19. Whose undertakings are all devoid of plan and desire for results, and whose actions are burnt by the fire of knowledge, him, the sages call wise.
20. Forsaking the clinging to fruits of action, ever satisfied, depending on nothing, though engaged in action, he does not do anything.
21. Without hope, the body and mind controlled and all possessions relinquished, he does not suffer any evil consequences, by doing mere bodily action.
The Bhagavad Gita: Duty with Detachment
Gita Ch. 4:
22. Content with what comes to him without effort, unaffected by the pairs of opposites, free from envy, even-minded in success and failure, though acting, he is not bound.
23. …performing work for [the sacrifice] alone, his whole Karma dissolves away.
24. The process is Brahman [God]…offered by Brahman in the fire of Brahman; by seeing Brahman in action, he reaches Brahman alone.
The Bhagavad Gita: Duty with Detachment
The “sacrifice” refers to rituals performed by the priestly class seen as essential to maintain cosmic harmony.
…So, as we see, the danger of attachment to results does not mean we do not act.
If we do not act, the social order will crumble
If we do not act, we will make a false distinction in our mind between physical states (action-bad; non-action-good)
Thus we will become attached to one physical state as opposed to another, rather than being detached from the results of all physical changes
The Bhagavad Gita: Duty with Detachment
From Gita Chapter 3:
“should I [Krishna] at any time not engage without sloth in action, men would follow in my path from all sides, O son of Prithâ! If I did not perform actions, these worlds would be destroyed, I should be the cause of caste interminglings; and I should be ruining these people. As the ignorant act, O descendant of Bharata! with attachment to action, so should a wise man act without attachment, wishing to keep the people (to their duties).”
The Bhagavad Gita: Duty with Detachment
From Gita Chapter 3:
“A man does not attain freedom from action merely by not engaging in action; nor does he attain perfection by mere renunciation. For nobody ever remains even for an instant without performing some action; since the qualities of nature constrain everybody, not having free-will (in the matter), to some action. The deluded man who, restraining the organs of action, continues to think in his mind about objects of sense, is called a hypocrite. ”
The Bhagavad Gita: Duty with Detachment
Only by practicing socially-responsible actions while learning to be detached from results can we create the conditions to have accurate knowledge of our eternal self and its union with the infinite.
The Bhagavad Gita: Duty with Detachment
From Gita Chapter 3: “…but he, O Arguna! who restraining his senses by his mind. and being free from attachments, engages in devotion (in the shape) of action, with the organs of action, is far superior. Do you perform prescribed action, for action is better than inaction, and the support of your body, too, cannot be accomplished with inaction. This world is fettered by all action other than action for the purpose of the sacrifice. Therefore, O son of Kuntî! do you, casting off attachment, perform action for [the] purpose [of sacrifice].”
The Bhagavad Gita: Duty with Detachment
Thus, for the Gita, an action is good if it is performed:
free from desire for a specific outcome
This allows us to stop identifying ourselves with finite processes
out of social duty
This allows us to remove obstacles for others
This allows us to realize that finite processes cannot change our identity in the infinite
The Bhagavad Gita: Duty with Detachment
Gita 3.9: “The world is in the bonds of action, unless…thy actions be pure, free from desire”
The Bhagavad Gita: Duty with Detachment
Group Discussion:
You are working on a difficult project at work and you really want to impress your boss. Two colleagues on your level are working on the project with you and you are all fighting over:
- Who’s idea for the project is better
- Which of you should be the project leader
- Which of you should make the presentation and get the credit for success.
How would the Bhagavad Gita help you address this situation?
The Bhagavad Gita: the way of devotion (bhakti)
As mentioned, the Gita recommends that our social duties be performed as a sacrifice or devotion to God in a personal form (in this case, Krishna). (this could be understood as an understanding that our actions are governed by nature, the ‘body’ of the infinite Spirit)
While the Gita recommends knowledge (of our true Self and our union with the infinite) as the way to detachment, it realizes that:
“Greater is their trouble whose minds are set on the Unmanifested; for the goal of the Unmanifested is very hard for the embodied to reach.” (Gita, 12.5)
The Bhagavad Gita: the way of devotion (bhakti)
Gita 9.27-28: “Whatever you do, or eat, or give…let it be an offering to me [God].
…Thus you shall be free of the bonds of karma that yield fruits that are evil and good; and with your soul one in renunciation [detachment] you shall be free and come to me.”
The Bhagavad Gita: the way of devotion (bhakti)
How can the Gita’s insights help us?
…maybe we don’t believe in God
…certainly we already have many attachments to results
The idea of devotion shows that anyone can practice detachment + duty.
We can all choose spiritual goods to pursue, such as faith, virtue, joy in creativity, and loving relationships.
We can all engage in practices (meditation, community service, prayer, rest in nature, relationships with the poor) that help us to focus on happy or social action, not material results
The Bhagavad Gita: the way of devotion (bhakti)
Basically, we can do actions that are beautiful-in-themselves, rather than leading to results
We can be comforted by the fact that our attachments, troublesome desires, and the outcomes of our actions do not define us, and will eventually pass away
We can be comforted by the fact that we have very little control over the physical world of cause and effect, and that our identity necessarily goes beyond it.
The Bhagavad Gita: the way of devotion (bhakti)
Gita Ch. 12:
Place your mind on me only; fix your understanding on me. In me you will dwell …But if you are unable to fix your mind steadily on me, then…endeavour to obtain me by the abstraction of mind (resulting) from continuous meditation. If you are unequal even to continuous meditation, then let acts for [honouring] me be your highest (aim). Even performing actions for [worshipping] me, you will attain perfection. If you are unable to do even this, then resort to devotion to me, and, with self-restraint, abandon all fruit of action.
The Bhagavad Gita: the way of devotion (bhakti)
Gita Ch. 12:
For knowledge is better than continuous meditation; concentration is esteemed higher than knowledge; and the abandonment of fruit of action than concentration; from (that) abandonment, tranquillity soon (results). …
The Bhagavad Gita: the way of devotion (bhakti)
…That devotee of mine, who hates no being, who is friendly and compassionate, who is free from egoism, and from (the idea that this or that is) mine, to whom happiness and misery are alike, who is forgiving, contented, constantly devoted, self-restrained, and firm in his determinations, and whose mind and understanding are devoted to me, he is dear to me.
…But those devotees who, imbued with faith, and (regarding) me as their highest (goal), resort to this holy (means for attaining) immortality, as stated, they are extremely dear to me.
The Bhagavad Gita: the way of devotion (bhakti)
Group Discussion:
You are working on a group project and fighting with your colleagues about who should lead and get the credit.
What actions can you take to reduce your attachment to desires and results in this situation?
How can you act in a way that is devoted - to God, to others, or to spiritual ideals - rather than thinking you can control what is happening?
Virtue Ethics in Aristotle
With insights from Plato & Aquinas
Three Basic Ethical Systems in the modern West:
Deontolgy - Good = Something done based on principle, not on utility
Utilitarianism - Good = Greatest good (usually pleasure) for greatest number
Virtue Ethics - Good = Happiness (excellence in human capabilities: good character)
Virtue Ethics in Aristotle
With insights from Plato & Aquinas
Ethics is about choices, results, and character.
Why do we make choices?
We make choices because we have desires.
Why do we desire anything?
it feels good (pleasure - beauty - belly)
it appears good (emotion - goodness - chest)
it is believed to be good (reason - truth - head)
Desire shows that there are goals in nature (survival, cooperation, happiness/satisfaction); existence is Good.
Virtue Ethics in Aristotle
With insights from Plato & Aquinas
This is not a ‘religious’ position:
“For Aristotle…an object functions well or poorly depending whether or not i is achieving its appropriate…end [which is to be] functioning well.” (Deveterre, Virtue Ethics, p. 21)
Functioning well is a natural end, but it takes work
We are born with capacities/potentials to develop
As humans, this includes reasoning about how to function well
Appearance & desires for goods can decieve us.
Virtue Ethics in Aristotle
With insights from Plato & Aquinas
In other words,
We desire to find things that are good for us, but we need to train our reason, emotions, and feelings so we can attain them.
Our life as a whole can be characterized as functioning well or poorly; thus, what we are ultimately seeking is a “Good life,” living well, or “happiness” (eudaimonia).
Virtue Ethics in Aristotle
With insights from Plato & Aquinas
What Is Happiness?
Security: it depends on your character and reasonable decision-making, not chance
Completeness: it is the satisfaction of all we need to be complete
Self-sufficiency: it depends on nothing outside itself
Virtue Ethics in Aristotle
With insights from Plato & Aquinas
How do we acquire happiness?
By learning to make wise choices that make us live well:
Intellectual virtues
By cultivating emotional habits that support our wise choices:
Character virtues
Virtue Ethics in Aristotle
With insights from Plato & Aquinas
Group Discussion:
Based on the video, answer the following questions. You will ONLY receive your participation mark if your answer is actually based on the video:
What is virtue, and how is it related to happiness?
Why is happiness not just a feeling? Why can it only be gained through virtue?
Virtue Ethics in Aristotle
With insights from Plato & Aquinas
What is Virtue (德)?
Character traits/psychological states that enable us to make wise decisions
United to each other; you can’t have one without the other
Based on wisdom; understanding of reality in a way that enables you to live well
Based on choice and repetition
Based on self-interest including acting sincerely for the interest of others
Virtue Ethics in Aristotle
With insights from Plato & Aquinas
What is Virtue (德)? Two types:
Character Virtues: moderation, courage, justice
“Psychological states formed over time by repeat[ing virtuous] actions” (Deveterre, 67)
Intellectual Virtues: Intellect, Wisdom, Science, Philosophy…
Excellence in reasoning that enables us to live well
“Affirm what is factual [and] pursue what is good” [ibid.], also formed by practice and trial & error
Virtue Ethics in Aristotle
With insights from Plato & Aquinas
How do we become virtuous?
Education of our natural virtues
We need a good teacher
Repetition
Without some basic good habits, we cannot learn to choose for ourselves
Virtue Ethics in Aristotle
With insights from Plato & Aquinas
Practicing these until they become “authentic” virtues
This means that you start to choose them for yourself
Your character is truly shaped
You truly know how to distinguish what is good
This requires both practice & guidance and trial & error
Virtue Ethics in Aristotle
With insights from Plato & Aquinas
Group Discussion:
Based on the video, answer the following questions. You will ONLY receive your participation mark if your answer is actually based on the video:
How is virtue acquired? How is this different from following moral rules?
Why is repetition important for creating virtue? (It might help you to think of a simple word that is synonymous with virtue here…)
