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Henrietta Mouse

6th October, 2018

PHI 2010 – Introduction to Philosophy

Professor Sarah Jacob

Becoming Human: Building Bridges from Li to Logos

A comparative study of the Way toward the Good according to Confucius and Plato

The period known as the “Axial Age,” a coin termed by Karl Jaspers to describe a huge shift in thought that took place roughly from 800-200 BCE, is a time that scholars return to again and again to rediscover the earliest development of human ethical systems. In the ancient Chinese world, one of the earliest (and definitely the most renowned) recorded Chinese philosophers who sought to rethink humanity in terms of ethical development is Confucius (551-479 BCE.) In Ancient Greece, the first systematic philosopher is Plato[footnoteRef:1] (circa 428-348BCE). While these thinkers are more noted for their difference than similarities, this paper seeks to explore and examine potential synergies and, instead, highlight those moments where bridges can be built to establish connections between the ideas and desired ends of each thinker. Of specific interest for this paper is the comparison between the Confucian concept of Li (Ritual) and the ancient Greek concept of Logos (Wisdom), the Confucian depiction of the Sage King (Ren) and the Platonic depiction of the Philosopher King, and finally the quest toward the “Good” that both Confucius and Plato sought to achieve in both the individual and society at large. Understanding what it is to become human according to the ancient thinkers is as important today as it was 2,500 years ago. By doing so we may establish implicit connections that are relevant for us as we too struggle with becoming human in a world that too often pushes us towards the inhumane. [1: ]

Works Cited

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Van Norden. Hackett Publishing Inc. Indianapolis: 1992

Confucius, “The Highest Order of Cultivation,” Ta Hsueh and Chung Yung (The Highest Order of

Cultivation and On the Practice of the Mean) trans. Andrew Plaks, Penguin Group, London: 2003

“Confucius: Genius of the Ancient World.” Films Media Group, 2015,

fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=16925&xtid=114423. Accessed 7 Oct. 2018.

Plato, “Phaedrus”, 246a, The Complete Works of Plato, ed. John M. Cooper, Hackett

Publishing Inc., Indianapolis: 1997

Popper, Karl, Socrates, Buddha, Confucius, Jesus, ed. Hannah Arendt, trans. Ralph Manheim,

Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., New York: 1957

Wong, Marina. “A Comparison between the Philosophies of Confucius and Plato as Applied to Music

Education.” Journal of Aesthetic Education, vol. 32, no. 3, 1998, pp. 109–112. JSTOR, JSTOR,

www.jstor.org/stable/3333312.