Religion class essay

The human problem

Chapter 10

Cosmogonies: Origins of the Natural

and Social Order

Concept of the Divine How we perceive the

divine (polytheism, monotheism, dualism, pantheism,

panentheism) informs the stories of creation, which in turn,

influence the narrative of the human problem.

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The Human
 problem

We are often

overwhelmed by a sense of alienation

our own weakness and inadequacy

hostility estrangement

shame moral guilt

failure

We seek: enlightenment reconciliation, forgiveness

peace order

progress

Every movie/ story presents a human

problem…Can you think of any?

Problem and solution

according to Freud and Marx?

https://youtu.be/ 7P3TrGCMHNU

–Marco Rubio

"Welders make more money than

philosophers. We need more welders and less

philosophers."

Outline: The Sacred Pharmacy

• Plato

• Confucianism

• Buddhism

• Each tradition will propose a particular view of the root of the problem + solution= proscribe its cure (how to overcome the problem and reach the ideal reality according to its view)

There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is

suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the

fundamental question of philosophy.

The Pharmacists

Plato The Cave Illness

Plato (c.429 - c.347 BC)

• How? Proscription: Exercise the Intellect = Rationalism

• The Republic: Proposes that only highly educated people should be allowed to rule since they can discern truth from opinion, and have true knowledge.

• “There would be no end to the troubles of states, or of humanity until philosophers becomes kings in this world or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers.” (Republic, 473).

IGNORANCE is the problem!

“Most people are not just comfortable in their ignorance, but hostile to anyone who points it out.”

https://youtu.be/1RWOpQXTltA

Only rational people should have the right to

vote and govern.

Did not agree with Democracy

Redemptive Rationalism

Relative= opinions, self-serving info.

Eternal- unchanging truth

Capable of discerning

Solution: Gain knowledge- Philosophy.

Our everyday “caveness”(ignorance)

Sunglasses - They Live

Fight the light - They Live

Confucianism The Sociologist - The Golden Rule

Life of Confucius • Given name was Kung.

• Born in the sixth century B.C.E. in 551 B.C.E. in the state of Lu (now modern Shantung). Died 479 BC.E.

• From an aristocrat family that had lost its wealth and position in the decline of the feudal states of China. Reared in poverty by his widowed mother.

• He had access to education and was interested in the workings of society and government from an early age.

• After becoming a revered teacher he was referred as K’ung Fu-Tzu (Kung the Master). After contact with Western missionaries and scholars, the name was latinized to “Confucius.”

• At the age of 50, he successfully implemented his teachings after joining the government of Duke of Lu as its prime minister. According to Confucian legends, his government was ideal. Crime rate dropped and safety reigned in his city. However, he was forced to retire five years later.

• Earliest and most authentic material about Confucius is contained in the Analects of Confucius. He is also mentioned in Taoist and Mohists writings.

• Collection of his teachings compiled about 70 years after his death.

Confucianism • Not a “religion” from our western perspective. No word in China for religion — rather there is

term for nature or virtue.

• Reaction of XIX century Christian missionaries.

• Non-theistic, no priesthood, rejects monasticism and asceticism, and it proposes no afterlife.

• Focuses on community. Seen as a social ritual. Concerned with the order of society and the relationship between the government and its people and relations within family members.

• A way of ordering society

• Concerned with proper social roles.

• Introduced the Golden Rule .

• Known in China as the “Way of the ancients” or the “way of the sages.” —- Importance of memory and cultural heritage = Identity.

• Lived during the disintegration of the feudal system which led to chaos and internal conflict from 8th century to 3rd century BCE.

Central themes: Li and Jen • Human nature as an inherently good arrangement, including the

wayward inclinations.

• Li: originally meant “to sacrifice” in a religious context. Later, the word came to mean “ceremonious activity on special secular occasions.” It was lastly associated with the “social propriety” or decorum expected in all human relationships.

• translated as “propriety,” “rites,” “ceremonies,”or “courtesy.” Social rite or ceremony or “The rules of social propriety”

• Originally it may have meant the grain in wood or the pattern in jade.

• In other words: “The course of life as it is intended to go.”

• Rituals -> behavior -> character -> action

• Identity- Belonging, sense of responsibility.

• Jen: “Love,” “kindness,” “human-heartedness.” People should love one another in their daily lives.

• Golden Rule.

• Shu: Society was best served when people acted with reciprocity (shu) toward each other.

• Super human!

• He understood the psychological response to order and unity.

“It is humaneness which is the attraction of a a neighborhood.

If from choice a man does not dwell in the midst of humaneness, how

can he attain to wisdom? Also!

“Man is what he does” So “In the presence of a worthy man, think of equaling him. In the presence of a

worthless man, turn your gaze within.”

Rituals—> Humanize our relationships.

Fragmentation effects?

Goal: Exemplary Leaders can shape “Super Humans” and Virtuous Societies

• Humanity as inherently good. • Including our “irreducible rascality” • Mature view of humanity, even humorous “boys will be boys attitude” • Perfectibility of human kind was possible: Every human had the

natural potential of becoming virtuous.

• There is a map for virtue and it is found in the loyal practice of Li or rituals, which allow people to face change without falling into chaos because everyone knows the role they must play.

• The most powerful role model, however, is the ruler. It has the power to continue or destroy a community.

The problem: Poor Government

• “the ruler is the model from whom others are their cue.” (229 Livingston)

• The problem or the root of evil for Confucius was poor government or poor leadership (models). A government with bad laws caused people to do evil, and that a generation of good rulership could cure most of the moral ills of people.

• Te: The power of charisma. (pg. 231)

• Preached that people were not inherently evil, rather, that under the proper circumstances it was possible for individuals to achieve the status of the superior human.

• Humanity is naturally moral and should not be offered rewards or punishment for its conduct.

• People should not understand morality as an external duty, but as an intrinsic human quality. The rewards is a good life here and now, not in the afterlife as religions would propose.

• i.e. Education- Getting A’s- distracting from real learning.

• The chance to become a “Superior Man [person]” was immediate and tangible.

Corrupted leadership

I want to be like him when

I grow up!

We emulate the elite- Modern Heroes!

Because everyone has the

capacity of learning= since learning is the source of virtue=

everyone can become a virtuous person/ a sage= therefore contribute to a

harmonious

Solution: Imitation/ Education of Exemplary Models

have the power to influence and inculcate good patterns of behavior through EDUCATION

Li Good Government/ authority figure Depended on

Human nature is Good

When this tradition is

broken- chaos

ensues.

Sense of community, belonging and

identity

historical Memory/ connection

#228 Order and unity!

Social rituals

Why is the tradition of the elders so important? is it just nostalgia?

Transmitting the Grand Harmony of the

ancestors Defining roles within the ritual

#229

i.e. Capital cities Post-colonial

issues Fundamentalism

“ Man is what he does” - Being part of a ritual humanizes people

Ritual= shapes BEHAVIOR and CHARACTER= reinforces ACTION.

— NOT THROUGH LAW NOR BY PHYSICAL POWER.

Jen

Proscription: The Rectification of Names: The Five Great Relationships

Why? Linguistic clarity regarding the use of word provides a clarity that issues in moral exactitude and order. In other words, as long as our words are askew, our actions will be incorrect, and strife and unhappiness will prevail.

- The rectification of names (correct linguistic instructions) should be the first order of government.

1. Father to son: Kindness in the father and filial piety in the son.

2. Elder brother to younger brother: Gentility in the elder brother and humility in the younger.

3. Husband to wife: Righteous behavior in the husband and obedience in the wife.

4. Elder to junior: There should be consideration among the elders and deference among the junior.

5. Ruler to Subject: Benevolence among the rulers and loyalty among the subjects.

The rectification of Names

Te- charisma Jen - Human Heartedness

No ambiguity in titles

What do es

it mean to

be a rul er?

Buddhism The Optometrist

Theravada Buddhism

Reform movement

Hinduism- view of the self?

Sakya - India Buddha- Sakyamuni

Gautama Buddha - 563-483 ? BCE

Karma- “To do” “Action”

Inherited concepts of karma,

reincarnation (samsara),

and liberation (nirvana). Rejected: The idea of the self

and cast system! - the problem

Each being is the architect of his or her

own destiny. “The self is Lord of the Self, who else

is the Lord” Suffering !

That is the problem!

Kisa Gotami

Core Doctrines of the Human Problem

Three signs of Existence:

dukkha, suffering

anicca, impermanence

anatta, no self.

The Idea of the Self: No Self (anatman)

• Rejection of an essential, unchanging interior entity at the center of a person.

• The self is not static, eternally defined.

• The idea of a “constant”identity is an illusion (maya).

• Idea of “permanence of self” leads to idolatry of the self or taking one-self for granted.

Thus the self is what he or she does. It is a constant happening. A constant becoming because we are constantly “doing”- we are a “never ending process,” “manifestations.”

Anatman:The Skandas

So if there is no self, then what

is it that is reborn? and How do we reconcile no-self with karma?

Buddhist believe in rebirth

but not the rebirth of an independent entity called

soul.

Karma endures in samskaras that are impressed in the fifth

skandha: consciousness.

Although always evolving and so impermanent, one’s conciseness escapes the body at death and

passes over to be reincarnated in the next life form.

Buddhist regard the human “being” in terms of the continuously changing, interdependence relationship between the five

aggregates called skandhas: Matter, sensations, perceptions,

mental formations, and consciousness.

This constitutes the ‘I.’

Example of the flame of the candle

Realizing this illusion constitutes

an essential ingredient in attaining

enlightenment or nirvana. -

Do not take your “self” for granted!

The four noble truths about the problem and the Eightfold path as the prescription

2.Suffering is caused by

desire

3. Removing

desire removes suffering

1. Life is (entails) suffering 4. How do you remove

desire? Follow the eightfold path

1. Right views: knowing the 4 noble truths and being aware of the goal of enlightenment.

2. r i g h t t h o u g h t : M a i n t a i n i n g a sincerity of heart and mind.

3. right speech 4. right conduct 5. right livelihood: The need to

acquire a life-style that is consistent with the proper goal.

6. right effort: Vigilant- no distraction from goal of enlightenment.

7. right mindfulness: Maintaining m e n t a l c o n t r o l - m i n d n o t sidetracked from the path.

8. r i g h t c o n c e n t r a t i o n : p r o p e r meditation - signifies harmony between of mind and body.

Perception- Ideas v. reality Nirvana

How to overcome the illusion of permanence and the fear of change: Anicca “Impermanence”

& Pratiyasamutpada“Interdependence”

is the idea of ongoing change. It refers to the impermanence of all things; nothing whatsoever is permanent, unchanging entities.

Reality is a process not a substance.

Permanence= Illusion

Because we need some stability amidst this flux (craving and

ignorance), we assign a substantive quality to things.YET

Not only do all things change, but all things change because they are inter-depended with

each other. Flowing river:

Everything is flux.

Dependent origination means that all things that exist and cease to exist are mutually determined by other things that exist and cease to

exist.

Pratiyasamutpada

Example of the chair

Annica

https://youtu.be/ PxWzsrj8bZE