The Central Idea in Confucius’ Moral Vison: The Gentleman

Confucius (Kongzi) is undoubtedly among the most important moral thinkers of human history, with his thought fundamentally shaping not only Chinese culture but also a number of other Asian cultures, notably those of Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. As important as Confucius is, his key text, The Analects, is not an easy book for Westerners to read. It is composed of a large number of short epigrams and stories which are often cryptic and apparently disconnected. (In Classic Asian Philosophy, Joel Kupperman irreverently said that they can read like demented fortune cookie messages!)

Tonight’s discussion will focus on a central passage in the Analects (6.18). This passage identifies the key features that make Confucius’s ideal person, the gentleman (junzi). By focusing on this passage and by bringing in other passages to illuminate it, we will get an idea of who this Confucian gentleman is. We will also discuss whether this ideal remains relevant for us today or whether the gender and class associations of a term such as “gentleman” are too much of an obstacle.

Presented by Dr. George Connell

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