Study Of Confucius’ Moral Convictions

Human beings have been entrapped in a modernistic dilemma——humans have been enjoying material abundance brought about by science and technology which is advancing at a record high speed; at the same time, they are being encountered by the ecological crisis created by economic development and the moral crisis in our spiritual life. The crises and predicament are attributable to the hiatus between modern life and tradition, to the great loss of social capital and to the decline of social trust. The crisis can be boiled down to the crisis of moral convictions. Now in the process of modernization, China, on the one hand, witnessed tremendous achievement in its economy; on the other hand, it is also facing a similar crisis and predicament. The crisis results in essence from the absence of moral convictions. Realizing the China dream presupposes a mighty spiritual drive, so it is necessary to raise awareness of moral convictions, build up social capital and concentrate social power. Social capital is intangible yet incremental. Its core includes such code of ethics as trust, reciprocity and cooperation; it mirrors how harmonious the interrelationships are between men, between the individual and society, and between man and nature. It is the embodiment of the public spirit. Moral conviction takes the form of moral values and standards; it is inherently associated with social capital—they are mutually enhancing. Confucius’reflections on moral issues are a rich mine of social capital; therefore, the study of Confucius’moral convictions are of great relevance to the solution to the current crises.Confucius’ moral beliefs and convictions in general constitute the bulk of his moral convictions, whose kernel is "benevolence". The "benevolence","reciprocity""righteousness","etiquette","confidence", among others, which he upheld, make a self-sufficient moral system. Confucius held that one should keep a respectful distance from ghosts and gods. Lying at the core of his beliefs was his belief in destiny, which was the origin of his moral beliefs and convictions. Confucius embraced the "heavenly laws" handed down from the West Zhou Dynasty, and carried them over into the realm of "human laws", in his terms,"principle of benevolence". Confucius’ultimate pursuit of "principle of benevolence" characterized his belief in humaneness. His moral convictions are the "principle of benevolence", whose core is the doctrine of loyalty and consideration for others, that is "Zhong (loyalty to one’s true nature) and Shu (reciprocity)". To be more specific,"Zhong" means "establish oneself by helping establish others; achieve by helping others achieve," and "Shu" means "Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself." The doctrine of the mean, another important concept in Confucianism, is both the end, namely, equity and justice, and the means by which principle of benevolence is practised. His ethical principles "Ren"(benevolence),"Li"(etiquette),"Xin"(confidence),"Zhong"(loyalty),"Yi"(righteousness),"Jing"(respect),"Cheng"(sincerity) have as their core the property of conviction, and point to the feasibility of his moral conviction."To generate life is the essence of change.""To generate life" is the ontological basis of his moral convictions. And moralism and an ideal personality are the evaluative basis of his moral convictions. The humane political beliefs and his educational proposition "in teaching there should be no distinction of classes"(he practiced what he preached) testified to his own moral beliefs.To facilitate China’s modernization, Confucius’ moral convictions need to be updated. To turn his moral system to our advantage, we ought to,under the guidance of Marxism,complement his system with Marxist faith, convert Confucius’ moral convictions into the social capital needed for the construction of the economy, society and ecological civilization; carry forward the Confucian spirit of idealism; and build a society that is upheld by a sound legal system, high moral consciousness, economic prosperity and cultural richness, making possible the realization of the China dream.