Utilitarianism And Utilitarianism - Confucius' Value Of Life Pursuit

The concept of “utility” has emerged in the pre-Qin period. Confucius, who wasborn in turbulent days of Spring and Autumn period, had a profound understanding of“utility”. He creates a set of his own utilitarian theory, which is implicit in his famousbook called Analects of Confucius, containing a collection of his sayings anddialogues. With the establishment of the orthodox status of Confucianism in theWestern Han Dynasty, valuing justice above material gains became the main trend,and people generally regarded “Confucius seldom spoke of benefits” as Confucius’utilitarian view. To date, with the rapid economic growth, more and more peopledeem that Confucian ideology only preaches moral principle and takes no account of“utility”, which is the obstacle of economic development, therefore, Confucianismshould be abandoned. Actually, the explanation of Confucian utilitarianism after theHan Dynasty, especially in Song and Ming Dynasty was quite different from the trueconnotation of Confucius’ utilitarian thought. So it is very important to correctunderstanding and interpretation of Confucian utilitarian thought by revertingConfucius to his real state.Confucius says:“Dining and intercourse between male and female are the mostbasic and important requirement.” Seeking for food and intercourse is human nature,and food is the basic essential for the survival of life, while intercourse is to ensurethe continuation of life. Just as Gaozi says,“the desire for food and sex is part ofhuman nature”. The desire for food and sex exists in all humanity and satisfying thebasic material needs is a must for people’s subsistence. Therefore, Confucius indeedaffirms and respects people’s pursuit of material needs and utility. However,Confucius thinks that human nature, in addition to the lust for food and intercourse,also includes the aspiration for super-utilitarianism in the spiritual realm, namely, thepursuit of benevolence and righteousness. We human are creature of spirituality livingwith meaning. The desire for material needs coexisting with the aspiration forspiritual values appears in human nature. Confucius’ more attention on utility is aguarantee of the continuation of life, while more attention on super-utility is ahighlight of the glory of humanity. The greatness of Confucius lies in hisaccomplishment of the unification between utilitarianism and super-utilitarianismunder the doctrine of the mean thought, and his handing of the relationship betweenmaterial needs and spiritual pursuits.Confucius, who is considered the greatest of the ancient Chinese sages, is acclaimed as a great thinker and educator. He has been respected and admired bysuccessive rulers and literati, whose thought has a profound influence in china. It isessential to reappraise and reinterpret his thought, especially utilitarianism andsuper-utilitarianism, rejecting the dross and assimilating the essence, which has agreat positive and realistic significance to promote economic resurgence, reestablishthe correct moral values and realize the Chinese Dream of a great rejuvenation of theChinese nation.