Confucius developed a moral philosophy whose purpose was to sow peace and harmony in society. Today, his teachings are still valid.
Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC) was a Chinese teacher and philosopher with thoughts and contributions that are still valid today. Living in a time full of confrontations and wars, he developed a philosophy based on principles such as respect, kindness and honesty. Likewise, he defended that education was the best way to create a peaceful society.
In this way, he broke with the tradition that only the nobles should have access to education and dedicated a large part of his life to the teaching of human values. His legacy was such that his followers founded Confucianism, an ethical system that has been practiced by millions of people.
Education builds trust. Trust breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.
The great contributions of Confucius
Confucius developed a moral philosophy whose purpose was to sow peace and harmony in society. To do this, she wandered from kingdom to kingdom preaching virtues such as kindness, compassion and love of neighbor. It is said that this great thinker had more than 3,000 disciples and was known as the sacred master among masters.
His teachings were not imposed, since his method consisted of asking his students questions so that they themselves could find their own answers through reflection.
Human values
The chaos and injustices resulting from the confrontations he witnessed led him to develop a new moral code based on respect, kindness, honesty, justice, education and family ties.
For Confucius, a virtuous person is always cultivating his intellect through study and their actions are always guided by moral values. In this way, he did not consider knowledge as an end in itself, but as a constant path.
In addition, Confucius placed great emphasis on the importance of the past and revered old age, since he considered that the elderly were the only ones who could deliver wisdom to the new generations. In this sense, he defended a social structure in which the oldest educated the young.
Some of his most representative phrases around virtue and values are the following:
- “These three signs distinguish the superior man: virtue, which frees him from anxiety; wisdom, which frees him from doubt; and courage, which frees him from fear”.
- “When you see a good man, think of imitating him; when you see a bad one, examine your own heart”.
- “Seeing justice and not doing it is cowardice”.
- “Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you, nor do to yourself what you would not do to others”.
- “He who seeks to ensure the well-being of others, already has his own insured”.
Your vision of education
Another of the great contributions of Confucius was the universalization of education. Given that he was the first to educate people who did not belong to the nobility.
From his perspective, knowledge enabled each individual to attain wisdom, act appropriately, and gain satisfaction from adhering to morality.
In this sense, he defended that the role of the educator should be to teach how to live in an integral way through the human values and benevolence. Some of his famous phrases regarding education and wisdom are the following:
- “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.”.
- “The wise man looks for what he wants within himself; the unwise look for it in others”.
- “The path of truth is wide and easy to find. The only downside is that men don’t look for it.”.
- “Just as water takes the shape of the container that contains it, a wise man must adapt to circumstances”.
- “Success depends on prior preparation, but without such preparation failure is certain”.
Confucius He argued that good government was the foundation of a peaceful and happy society.. And the basis for good government was correct and wise officials.
For his part, he considered that all the governed owed loyalty to the rulers, but the rulers who did not care for the well-being of the people lost. heaven’s mandate and they could justly be overthrown.
A people governed despotically and in which order is maintained by means of punishments, can avoid the infraction of the law, but it will lose its moral sense.
confucianism
Also called Confucianismit’s a philosophical and religious system that originated in the ideas of Confucius. In this current we find rituals that can be applied in all areas of life and are based on human values that promote social and family harmony.
This movement arises from the initiative of the followers of Confucius, since his intentions were never to create a religious system. Even so, it is one of the most significant contributions of Confucius to humanity and is believed to be practiced by approximately 100 million people.
Education and love of neighbor
In sum, the teachings and contributions of Confucius contributed to building a better world, in which kindness, justice and love of neighbor are key pieces to combat wars and social discord. Furthermore, he made it clear that education is fundamental to creating virtuous citizens and establishing good governments.
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