DISCUSS THE CONFUCIAN SUPERIOR MAN AND COMPARE IT WITH THE TYPICAL PERSONALITY PRAISED BY MODERN SOCIETY (LIKE BILL GATES, YAO MING, ETC.)

CONFUCIAN SUPERIOR MAN (religion and theology)

Confucian superior man

Christian tradition for instance has it that a human being is a creation made in the likeness of God thus the difference between man and animals. As Westernized theologians argue more about the existing differences amid humans, stressing for the respect and recognition of human dignity through political legislation, China emphasizes the Confucian anthropology. It cultivates moral personality which the Chinese find vital for the performance as well as the supremacy of politicians (LO).

The main idea generated by Confucius is that one which allows each and every human being to cherish the hope of becoming superior to fellow men, if possible, more so superior to personal past as well as present.  This goes well with the conditions in which the evolution principle is improving and progressing as it offers man as well as his offspring, an extensive reward if only he decides to cultivate higher and useful qualities and traits (LO).

Plans to excel, if approve and embraced by common permission, would attract every child and if presented to the mind of the child in a logic manner and put into effect by means of universal acknowledgment of its valid nature, would end up being a conviction as well as a scheme required for living, of changing power along with compelling vigor (LO).

Confucius together with his disciples as well as Mencius display the superior man who should be emulated with no turning, admired with no stopping and furthermore imitated without allowing hindrances. Some of these attributes are purpose, poise, self-sufficiency, thoroughness, earnestness, sincerity, truthfulness, pure thoughts and deeds, adoring truth, rectitude, mental hospitality, prudence, composure, dignity and ease, fearlessness, firmness, lowliness, avoiding sycophancy, openness, capacity, growth, the golden rule amongst others (LO).

Despite the differences depicted by Confucians regarding men and animals, it is confusing that on one hand Confucius states that men are almost alike through nature but on the other hand says that men are wide apart by practice. Parallel to the creation doctrine that states that everything that God made is good, Confucians have a strong belief that the innate human nature is an excellent present or reward from heaven. Confucius believes that the nature of human beings is exceedingly noble and much precious. Mencius added that it is common for all mankind to have a great desire to feel honored. According to Mencius, if the kings father kills, he should be arrested by a criminal judge who ought not to be stopped by the king (LO).

Mencius continued to state that every individual has in himself or herself something that is beyond doubt honorable, despite the fact that they do not perceive themselves having it. Fascinatingly, Xunzi claimed that the human being is the being that ranks the highest and is most honored on earth reason being unlike other animals he does not only possess life, substance and knowledge but also justice or righteousness (LO).

Given that the value of human beings is contingent on heaven, then human evaluation is not directly related on human value. The human being is required to recognize his human value. Nevertheless, most ordinary people believe that nobles and saints are examples of people who are great due to the fact that they do not only possess an understanding of the value that humans have but they also practice it on daily basis (LO).

Living examples of some people who are regarded noble as a result of their achievements are Bill Gates, Yao Ming amongst others. This typical personality is praised by the modern society due to their uniqueness that has caused them to make some extraordinary achievements that have caused their names to go down the world book of records. Bill Gates is the richest man on earth while Yao Ming is a great champion in the Chinese and American worlds of basketball.

The fifty five year-old Bill Gates came from a simple background, his father being an attorney and his mother a schoolteacher. At thirteen years of age, Gates had learnt how to program computers and his potential was quickly noticed by his teachers due to his excellence in science and math subjects. Bill together with his ally Paul Allen would spend countless hours on the computer lab at the expense of their classes and assignments. They suffered the consequences of having a change of the system which would monitor the time they would spend on the computer. Nevertheless, Bill and his friend managed to hack into the computer system and disengaged the time recorder. This would mark the beginning of the glorious flamboyant life of Bill Gates (Bellis).

He formed a programming group a few years later with an aim of applying the computer skills they had learnt to the actual world. He moved from being hired by several corporations to locate bugs in software to being hired by their school to build up a scheduling system that is computerized to being the innovator of Microsoft and the operating systems Windows 3.0 that facilitated the mouse usage (Bellis).

The 31 year-old 79 feet tall Yao Ming was born in Shanghai China has left a great impact following his resignation recently from NBA. His parents felt convinced to get married with the intention of producing a main athlete. They treated Yao special as they groomed him for a career in basketball. Despite his setbacks in the several years he made a debut in NBA, along with several criticisms, Yao astonished many with the records he has since made in the World Olympics and Championships (Beech).

Confucius stated that, “The determined scholar and the man of virtue will not seek to live at the expense of injuring their virtue. They will even sacrifice their lives to preserve their virtue complete,” in addition “The commander of the forces of a large state may be carried off, but the will of even a common man cannot be taken from him.” According to Confucius, the will of mankind cannot measure up with any other characteristics in man for it is not possible to safeguard goodness or human morality, according to Mencius, if the unconquerable will that implements Rén is lacking (LO).

Rén is an extremely fundamental nature, according to the teachings of Confucius, of which man is made up of. Today, most of the Confucian thinkers do not object on the egalitarianism of all mankind. Mencius feels convinced that literally every individual could turn out to be a saint at one point or a perfect or ideal person. In line with this, Xunzi had the same point of view with Mencius, although his teachings portrayed the human nature as evil, differing with Mencius who believed that it was good (LO).

The modern human does not apply the process of self-determination in his life. Humans, rather than evaluating on ways they would want to implement Rén, they focus so much on their capability of actually implementing it. This self-determination in mankind plays a vital role in the teachings of Confucius regarding human dignity, for it is solely dependent on the person and his will to either implement or reject Rén. Confucius adds that Rén is never at any one time distant from someone but it is always nearby if one desires for it (LO).

REFERENCES

Beech, Hannah. “Yao Ming: Chinas Incredible Hulk of the Hardcourt Becomes an NBA Sensation.” Time International 28 April 2003: p. 34.

Bellis, Mary. “Bill Gates Biography and History.” 2011. 3 August 2011 <https://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventors/a/Bill_Gates.htm>.

LO, Pilgrim W.K. “Human Dignity—A Theological and Confucian Discussion.” Dialog: A Journal of Theology 48.2 (2009): 168-178.

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