Fin200 - Eastern and Western Philosophers Comparison
PHI/105
Fin 200 - Philosophy is often divided into two very broad categories,
Eastern philosophy and Western philosophy. Eastern philosophy consists
mainly of Asian philosophies such as the Indian philosophies of
Buddhism and Hinduism, the Japanese philosophies of Zen Buddhism and the
samurai tradition, and the Chinese philosophies of Confucianism, Taoism
and Ch'an Buddhism (Moore & Bruder, 2008, p. 525). Western
philosophy is older and generally divided into groups based on a
progression of years as opposed to specific regions, for example, Dark
Ages philosophy and Modern philosophy.
Phi105 - An Eastern philosopher I believe made very compelling
arguments for his ideas is Confucius. Confucius was a righteous man from
the eastern school of philosophy. Confucius laid the beginning
principles by ancient sages and was adhered to the customs to ancient
Chinese. The kings of the time sought out his counsel because of
his fame as a man of ideals. His emperor always led his subjects so that
the state would be harmonious and prosper to lead an exemplary life.
Confucius had a simple rule that was based on virtue of ethics. The rule
was a powerful statement stating, “Doing something bad and you do not
want it to come back on you, and doing good actions you want good
actions to return to you.” This premise was a good rule of life to live
by. Who wouldn’t like to be treated fairly and with respect. Not to
mention the flip side of his statement. Who would want to really harm
anyone if that harm would come back on you whether it is only a
statement or a physically harmful action. “To help others, Confucius
said, one must first establish one’s own humane character, which is done
by imitating models of superior men from the past. Once the individual
has a character that contains nothing contrary to humanity, he can rely
on his humanity, he can rely on his humanity in all his actions”(Moore
& Bruder, 2008, p.545). Phi 105
Phi 105
