Confucius

. Ross's The Malthus Factor: Poverty, Politics and Population in Capitalist Development (1998). There are also many temples dedicated to him which have been used for Confucianist ceremonies. For a review of the historical development of Malthusian thinking and its role in the evolution of capitalist society through the course of the nineteenth and twentieth century, see Eric B. In China, there are many temples where one can find representations of Buddha, Lao Zi and Confucius together. In other words, the seeming excess of population that Malthus attributed to the seemingly innate disposition of the poor to reproduce beyond their means was actually a product of the very dynamic of capitalist economy. It is still a major destination for cultural tourism, and many Chinese people visit his grave and the surrounding temples. They thus viewed it in terms of their concept of the labor reserve army.

Soon after Confucius' death, Qufu, his hometown, became a place of devotion and remembrance. The highpoint of opposition to Malthus's ideas in the middle of the nineteenth century was the writings of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels who argued that what Malthus saw as the problem of the pressure of population on the means of production was, in fact, that of the pressure of the means of production on population. The Kongs are related by marriage to a number of prominent Confucian families, among them that of the Song dynasty prime minister and martyr Wen Tianxiang 文天祥. Theoretical and political critiques of Malthus and Malthusian thinking emerged soon after the publication of the first Essay on Population, most notably in the work of the reformist industrialist Robert Owen and the essayist William Hazlitt. One of the most common titles is Duke Yansheng (衍聖公 Yǎnshèng gōng), which means "overflowing with sainthood." The latest descendant is K'ung Te-ch'eng (孔德成 Kǒng Déchéng) (born 1920), who is of the 77th generation and a professor at National Taiwan University; he married Sun Qifang, the great-granddaughter of the Qing dynasty scholar-official and first president of Beijing University Sun Jianai, whose Shouxian, Anhui, family created one of the first business combines in modern-day China that included the largest flour mill in Asia, the Fou Foong Flour Company 福豐麵粉廠. And yet, the world population continues to grow exponentially, and a child dies of starvation every fifteen seconds. They were honored with the rank of a marquis thirty-five times since Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, and they were promoted to the rank of duke forty-two times from the Tang Dynasty to 1935. Critics of the idea that overpopulation is a problem often cite this book as proof that predictions of a population explosion are wrong.

Confucius' descendants were identified and honored by the imperial government. Erlich predicted, in the late 1960s, that hundreds of millions would die from a coming overpopulation crisis in the seventies, and that by 1980 life expectancy in the US would be only 42 years. They built upon and expanded his ethico-political system. One famous book about the population explosion is Paul Ehrlich's The Population Bomb. Mencius and Xun Zi are his two great followers, one on each "side" of his philosophy, perhaps simply described as optimism and pessimism. Many conservatives think that overpopulation is used as an excuse for contraception, which they consider immoral. Confucius' philosophical school was first continued by his direct disciples and by his grandson Zisi. Many liberals think that blaming hunger on overpopulation is a case of blaming the victim.

See main article : Disciples of Confucius. Malthus continues to have considerable influence to this day, despite a large number of both liberal and conservative thinkers who still assert that overpopulation is not a problem. Therefore, tyrannicide is justified because a tyrant is more a thief than a king (but attempted tyrannicide is not). Those parts of the world in which birth control is illegal, unpopular, or considered immoral, however, continue to suffer from growing populations and a shrinking food supply. This was built upon by his disciple Mencius to argue that if the king was not acting like a king, he would lose the Mandate of Heaven and be overthrown. In many nations population has stabilized, technology has increased the food supply, and even the poor usually have enough to eat. In discussing the relationship between a son and his father (or a subject and his king), he underlined the need to give due respect to superiors; this demanded that the inferior must give advice to his superior if the superior was considered to be taking the wrong course of action in a given situation. The condom, on the other hand, and especially the birth control pill, have prevented the Malthusian catastrophe throughout much of the world.

Even in facial expression, one sought always to achieve this. Malthus was, of course, wrong in thinking that sexual abstinence could have a significant effect on human population growth. He argued for according language with truth—thus honesty was of the most paramount importance. Government official John Rickman was instrumental in the first Census being conducted in 1801. While he supported the idea of the all-powerful Emperor, probably because of the chaotic state of China at his time, his philosophies contained a number of elements to limit the power of the rulers. Concerns about Malthus's theory also helped promote the idea of a national population Census in the UK. If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of shame, and moreover will become good." (Translated by James Legge) This "sense of shame" is somewhat an internalization of duty, where the punishment precedes the evil action, instead of following it in the form of laws as in Legalism. Ironically, given Malthus's own opposition to contraception, his work was also a strong influence on Francis Place (1771–1854), whose Neo-Malthusian movement was the first to advocate contraception.

"If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of shame. Wallace considered it "the most interesting coincidence" that both he and Darwin were independently led to the theory of evolution through reading Malthus. He explained this in one of the most important analects: 1. Darwin, in his book The Origin of Species, called his theory an application of the doctrines of Malthus in an area without the complicating factor of human intelligence. He argues that the best government is one that rules through "rites" and people's natural morality, rather than using bribery and force. Malthus's theory was also a key influence on both of the co-founders of modern evolutionary theory Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. Confucius' political thought is based upon his ethical thought. In the 1830s his writings strongly influenced Whig reforms which overturned Tory paternalism and brought in the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834.

An early version of the Golden Rule: “What one does not wish for oneself, one ought not to do to any one else; what one recognizes as desirable for oneself, one ought to be willing to grant to others.” (Confucius and Confucianism, Richard Wilhelm). They note that despite the predictions of Malthus and the Neo-Malthusians, massive geometric population growth in the 20th century has not resulted in a Malthusian catastrophe, largely due to the influence of technological advances (especially the green revolution). Virtue under Confucius is based upon harmony with others, very different from the Aristotelian view of virtue being personal excellence. Many 20th century economists, such as Julian Simon, have criticised such conclusions. To live by rén one used another Confucian version of the Golden Rule: he argued that you must always treat your inferiors just as you would want your superiors to treat you. Malthus, however, looked at fertility from a new perspective and convinced most economists that even though high fertility might increase the gross output it tended to reduce output per capita. To live by rén was even better than living by the rules of yì. Previously, high fertility had been considered an economic plus since it increased the number of workers available to the economy.

His moral system was based upon empathy and understanding others, rather than divinely ordained rules. The influence of Malthus's theory of population was very great. Ren can best be translated as human heartedness. Essentially what this resulted in was the promotion of legislation which degenerated the conditions of the poor in England. Just as lǐ flows out of yì, so yì flows out of rén (仁). Thus, the lower social classes took a great deal of responsibility for societal ills, according to his theory. Since they took care of you for the first three years of your life you must reciprocate by living in mourning for three years. However, it is worth noting that Malthus proposed this only for the working and poor classes.

An example of living by yì is how you must mourn your father and mother for three years after their death. Malthus favoured "moral restraint" (including late marriage and sexual abstinence) as a check on population growth. Yì is based upon reciprocity. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, etc.) (See Malthusian catastrophe for more information.) Only misery, moral restraint and vice (which for Malthus included contraception) could check excessive population growth. This means that rather than pursuing your own selfish interests you should do what is right and what is moral. 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, etc.) whereas the food supply grows at an arithmetic rate (i.e. While doing things because of lǐ, your own self-interest, was not necessarily bad, you would be a better, more righteous person if you base your life upon following yì. This prediction was based on the idea that population if unchecked increases at a geometric rate (i.e.

Yì can best be translated as righteousness. In An Essay on the Principle of Population, published in 1798, Malthus predicted population would outrun food supply, leading to a decrease in food per person. To Confucius, yì (义 [義]) was the origin of lǐ. Malthus's views were largely developed in reaction to the optimistic views of his father and his associates, notably Rousseau and William Godwin. Generally attempts to obtain short term pleasure are bad while those that in the long term try to make your life better are generally good. Malthus was buried at Bath Abbey in England. These can be either good or bad. Considered ridiculous at the time, his theory was later confirmed by the Great Depression and works of John Maynard Keynes.

Lǐ to Confucius became every action by a person aiming at meeting the person's surface desires. Here, he developed a theory of demand supply mismatches which he called gluts. He redefined lǐ to refer to all actions committed by a person to build the ideal society. In 1805 he became Britain's (and possibly the world's) first professor in political economy at the East India Company College at Haileybury in Hertfordshire. Confucius redefined lǐ, arguing that it flowed not from heaven but from humanity. Malthus married in 1804; he and his wife had 3 children. It was believed that lǐ originated from the heavens. In 1797, he was ordained and became an Anglican country parson.

While Confucius grew up, lǐ (礼 [禮]) referred to three aspects of life, that of sacrificing to the gods, social and political institutions, and daily behavior. He earned a masters degree in 1791 and was elected a fellow of Jesus College two years later. The Confucian theory of ethics is based on three important concepts:. His principal subject was mathematics. He also looked nostalgically upon earlier days, and urged the Chinese, particularly the politicians, to model themselves on earlier examples — although whether or not older rulers had governed by Confucian standards is dubious. There he studied many subjects and took prizes in English declamation, Latin and Greek. He expressed the well-known principle, "Do not to others what you do not want done to yourself" (the Golden Rule). The young Malthus was educated at home until his admission to Jesus College, Cambridge in 1784.

He championed strong familial loyalty, ancestor worship, and respect of elders by their children and of husbands by their wives, and used the family as a basis for an ideal government. His father was a personal friend of the philosopher and sceptic David Hume and an acquaintance of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Confucius's principles gained wide acceptance primarily because of their basis in common Chinese opinion. Malthus was born to a prosperous family. Although Confucianism is often followed in a religious manner by the Chinese, argument continues over whether to refer to it as a religion because it makes little reference to theological or spiritual matters (God(s), the afterlife, etc.). . Main article: Confucianism. Although it is popularly assumed that it was these pessimistic views that gave economics the nickname Dismal Science, the phrase was actually coined by the historian Thomas Carlyle in reference to an anti-slavery essay written by John Stuart Mill.

In the centuries after his death, Mencius and Xun Zi both wrote a prominent book on these, and with time a philosophy has been elaborated, which is known in the West as Confucianism. Thomas Robert Malthus (February, 1766 – December 23, 1834), who is usually known as Thomas Malthus, although he preferred to be known as "Robert Malthus," was an English demographer and political economist best known for his pessimistic but highly influential views. Confucius' teachings have been turned later into a corps de doctrine by his numerous disciples and followers. The Rev. Duties are always balanced and if a subject must obey his ruler, he also has to tell him when he is wrong. Both are mutual communication between someone's humanity and his social context, both feed social relationships, like the five prototypes: between father and son, husband and wife, prince and subject, elder and youngster, and between friends.

He added that rites are not only the way to arrange sacrificial tools, and music is not only the sound of stick on bell. While rites, in short, show off social hierarchies, music unifies hearts in shared enjoyment. Confucius also heavily emphasized what he calls "rites and music," referring to these social conventions as two poles to balance order and harmony. Thus, when one sees a little bit of the greater picture, according to many ancient or recent Eastern and Western commentators, Confucius' teaching can be considered a noteworthy Chinese variant of humanism.

When one knows that in his time horses were perhaps ten times more expensive than stablemen, one can understand that, by not asking about the horses, Confucius demonstrated his greatest priority: human beings. What seems a matter of tiny importance has been long commented on and shows another of the Confucian specificities that have to be underlined. A good example is found in this famous anecdote:. That is why his teachings need to be examined and put into context for access by Westerners.

This kind of "indirect" way to achieve a goal is used widely in his teachings, where allusions, innuendo, and even tautology are common ways of expressing himself. His ethics may be considered one of the greatest virtue ethics. One of the deepest teachings of Confucius, and one of the hardest to understand from a Western point of view, may have been the superiority of exemplification over explicit rules of behavior. And he wanted the ruler to reach perfection himself, thus spreading his own virtues to the people instead of imposing proper behavior with laws and rules.

He wanted rulers who were devoted to their people. Therefore, Confucius is often considered a great proponent of conservatism, but a closer look at what he proposes often shows that he used (and maybe twisted) past institutions and rites to push a new political agenda of his own: for example, he wanted rulers to be chosen on their merits, not their parentage. In these times of division, chaos, and endless wars between feudal states, he wanted to restore the Mandate of Heaven that could unify the "world" (i.e., China) and bestow peace and prosperity on the people. Far from trying to build a systematic theory of life and society, he wanted his disciples to think deeply for themselves and relentlessly study the outside world, mostly through the old scriptures relating past political events (like the Annals) or past feelings of common people (like the Book of Odes).

In this respect, he is seen by Chinese people as the Greatest Master. In the Analects, where one can find the most intimate descriptions of him, Confucius presents himself as a transmitter who invented nothing and his greatest emphasis may be on study, the Chinese character that opens the book. When he was about sixty, he returned home and spent the last years of his life teaching an increasing number of disciples, trying to share his experiences with them and transmit the old wisdom via a set of books called the Five Classics. At about age fifty, seeing no way to improve the government, he gave up his political career in Lu, and began a twelve-year journey around China, seeking the "Way" and trying unsuccessfully to convince many different rulers of his political beliefs and to push them into reality.

After several years, disapproving of the politics of his Prince, he resigned. As a young man he was a minor administrative manager in the State of Lu and rose to the position of Justice Minister. As a child, he is said to have enjoyed putting ritual vases on the sacrifice table. His social ascendancy links him to the growing class of Shì (士), between old nobility and common people, which later became the prominent class of literati because of the cultural and intellectual skills they shared.

His father died when he was three and he was brought up in poverty by his mother. His father was seventy and his mother only fifteen at his birth. He was born into a once noble family who had recently fled from the State of Song. According to traditional belief, Confucius was born in 551 BC (during the Spring and Autumn Period, at the beginning of the Hundred Schools of Thought philosophical movement) in the city of Qufu in the Chinese State of Lu (now part of present-day Shandong Province and culturally and geographically close to the royal mansion of Zhou).

. These contain an overview of his teachings. The Analects is a short collection of his discussions with disciples, compiled posthumously. Used since then as the imperial orthodoxy, Confucius' thoughts have been developed into a vast and complete philosophical system known in the west as Confucianism.

These values gained prominence in China after being chosen among other doctrines such as Legalism or Taoism during the Han dynasty. His philosophy emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, and justice and sincerity. After much travelling around China to promote his ideas among rulers, he eventually became involved in teaching disciples. Living in the Spring and Autumn period (a time when feudal states fought against each other), he was convinced of his ability to restore the world's order, and failed.

Confucius (traditionally September 8? 551 BC–479 BC) was a famous thinker and social philosopher of China, whose teachings have deeply influenced East Asia for centuries. He is also commonly known as 萬世師表, Wànshìshībiǎo, "the Model Teacher of a Myriad Ages" in Taiwan. 先師, Xiānshī, "the First Teacher". 至聖, Zhìshèng, "the Greatest Sage";.

至聖先師, Zhìshèngxiānshī, meaning "The Former Teacher who Reached Sainthood" (comes from 1530, the ninth year of the Jianing period of the Ming Dynasty);. His most popular posthumous names are