Throughout reading The Analects something that I noticed was the repetition of the themes of humaneness and perception. Today in class one of the quotes we discussed was "One does not worry about the fact that other people do not appreciate one. One worries about not appreciating other people." (1.16) I feel like these ideas came up again in 4.3: "Only one who is humane is able to like other and able to dislike other people". I found this interesting because in a way it contradicts the idea presented in Book One. From that statement, I would assume that "appreciating" or "knowing" other people means that you don't lay harsh judgement on them, which is not the idea that 4.3 seems to promote. What do you guys think? Have you found any other passages that seem to relate back to the earlier books?
[As a side note, I found there to be a direct relationship between 1.16 and and 15.19: "The gentleman is pained at the lack of ability within himself; he is not pained at the fact that others do not appreciate him." This chapter seemed to be a continuation of 1.16 in that it further developed the idea that one can't be bothered by the opinions of others in a sense, which we talked about in class as well.]
I don't think that the quote of 4:3 is not a contradiction 1:16. I think they relate to separate aspects of life. Where 1:16 deals with our actions, at least to me, 4:3 deals with our emotions. I think 4:3 offers a justification for liking and disliking others, as if to say that sane people posses the ability to like and dislike people. One should not be expected to like everybody nor should they dislike everybody. Neither are healthy. So I would argue that 1:16 uses "appreciate" in a general way to describe our actions and how they affect others, whereas 4:3 goes more specifically into liking and disliking and our emotions toward others.
ReplyDeleteI also don’t see what is said in 4:3 as a contradiction as to what is said in 1:16. Personally I think it’s very difficult to understand the analects themselves because there are so many different translations that you can find. I looked up 1:16 to find the original quote, and it seems that what is translated as “appreciating” is better translated as “knowing.” From that it seems more that what Master Kong is saying in this quote is more about the idea that you shouldn’t focus on being known by others and, in that sense, having fame or popularity. Instead he focuses on being aware of other people around him. And with that I think that when he talks about liking and disliking people it kind of does go back to what he says in book 1 about knowing others, because only if you know others and are aware of who they are can you really judge them and decide whether or not you like or dislike them.
DeleteI have found recurring ideas of filial piety. This aspect of the Way is brought up numerous times, however, the specific correlation to one's father's death is repeated. Filial piety consumes a majority of books 1 and 2. It comes back in book 4 when the Master states, "One who makes no changes to the way of his father for three years after his father has passed away may be called a filial son" (4.20). This is almost the exact same quote that appeared in the opening book, making the concept of filial piety seem to be of greater importance regarding the Way. Also, in 12.22 it is brought up again that one must raise up the straight and apply them to the crooked, as was mentioned in earlier books. The recurrence of these concepts stresses their role in the path to achieving the Way.
ReplyDeleteI believe that humaneness and perception are reoccurring ideas because it was a huge part of life when Confucius was alive. If you think about it, perception was (and still is) an important way in which one sees the world: as a negative or positive. Confucius also reiterates humaneness because everyone is human and makes errors and mistakes. Since everyone makes mistakes, it would be wrong to judge them harshly after only one or two errors, but when someone constantly makes mistakes Confucius implies that one may judge them. Of course everyone makes errors, but he is saying that only the worst of errors made should lead to that person's own judgement.
ReplyDeleteThis observation is very interesting. I like that quote because it shows how Confucius thought. He believed that a person's self reflection is more important than how other perceive you. In the analects, the them of self reflection occurs everywhere. It is more important to know that you did the right thing when one wrongs you. Although, personally I don't agree with this, it seems to be the moral in which people had to live by during Confucius' time.
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