Kudaybergenova N.Zh.

PhD of al-Farabi Kazakh National University

Comparative analysis the ethics of virtue of Confucius and I. Kant

In recent years, the problem of finding the global values of Confucian tradition, as well as its interaction with the West-European philosophy has become the central issue of many philosophical studies. The representatives of the so-called «New Confucianism»who since the late 20s of the last century have been widely discussed issues of democracy, openness and cultural and religious tolerance, initiated this process.

Philosophy arises at a certain stage of historical development of human culture. Karl Jaspers called it «axial time», and refers «to the spiritual process, which was between 800 and 200 years. BC»[1].

VI - IV centuries BC was in China «golden centuries of philosophy», as all the major philosophical trends and ethical-political schools appeared there during this period. This intelligent surge defined in the millennium ahead the development of the spiritual life of Chinese society.

According to traditional Chinese chronicles a period of Chun Qiu (770 - 476 BC.) - Zhang Guo (475 - 221 BC.). Chinese philosophy teachings took shape in the form of two major schools - Taoism («Jia Dao») and Confucianism. Their founders were thinkers Lao Tzu and Confucius. But philosophy did not appear out of nowhere. It is preceded by a long period of formation of the premises and conditions of its appearance.

A prerequisite for the development of philosophy in China has been long-term accumulation and assimilation of knowledge about the laws of the world device. At this stage of development the ancient Chinese man sees himself as part of nature, not separate from it his consciousness. But it was a natural stage of development, when «the emergence of ideas» connected directly with the physical activity of people and language. The researcher of ancient Chinese philosophy, A.E. Lukyanov, noted that «in the final stages of the tribal organization, they formed gnoseo-ontological structure of the pre-philosophic mind, when body-spiritual categories of the opposition of top and bottom precede active cognitive work of thinking in all aspects of the emerging philosophy - philosophical anthropology, sociology, cosmology and epistemology»[2].

«Golden Age» of philosophy in China has been directly linked with the intellectual activities of many members of a particular social category – «shi». It is «shi» inheriting and developing the traditional mind had to move with the method of dialectical views on the nature of people when they are engaged in the creation of different models of social organization. The question arises, what are the «shi».

In the VIII-VI centuries BC the term «shi» refers to the descendants of the very low level of aristocratic patronymy (tsung-tzu). It used to be warriars, and not noble officials. The VI-III centuries BC the scope of their activities gradually expanded, being intellegent and competent people, many of them are engaged in an active intellectual activities.

Philosophers, culture experts, psychologists, theologians, sociologists, anthropologists, and other representatives of the various branches of science XX century reflect on the problem: What is man, and how a person should live. To date, the problem of man is very relevant in all areas of science, as a person as a result of their active work gave their habitat on the brink of a catastrophic failure.

The study of human nature and destiny began in Europe as well as in the East, long before our era.

Any philosophical doctrine of man always comes from a specific doctrine of the world as a whole. Every anthropology assumes ontology (categorically unacceptable to the scientific discourse). Of course, in some philosophical systemthe doctrine of the world can take place more or less, and may even have an implicit nature, i.e. only implied. It can be developed by this philosophy as a system, as it can be borrowed from other philosophical system; but it is always be. After all, people somehow determined through the world, through its relationship to the world. In philosophy, S.L. Rubinstein noted «the question is not only about the man in the relationship with the world, but also of the world in relation to man as an objective attitude» [3]. At the same time, man is a social creature, cultural. Consequently, there is also an objective relation of man to society and society to the man. For the teachings of Confucius and the Confucian philosophy the problem of man is more important than for the Taoist philosophy. This is due to the primarily feature of this philosophical system. In Confucian philosophy ontological issues are not specifically taken up and do not find their solutions.All of the major problems of Confucian teachings focused on man and society, so that it can be very generally defined as a social philosophy. But in this article we will try to show that this is a very specific social philosophy.

The founder of the Confucian teachings Confucius argued that the deep antiquity was perfect in relation to organization of society and human behavior in it. This epic times were of Yao, Shun, Yu, and when viewed in historical chronology, this is the era of Zhou (Western Zhou period). An important objective Confucius believed to convey to his contemporaries ideas and ideals of the period. He said: «I continue - do not create; I believe in the antiquity and love her wholeheartedly» [Lun Yu].

In the ancient Chinese philosophy important categories were «sky» («Tian»), «earth» («di»), «man» («Ren»), the path («Tao»), morality or virtue («de»), fate («min»), the «will of heaven» or «heavenly predestination» («Tian will»). Confucius took these universals of ancient philosophy. An important ontological category of Confucian philosophy is a «sin» - «nature» (meaning human nature).

The philosophy of Confucius saved personal assessment of the subject-category «tian» («Sky»), however, Confucius givesheaven such a feature as justice, moreover, absolute justice. Confucius did not doubt that the sky comes true. Sky expresses their will to everyone, and it will certainly valid. «Life and death - says Confucius - dependent on the dictates of Heaven, gentility and wealth are sent from heaven» [Lun Yu].

Thus, the category of «Tian» in Confucian philosophy has a religious, political, ideological and ethical function. Confucius assigned the sky as a divine principle place above the spirits and souls of the dead ancestors. Toward the traditional beliefs of his time Confucius was also a conservative. There are some several passages in the Lun Yu recording his views about Heaven (tian 天):

«Wang-sun Chia inquired: «What is the meaning of the saying. It is better to pay court to the god of the hearth than to the god of the hall? «Not so, said the Master». He who sins against Heaven has no place left where he may pray». The Master said: «I make no complaint against Heaven not blame men, for though my studies are lowly my mind soars aloft. And what which knows me, is it not Heaven». When Yen Yuan (the favorite disciple of Confucius) died, the Master exclaimed: «Heaven has bereft me! Heaven has bereft me!»[LunYu]

The passages show that Heaven for Confucius mean a purposeful Supreme being or «ruling Heaven» [4].

Another important category is the Confucian «destiny» («min»), often in conjunction with the «sky», that is the category of «the will of heaven» or «heavenly decrees» («Tian min»). The researchers note that «min» is not very much in common with the Western understanding of destiny. In the West, the fate is generally understood as a blind predestination and absolute lack of freedom. Grigorieva noted that «it is not a blind force, not a rock, and the higher destiny which man is to fulfill, if he wants to follow the right path that leads to liberation from every kind of dependence» [5]. So man in the teachings of Confucius has a certain freedom in relation to the fate he could follow it, and may take a different path.

Confucian philosophy inherited from the ancient philosophy as a category «the way» («Tao») and «virtue ethics» («de»), making them the main categories of his philosophical doctrine. «Te» in the Confucian texts also translated as «grace» and how «the power of the spirit». On the category of «dao» Confucius said: «Whoever hears about the way in the morning, he can die in peace at night».

Another important ontological categoryof Confucian philosophy is the «nature» («Sin»). This category of Confucians attached great importance, although it is rarementioned in Lunyu. But the essence of man is not determined by Confucian philosophy in its relationship with nature, and in opposition to nature. The essence of a person is considered to imply a supernatural, namely socio-cultural. Man by Confucius, like other philosophers of ancient China, is considered first and foremost as a social creature, and society is the basic semantic context in which theproblem of human purpose is discussed. In this regard it should be noted the specificity of understanding of Confucius and his followers of what is society and social. Society, according to them, is the unity of society and the state, headed by the ruler (the «son of heaven»), but the state and governance, and human society is not yet understood politically, but purely social. But the very social in Confucian philosophy is interpreted primarily ethically.Thus, Confucius (and in Confucianism) ethical principle prevails over all others. According to Hegel, «the teachings of Confucius ... are a moral philosophy. But say that the philosophy of Confucius is only ethical, would be a mistake, in my opinion, the ethics of Confucius - is not ethics in the narrow sense, but not in the sense of Spinoza's Ethics. The philosophy of Confucius and the Confucian doctrine, in my opinion, can be defined as ethical and social teaching, where questions of morality and virtue go hand in hand with social problems» [6]. From this it follows that the problem of man, the problem of human morality, virtue, perfection, purpose is comprehended in the ethical and social context. In view of these points, we can say that people in Confucian philosophy is understood primarily as an ethical subject.

The next question that we consider - is the ratio of human nature and human essence. By Confucius, according to many researchers, the nature of man is understood as neutral with respect to good and evil. This shall be judged according to the following saying of Confucius: «The nature of each other brings them together, habit separates from each other». From this statement it follows that the nature of all people is the same, and a penchant for good or evil, and there is produced in the process of socialization. Thus, the neutrality of the human nature of good and evil to Confucius is the starting point of the education of the person in the right direction that is, grafting him virtues.

Since the philosophy of Confucius is the ethical-social, the essence of man is a system of elements comprising it, the core of which are the «five permanent members» («u Chan») They are «humanity, kindness and humanity» («jen», «due justice» («i»), «ethical and ritual propriety» («li»), the «wisdom, reason» («ji»), «trustworthiness, trust» («sin»).

The most basic of the five constancies Confucius believed «humanity» («jen»). The most simple and common definition of humanity is contained in the answer to the question of Confucius pupil Fan Chi. Fan Chi asked what humanity is. The teacher replied, «This is love for people». That value, which Confucius gave humanity is evident from his next words: «Humanity is more important to people than water and fire». Therefore, according to Confucius, aspiration for humanity is beneficial in itself: «Aspiration to relieve humanity from all evil». Humanity, according to Confucius, gives a man a special ability to correct, objective attitude to the people: «Only one who is human, and knows how to love people and to feel an aversion to them». Humanity, according to the teachings of Confucius, - it does not do to others what you do not wish for yourself. This formula is repeated many times in the Lun Yu.

Another important category among five constancies is a «ritual propriety» («Li»). «Li» - this is not a formalized ceremony, but rather, a manifestation of the rules of conduct, etiquette inherited from antiquity. The value of the ritual is described in the«Book of rites» («Li Ji»): «The ritual for the people - is like leaven for the wine». That is, the ritual is an integral part of everyday life. According to Confucius, harmony must take specifically human form through the use of ritualized patterns and social relationships (li). Li is one of the most salient markers of our humanity: «Achieving harmony is the most valuable function of observing ritual propriety. But when things are not going well, to realize harmony just for its own sake without regulating the situation through observing ritual propriety will not work» [6].

References

1. Jaspers, K. (1991). Meaning and purpose of history (p.528). M .: Politizdat.

2. Perelomov, L.S. (1993). Confucius life, teaching, destiny (p. 440). Moscow: Nauka.

3. Rubinstein, S.L. (1997). The man and the world (p. 191). M .: Nauka.

4. Fung, Yu-Lan (1973). A history of Chinese philosophy. Vol. I. The period of the philosophers (from the beginnings to circa 100 B.C.). PrincetonUniversityPress.

5. Grigorieva, T.P. (1994). The idea of the fate of the East. The concept of fate in the context of different cultures (pp. 98-109). M .: Nauka.

6. Froese, K. (2013). Ethics Unbound. Chinese and Western perspectives on Morality. TheChineseUniversityPress.