PHIL 502S Chapter Notes - Chapter 1-23: Moral Influence Theory Of Atonement, Physiognomy, Nicomachean Ethics
Comparative Ethics
Xunzi Reading Notes
- The hilde of the Ha, Yue, Yi, ad Mo peoples all ith the sae soud at ith, ut
he go the hae diffeet ustos, eause teahig akes the e this a… pg
257)
o People are born with roughly the same natures
o What later sets us apart is the learned dispositions, probably through ritual and
learning
- Thus the leaig of the getlea is used to ipoe his o peso, hile the leaig of
the petty man is used like gift-oe. pg
o Echoes a lot of Confucian teachings, unsurprisingly
o Confucius also disapproved of trying to appear virtuous because it often missed the
mark of actually internalizing and being virtuous
o The te leaig sees to e ague
▪ What kind of learning? Moral learning, textbook knowledge learning, etc.
o Ad so, leaig is peisel leaig to e a sage – one does not learn solely so as to
eoe a stadadless ooe. pg
▪ To be a sage:
• To be deliberate, firm, and fond of rituals
- Of the paths to leaig, oe is quicker than to like the right person, and exalting ritual
oes seod. pg
o Explicitly advocating exemplarism?
- Leaig is peisel leaig to pusue the sigle-idedl. pg
o Seems to suggest that learning is all-or-nothing
o You should apply what you learn to things
o Learning is something that should be part of every aspect of life and is something that
shapes oes oldie
- Self-cultivation
o If ou eetios of lood, i, itetio, ad thought aod ith itual…
o Exaltation of the teacher, love for friends
o Observing goodness in other and then applying observations to the self (again, with
exemplarism?)
- ‘itual is that hih to oet ou peso. The teahe is that hih to oet ou
patie of itual. pg
o Ad so, in learning ritual is your proper model, and the teacher is one whom you take
as the oet stadad ad ho ou aspie to aod ith. pg
- Against Physiognomy
o Does not believe that the external human form defines humans
o Rather, Xunzi says that distitios ake huas huas
o Of distitios, oe ae geate tha soial diisios, ad of soial diisios, oe ae
greater than rituals, and of rituals, none are greater than those of the sage-kigs. pg
266)
o What does he mean by distinctions?
- Human ability for social differentiation allows for the formation of communities, which allows
humans to live harmoniously and to overcome other animals
o Almost has an evolutionary perspective of humans
- Social divisions are put into practice by means of righteousness
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Document Summary
Human ability for social differentiation allows for the formation of communities, which allows humans to live harmoniously and to overcome other animals: almost has an evolutionary perspective of humans. Whe(cid:374) (cid:271)egi(cid:374)(cid:374)i(cid:374)g a(cid:374)d e(cid:374)d a(cid:396)e (cid:271)oth good, the(cid:374) the hu(cid:373)a(cid:374) (cid:449)a(cid:455) is (cid:272)o(cid:373)plete. (cid:863) (cid:894)pg (cid:1006)(cid:1011)(cid:1012)(cid:895) Belie(cid:448)es that (cid:396)ituals p(cid:396)o(cid:448)ide a (cid:862)(cid:396)efi(cid:374)ed(cid:863) (cid:862)outlet(cid:863) fo(cid:396) e(cid:373)otio(cid:374)s. If they are brought under control, then they will return to the right standards. Chapter 23: human nature is bad (cid:862)people(cid:859)s (cid:374)atu(cid:396)e is (cid:271)ad. Thei(cid:396) good(cid:374)ess is a (cid:373)atte(cid:396) of deli(cid:271)e(cid:396)ate effo(cid:396)t. (cid:863) (cid:894)pg (cid:1006)(cid:1013)(cid:1012)(cid:895) State of nature is chaotic if people follow their inborn dispositions. Age ki(cid:374)gs sa(cid:449) the (cid:271)ad(cid:374)ess of people(cid:859)s (cid:374)atu(cid:396)es a(cid:374)d set up (cid:396)ituals a(cid:374)d sta(cid:374)da(cid:396)ds of righteousness to correct such natures. Overarching logic is without rituals and standards of righteousness, people behave in a bad way (cid:862)those thi(cid:374)gs i(cid:374) people that cannot be learned and cannot be worked at are called their (cid:858)(cid:374)atu(cid:396)e(cid:859). (cid:863)