Confucianism: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) by Daniel K. Gardner

Author:Daniel K. Gardner
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9780195398915
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2014-07-29T05:00:00+00:00

It is expressly because of the selfish desires and feelings of envy and jealousy with which we are born that we aggressively seek to possess the goodness we do not yet have. Here man does not pursue goodness for the sake of goodness, at least initially, but rather to satisfy his longing for what is not his. The pursuit of morality, ironically, is thus born of selfishness and avarice.

But it is not man’s selfish nature alone that explains his impulse to seek out good. It is also the mind’s realization that if he gives free expression to his unruly inborn tendencies, “chaos and mutual destruction” result (sec. 23, “Man’s Nature is Evil”). Concluding that chaos and mutual destruction are not in his self-interest, that they do not ultimately enable him to satisfy his desires, the mind looks to restrain his innate tendencies and turns to ritual principles and classical teachings for guidance.

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