Confucius philosophy holds that Confucius was the most influential philosopher in ancient China. Although he claimed to be "words without deeds", in fact, on the eve of a hundred schools of thought contending, he creatively established a philosophical thought system including the view of heaven, the view of human nature, epistemology and methodology. According to the logic of his main philosophical category, his philosophical thought system can be summarized as "life-courtesy-benevolence-knowledge-moderation". ?
In the view of heaven, Confucius seldom talked about the problem of heaven. Zi Gong said, "The nature of Confucius' words and the nature of heaven are unknown." (The Analects of Confucius. Because Confucius' theory of religious destiny since Yin, Shang and Zhou Dynasties is in a contradictory state of both respect and doubt. There are not many records about "heaven" in the Analects of Confucius, only 22. Confucius' so-called "heaven" sometimes refers to the sky that dominates everything. He put forward "fear of destiny" and "guilty justice, nothing to ask for" (Bashu). Sometimes it refers to the vast nature. For example, he said, "What does the sky say? What happened at four o'clock? Everything is born. " (Yang Huo) reflects that the Spring and Autumn Period is in the transition period of the concept of "heaven", that is, "ruling heaven" gradually transits to "natural heaven". Confucius was positive about "fate". He thought "I don't know destiny, I don't think a gentleman" (Yao Yue), and he claimed that "I know destiny at fifty" (a politician). However, the "fate" mentioned by Confucius does not mean the absolute will and command of heaven, but a historical inevitability that human resources cannot be redeemed. Confucius said, "What the Tao wants will kill him; "Tao must be abolished, and life is also" ("Xian Wen"), which is this inevitability. However, Confucius did not think that people could do nothing. On the contrary, he advocates that people should take a positive attitude in the face of "fate". It is precisely because of this that others regard him as "a man who knows what he can't do" (a wise man), and he himself claims to be "angry and forget food, happy and forget worry, and I don't know how old he is" (Shu Er). Because of this view of heaven, it is not surprising that he is skeptical about ghosts and gods. He "doesn't talk about strange things, politics, chaos and gods" (ditto), and he also emphasizes "offering sacrifices to gods like offering sacrifices to gods" (Bashu) and "if you don't know life, how can you know death" (advanced).
In the view of human nature, Confucius advocated the establishment and restoration of ceremony, the acceptance of benevolence and the combination of benevolence and ceremony. "Rite" is an important category in Confucius' ideological system. In terms of self-cultivation, he thought that first of all, we should learn etiquette, "If we don't learn etiquette, we can't stand" (Ji's), "Meet with courtesy" (eternal career) and "self-denial" (Yan Yuan). As far as governing the country is concerned, he advocates "ruling the country by reason with Qi Zhi". Courtesy for the country (advanced). Emphasizing the importance of "ceremony" is not the creation of Confucius. It has been discussed before. For example, Zi Chan said, "The ceremony of husband, the classics of heaven, the meaning of land and the trip of people." (Twenty-five Years of Zuo Zhuan Zhao Gong) It is emphasized that "Liv" is not a new idea that conforms to the trend at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period. Confucius' original contribution lies in the combination of benevolence and courtesy. He said, "What's the courtesy of being unkind?" What's the fun of being heartless? "("Bashu ") and said:" Li Liyun, jade cloud? "Happy clouds, happy clouds, bells and drums?" (Yang Huo) Although the concept of "benevolence" has existed since ancient times, Confucius gave it a new meaning. He not only explained benevolence by "loving others", but also put forward the principle of "benevolence", that is, the way of loyalty and forgiveness. Its principle is "if you want to establish a person, you can achieve it" and "don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you" (Yan Yuan). Confucius accepted benevolence as a ritual, which not only played a role as an external compulsory thing, but also was supported by benevolence as an internal rational and conscious force. Taking "benevolence" as the highest spiritual realm will inevitably make people feel mysterious. Confucius also proposed to seek benevolence by knowing. He regards "knowledge" as a necessary condition for seeking benevolence. He said: "I don't know, how can I be kind?" (Gong Yechang) Confucius' theory of knowledge refers to understanding the ethical relationship between people, that is, understanding "goodness", but discussing the acquisition of knowledge is, after all, stepping into the field of seeking truth.
In epistemology, Confucius did not abandon the transcendental view of "knowing from birth" and listed "knowing from birth" as the "top" of cognitive ability. But he didn't emphasize it. What occupies an important position in Confucius' understanding is his repeated exposition of "learning and knowing" He called himself "a man who was not born to know, but an ancient man who was eager to seek" (Shu Er). He emphasized that "good nature is not easy to learn, and its cover is also stupid; If you learn well, you won't see it. " (Yang Huo) In the process of understanding, Confucius paid attention to listening more and seeing more, and thought that knowledge was acquired by listening more and seeing more. You can't believe all the knowledge you hear, so you must observe it carefully. He said: "All evils must be observed; "If everyone is good at it, he must watch it." (Wei Linggong) He proposed a three-step progressive observation sequence: "Look at what it is, look at what it is, look at what it is, and look at what it is safe for." (For politics) Confucius went one step further and put forward "thinking" equivalent to the stage of rational understanding. He emphasized the combination of learning and thinking. He said: "It is useless to learn without thinking, and it is dangerous to think without learning." (ditto) and advocate "think twice" (Gongye Chang), "think twice" (Xunzi Faxing) and "Jiu Si" (saving the world). His "consistency" in learning, seeking knowledge and preaching is realized through the combination of learning and thinking. Confucius also advocated that in the process of "thinking", we should use the "reverse" method, that is, we should constantly make analogy and deductive reasoning, so as to achieve the effect of "drawing inferences from others". He said: "Take a dime, don't take a triangle, otherwise, there is nothing." In the process of understanding, Confucius did not stop at "thinking", but thought that on the basis of thinking, he should constantly "learn" and "do". He said: "It's good to learn from the times!" He advocates "hurry" ("establish a person") and thinks that "a gentleman is ashamed of what he says" ("Xian Wen"). What Confucius said about "learning" and "doing" focused on moral practice, that is, "doing righteousness to become its way" (helping the world). Confucius did not clearly express the criteria for judging right and wrong. He said that judging a person is "listening to what he says and observing what he does" (Gongye Chang), which seems to advocate that words and deeds should be consistent as the standard of judgment. However, he also put forward the views of "being able to compare with human beings" and "putting yourself and others on the side of benevolence", that is, he believed that every gentleman has reason, and reason can judge right and wrong. Later, Confucian scholars further developed and put forward moral principles such as "benevolence" and "righteousness" as the highest standards for judging right and wrong.
In methodology, Confucius absorbed the concept of "neutralization" in the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period, and developed it into the idea of "golden mean". The doctrine of the mean is not only a world outlook, but also a basic method to treat nature, society and life. As a methodological principle, the "golden mean" includes:
(1) "Knock at both ends". Confucius believed that everything has two ends, so we must "knock at both ends" when grasping things (Zi Han). Confucius said "two ends", that is, the beginning and end of things, up and down, progress and stop, gain and loss, broad agreement, argument, courage and timidity, Zhang Chi and so on. "
(2) "Holding two purposes". Confucius said in The Doctrine of the Mean: "Hold both ends and serve the people." He also said, "A gentleman is harmonious but different, and a gentleman is harmonious but different." Emphasize that you should always conform to the mean in things. Confucius hated the "hometown" which seemed to maintain "China" but had no principles.
(3) "Too much is too late". Confucius thinks it is also wrong to go beyond a certain limit of things without reaching a certain limit. Confucius' doctrine of the mean not only contains the dialectical factors that admit that the opposites of things are interdependent and mutually transformed under certain conditions, but also has the negative side of keeping its limits to avoid the transformation of things.
Confucius' philosophical thought system of "life-courtesy-benevolence-knowledge-moderation" takes "benevolence" as the core. But every part of the system is interrelated. Each can be regarded as a "one" that runs through other parts. There are also contradictions in Confucius' philosophical thought system. Later Confucian scholars or scholars of other schools either developed its positive side or exaggerated its negative components, which made it change in different historical periods.