9.29 Explanation

The purpose of Cofucius’ philosophy is to create a system of leadership that will facilitate political stability. Historically, Confucius lived in a period of warring states and through traveling and teaching Kings he hoped to enlighten them to lead their subjects. In this Analect Confucius channels his description of perfect leadership by describing the converse of perfection. Through explaining what a perfect leader is not, Confucius eliminates the bad qualities of leadership, only leaving people with the “Good” or kindness to follow. The type of leadership Confucius preaches is one that follows “de,” morality, or leading by example. This Analect demonstrates three ways in which the perfect leader leads his citizens by example: wisdom, kindness, and courage, all aspects of “ren” (Kindness = Good) and “de”, which are attained through filial piety and practicing tradition.

According to Confucius, the wise are not confused because wisdom is the study and application of ren. If one intimately knows kindness, then one does not know any other way than to make decisions that are right, Good, and beneficial to that human community that encompasses full meaning ren. Wisdom is learning and thinking, thinking involves processing information and reflecting on its practical application; learning is the combination of study and practical application. Learning in the abstract is futile, because without application the principles meanings are lost. The meaning of ren and de are lost because Confucius heavily relies on leadership by moral exemplar and if a potential perfect ruler studies but does not think and does not act then the state will have no one to follow and the state will not live in harmony. The wise are not confused because they recognize the Good and practice it, thus they know how to lead by example.

The Good (Kind) do not worry because they practice kindness, de, and fully immerse themselves in humanity. Worry stems from the uncertainty of the right path, of Dao “the way”. Dao is found by living de life. De means morality, more specifically “self-cultivation”, it calls upon individuals to self-inspect and allows follow the Good. The Good, is essentially kindness, which is loyalty, respect, and responsibility to the human family. If those principles are followed those who are kind do not worry because they know the Dao, and because they lead by example others will follow eliminating worry, which as stated stems from uncertainty.

The courageous do not fear because they lead through example. By leading in a moral manner a leader courageously assumes the role as the perfect ruler, the one whom character is judged by. The leader does not fear the scrutiny of others because he is self- cultivated and knows he leads a moral life a life that inspires others to follow. Fear comes from leading under false pretenses. If one has the façade of being kind but is attempting to fool people for a position of power, then the leader lives in the fear of being exposed. This fear will corrupt leadership eventually revealing the fraudulent leader and the leader loses power. Power is not the system of rule in Confucianism but rather Confucius teaches leadership by moral exemplar. Power insinuates self-interest to the detriment of others creating disharmony, the opposite of Confucianism. The courageous do not fear because the lead by example in harmony with their community.

These three traits of leadership are founded in filial piety and tradition. Filial piety is loyalty to one’s family first and to the human family second. Filial piety is the root from which ren is learned and applied to human society. Filial piety teaches ren, de, and Dao but to fully live a Good life one must practice what they have learned and this is where “li” or traditions play a role. To learn leadership one must practice these qualities, such as Shu, one of the sage-kings, he demonstrated loyalty to his family by practicing it everyday, even though his family mistreated him. Through duty to one’s family and traditions one can lead the whole of society in harmony and in kindness.

9.29 Critique

This Analect acts as a roadmap to exemplifying perfect leadership. Each of the three qualities are a part of de, Confucius’ ideas of self-cultivation, which are necessary to possess and live to become the perfect leader that will transform the people into those who follow ren, creating a land of harmony. Confucius’ system of leadership demonstrates important qualities a leader must exhibit to gain the trust of his people and to effectively run a state, but the means by which people learn these qualities, filial piety, and the system of leadership one man leading through example are weaknesses in Confucius’ argument.

The qualities of wisdom, Kindness, and courage are central in gaining trust and effectively leading a state. A leader who is wise understands and respects differing perspectives and is objective when making decisions regarding direction of the state. He is never confused always aware of the right path because all he lives is Kindness, how to live in harmony with the whole of humanity. He is courageous because he triumphs over temptation to seize power, and instead leads his people by example. To effectively lead one must have the trust of the people, without trust one cannot lead because no one will follow a leader who does not have their best interests in mind. Today, President Bush is struggling as a leader because he has lost the trust of a large percentage of his citizens. Through lack of wisdom and Kindness, respect for the intelligence of foreign nations and of his nation, President Bush acted in a way that commends abuse of power and secrecy. By not trusting his own citizens President Bush has lost their trust, losing his ability to effectively lead a country. If two leaders are present, one purely self-interested and one interested in what best benefits his people, citizens will choose the ladder, because it is the epitome of Kindness, harmony is the human community. In this aspect Confucius delivered a conceivable and valid argument, regarding the behavior and intentions of a perfect leader.

The weaknesses in Confucius’ argument is the concepts of a state run by leadership where all are Good because of the perfect leader’s example and Goodness founded in filial piety. Having a state run by example, is having a state run on “what if,” meaning by entrusting the health of the state into the Goodness of people, then the state is assuming all are influenced by the perfect leader and will follow him. An efficient state that is in harmony cannot be run on possibility, possibility gives way to chaos and ineffective leadership, with many people in one state and in Confucius’ mind, the human community, and it is dangerous to assume that all will follow the Good. To continue with the President Bush example, after the attacks on 9/11, he assumed Iraq was harboring Osama Bin Laden, and the President’s idea of the Good, to create harmony was to invade Iraq and capture the terrorist. Thousands of innocent lives were lost as a result of President Bush’s haste and lack of wisdom, creating chaos and disunity among nations. It is a case where the “leader” did not follow the path of the Good and instead created a disharmonious state in the world. Much of Confucius’ argument relies on written text and consistent education; he teaches thinking without learning leads to danger (2.15), but much of the population is rural peasant farmers whose subsistence relies on constant work. The peasantry do not have time for education, thus they must rely on filial piety, the second weakness in Confucius’ arguments. Filial piety is obligation to one’s family. Children learn the concepts of the Good through their family, for the family to know the Good, the origin of the Good must be innate. However, if the innate Goodness is not harvested correctly, the child has an abusive upbringing hidden from the Good, then that child has the possibility of living out the Good’s opposite, evil and isolation from the human community. Possibility as discussed earlier is not a way to run a harmonious and efficient state. By putting family values ahead of general principles of Goodness, Confucius dangerously lays the future of a state’s success and health into the hands of families, who may or may not learn or live the Good, having the potential to disrupt Confucius’ ideal sate.

The arguments presented in Confucius’ Analects demonstrate qualities that every human being, especially leaders of states should aspire to, however the weakness of Confucius’ arguments is that he entrusts the success of the state in belief that populations will choose to live a “ren” life, when in reality human behavior dominated by regulating impulses that sometimes loose control and give way to disharmony. In general Confucius’ argument is very Utopian and placing responsibility on every human being to ensure the success and future of humanity, unfortunately as history has shown, some people deny individual responsibility, making the Confucian ideal state and impossibility.