St. Aquinas and Confucius
Philosophy refers to the study of fundamental and general problems that are known to affect us in the society. These are issues which concern our existence, values, knowledge, language, mind and reasons. There happen to be two senses in which the term philosophy has been used. The first one is the formal sense where philosophy is termed as an intellectual endeavor that focuses on metaphysics, ethics, logics, aesthetics and epistemology. The other one is the informal sense where philosophy is termed as way of life and the main focus is on existential question concerning human conditions. Philosophy is therefore a very broad discipline and thus it has a lot of philosophers who have argued their ideas in favor of one or more of the concepts above. This paper is going to compare and at the same time contrast view of two of these philosophers. It is going to look at the view of St. Thomas Aquinas and those that were supported by Confucius.
St. Aquinas was an Italian priest born in 1225. He was a theologian and a very influential philosopher in the tradition scholasticism which was known as the Doctor Communis and Doctor Angelicus. The term Aquinus refers to his resident and this is what is used to refer to him rather than his surname. He happened to be the father of the school of theology and philosophy of Thomistic. He is also the foremost proponent of the so called natural theology. He can be said to have a lot of influence on the modern philosophy as most of it is a reaction to his ideas especially in the areas of political theory and natural law. He is held as the model teacher at the Catholic Church especially by those who are studying to be priests. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
On the other hand, if we look at Confucius, he happens to have the formal name as Kong Qiu or Zhongni. Born on 551 B.C. Confucius came from the family of warriors, to a warrior father known as Shulianghe. Even though his father was a great warrior, he died when Confucius was only three years old and therefore he was raised by his mother. His mother was to leave the Feoff because as a concubine, she would have been mistreated by the legitimate wives of Shulianghe. Because his mother had no job, Confucius was therefore to live in poverty from his childhood. However, he was very bright in school and later three years after his mothers death, Confucius married a young woman but he left her so that he can strive on his ideas. He wanted to bring back what he considered the classical properties of Western Zhou and Huaxia perfect virtues. These were aimed at constructing a great humanistic and harmonized society. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
Aquinas philosophy can be said to have a major influence on the entire Christian theology and also on the western philosophy in general. He is said to be the modifier and also the vehicle of Aristotelian views. In the field of epistemology, Aquinas believed that God must act on human beings so that they can get knowledge of any truth. He however, believed that all human are in a position to know a lot of things without having to be intervened by the divine revelation. He however maintains that there are some situations where divine intervention is involved.
On this note, he however believed that for the truth to be known or for it to come to light, there is the involvement of the faith which defines the supernatural revelation and reasoning which defines the natural revelation. He believed that the origin of the supernatural revelation is the Holy Spirit inspiration. He also believed that one may not get this supernatural inspiration unless he or she receives teaching from the prophets that are summed up in what he referred to as the Holy Scripture. He termed natural revelation as that truth that every person has by the virtue of being human beings. He said that this is the truth that practically all human beings will have if they reason properly. It is on this note that he said that there is a rational proof that God indeed exists. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
However, Confucius had a different perspective on epistemology. While Aquinas epistemology was based on Christianity and that faith and reasoning is the base of gaining knowledge, according to Confucius, it was based on the Chinese philosophy and it was mainly structured in the Chinese nations characters. Here, it put more emphasis on the discovery and also the subsequent cultivation of personality for all the members of what was referred to as the Chinese nation. According to Confucius, knowledge can only be gained through observation of the universe so that one can know its changes. He also believed that through this observation, one will be able to learn more about the human affairs and therefore cultivate what he referred to as the human reasoning. This also happens to be the anticipated original mission of this school. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
On the issue of the sacred doctrine or theology, Aquinas is said to have view them as the scientific raw materials comprises the traditions of the Catholic Church and also the written scriptures. He believed that this information was produced through Gods self-revelation to those groups or individuals throughout history. He believed that reasoning and faith may seem distinct but they happen to be related and they are also the primary tools that are needed for processing theology data. He believed that these two were extremely important for one to understand the true knowledge of God. He said that through the study of nature, one is likely to understand or have knowledge of God. He believed that God is known to reveal himself through nature. He therefore claimed that studying nature is the same as studying God. He referred to this as the ultimate goal of studying theology. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
Confucius believed that more emphasis should be put on cognizance and also on the practice of cultivation for human rationality if there is need to realize advancement of intellectualism. Confucius epistemology happens to be that which have human affairs. It is therefore easy for people to deliberate and consult this philosophy with the ancient Greek philosophy and also with the religious philosophy. However, just like the Aquinas philosophy, the Confucius philosophy also took deities, or good as its objects. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
Aquinas based his ethics on what he called the concept of the first principles of action. He does not believe in the famous four cardinal virtues which are temperance, prudence, fortitude and justice. He argues that these are naturally revealed in nature and are found in everyone. He however believes that there happen to be three theological virtues that every human being should exhibit. These are faith, charity and hope. He believes that these happen to be supernatural and that they are also distinct from the other four virtues before God.
He believed that the desire to procreate and the desire to live are basic or natural human values and it is on them that all the other human values are based. Aquinas however opposed non-procreative sexual activities and it is on this note that he claimed that oral sex, masturbation and coitus interrupters are worse than rape and incest. He also condemned all the other sexual positions that are used except the missionary position. This was however understandable owing to the fact that he was a catholic priest and catholic condemns all these activities. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
Aquinas however believes that all these obligations are for human beings and therefore he denied that human beings have any obligations to the animals. He claimed that if they had an obligation or duty of charity to the animals, it would be unlawful to use them as food. He however claims that simply because we do not have any duty to attend to animals, we should not be cruel to them. He contributed to economic thoughts as an aspect of justice and ethics. Among the issues that he dealt with on this was the concept of just prices. He defined this as the market price or a regulated price which is sufficient to cover the costs of production of the seller. He argued that it happens to be very immoral for those who are selling their goods to raise their prices simply because the buyers are in dire need of their products. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
Confucius was also had some contributions to make on this issue of ethics as he came up with the famous Confucius theory of ethics. In his theory, he stressed on the development of Confucians through the sage leaders actions in the human history. Unlike St. Aquinas, he had less emphasis on heaven. He believed that all the actions that are committed by human beings should be aimed at building an ideal society.
He said that one should not act so as to conform to the canonical standards of the society or the ceremonies that were conducted in the society. He said that people should always try to maintain a balance between keeping and violating the norms of the society so that they can assist in building an ethical fabric. He believed that being ethical is all about doing what is right at the right time. He connected this to the belief that those past sage training have a direct influence on peoples virtues which includes among others ethical judgment. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
On the issue of politics, Aquinas was meticulously dealing with the different classifications of law. He said that there happen to be four different forms of laws. These laws are the human, natural, eternal and divine laws. He argued that human participation in eternal law defines the natural law and they are discovered through reasoning. He also believed that natural laws were also based on the famous first principles. He considered eternal law as the decree of God which is known to govern all his creations. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
Just like with Aquinas, ethical thoughts also happens to be the base for Confucius political thoughts. He however argued that the government that rules through peoples natural rights and rites of passage in the society happens to be the best form of government. He said that a good government should not use coercion and bribery. He supported this by using some important analects. One of them an argument that if people are led by law and if there are some stun punishment attached to wrong doing, people are likely to act in the right way so as to avoid punishment or to avoid shame. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
He supported the idea of government but had some elements that were supposed to limit the power of those rulers. He argued that honest happened to be of paramount importance. He also claimed that the truth must be presented by all means even if it is through the use of facial expressions. He also argued that the superiors should always be respected and that the inferiors should always give advices to the superiors in case they find the superiors making wrong decisions. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
In conclusion, there are a lot of different issues that were discussed by these two philosophers. Those issues were directly related to the activities that were taking place during the time that these philosophers were living. Most of those issues that they discussed are different but they revolved around their societies, God and epistemology. However, they happened to have some common theme in all their arguments. The first one is the value consciousness on ethics advancement, the rational concept on differentiating nature and man and the practice of the human beings natural disposition on both principles and constitution.
St. Aquinas was an Italian priest born in 1225. He was a theologian and a very influential philosopher in the tradition scholasticism which was known as the Doctor Communis and Doctor Angelicus. The term Aquinus refers to his resident and this is what is used to refer to him rather than his surname. He happened to be the father of the school of theology and philosophy of Thomistic. He is also the foremost proponent of the so called natural theology. He can be said to have a lot of influence on the modern philosophy as most of it is a reaction to his ideas especially in the areas of political theory and natural law. He is held as the model teacher at the Catholic Church especially by those who are studying to be priests. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
On the other hand, if we look at Confucius, he happens to have the formal name as Kong Qiu or Zhongni. Born on 551 B.C. Confucius came from the family of warriors, to a warrior father known as Shulianghe. Even though his father was a great warrior, he died when Confucius was only three years old and therefore he was raised by his mother. His mother was to leave the Feoff because as a concubine, she would have been mistreated by the legitimate wives of Shulianghe. Because his mother had no job, Confucius was therefore to live in poverty from his childhood. However, he was very bright in school and later three years after his mothers death, Confucius married a young woman but he left her so that he can strive on his ideas. He wanted to bring back what he considered the classical properties of Western Zhou and Huaxia perfect virtues. These were aimed at constructing a great humanistic and harmonized society. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
Aquinas philosophy can be said to have a major influence on the entire Christian theology and also on the western philosophy in general. He is said to be the modifier and also the vehicle of Aristotelian views. In the field of epistemology, Aquinas believed that God must act on human beings so that they can get knowledge of any truth. He however, believed that all human are in a position to know a lot of things without having to be intervened by the divine revelation. He however maintains that there are some situations where divine intervention is involved.
On this note, he however believed that for the truth to be known or for it to come to light, there is the involvement of the faith which defines the supernatural revelation and reasoning which defines the natural revelation. He believed that the origin of the supernatural revelation is the Holy Spirit inspiration. He also believed that one may not get this supernatural inspiration unless he or she receives teaching from the prophets that are summed up in what he referred to as the Holy Scripture. He termed natural revelation as that truth that every person has by the virtue of being human beings. He said that this is the truth that practically all human beings will have if they reason properly. It is on this note that he said that there is a rational proof that God indeed exists. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
However, Confucius had a different perspective on epistemology. While Aquinas epistemology was based on Christianity and that faith and reasoning is the base of gaining knowledge, according to Confucius, it was based on the Chinese philosophy and it was mainly structured in the Chinese nations characters. Here, it put more emphasis on the discovery and also the subsequent cultivation of personality for all the members of what was referred to as the Chinese nation. According to Confucius, knowledge can only be gained through observation of the universe so that one can know its changes. He also believed that through this observation, one will be able to learn more about the human affairs and therefore cultivate what he referred to as the human reasoning. This also happens to be the anticipated original mission of this school. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
On the issue of the sacred doctrine or theology, Aquinas is said to have view them as the scientific raw materials comprises the traditions of the Catholic Church and also the written scriptures. He believed that this information was produced through Gods self-revelation to those groups or individuals throughout history. He believed that reasoning and faith may seem distinct but they happen to be related and they are also the primary tools that are needed for processing theology data. He believed that these two were extremely important for one to understand the true knowledge of God. He said that through the study of nature, one is likely to understand or have knowledge of God. He believed that God is known to reveal himself through nature. He therefore claimed that studying nature is the same as studying God. He referred to this as the ultimate goal of studying theology. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
Confucius believed that more emphasis should be put on cognizance and also on the practice of cultivation for human rationality if there is need to realize advancement of intellectualism. Confucius epistemology happens to be that which have human affairs. It is therefore easy for people to deliberate and consult this philosophy with the ancient Greek philosophy and also with the religious philosophy. However, just like the Aquinas philosophy, the Confucius philosophy also took deities, or good as its objects. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
Aquinas based his ethics on what he called the concept of the first principles of action. He does not believe in the famous four cardinal virtues which are temperance, prudence, fortitude and justice. He argues that these are naturally revealed in nature and are found in everyone. He however believes that there happen to be three theological virtues that every human being should exhibit. These are faith, charity and hope. He believes that these happen to be supernatural and that they are also distinct from the other four virtues before God.
He believed that the desire to procreate and the desire to live are basic or natural human values and it is on them that all the other human values are based. Aquinas however opposed non-procreative sexual activities and it is on this note that he claimed that oral sex, masturbation and coitus interrupters are worse than rape and incest. He also condemned all the other sexual positions that are used except the missionary position. This was however understandable owing to the fact that he was a catholic priest and catholic condemns all these activities. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
Aquinas however believes that all these obligations are for human beings and therefore he denied that human beings have any obligations to the animals. He claimed that if they had an obligation or duty of charity to the animals, it would be unlawful to use them as food. He however claims that simply because we do not have any duty to attend to animals, we should not be cruel to them. He contributed to economic thoughts as an aspect of justice and ethics. Among the issues that he dealt with on this was the concept of just prices. He defined this as the market price or a regulated price which is sufficient to cover the costs of production of the seller. He argued that it happens to be very immoral for those who are selling their goods to raise their prices simply because the buyers are in dire need of their products. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
Confucius was also had some contributions to make on this issue of ethics as he came up with the famous Confucius theory of ethics. In his theory, he stressed on the development of Confucians through the sage leaders actions in the human history. Unlike St. Aquinas, he had less emphasis on heaven. He believed that all the actions that are committed by human beings should be aimed at building an ideal society.
He said that one should not act so as to conform to the canonical standards of the society or the ceremonies that were conducted in the society. He said that people should always try to maintain a balance between keeping and violating the norms of the society so that they can assist in building an ethical fabric. He believed that being ethical is all about doing what is right at the right time. He connected this to the belief that those past sage training have a direct influence on peoples virtues which includes among others ethical judgment. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
On the issue of politics, Aquinas was meticulously dealing with the different classifications of law. He said that there happen to be four different forms of laws. These laws are the human, natural, eternal and divine laws. He argued that human participation in eternal law defines the natural law and they are discovered through reasoning. He also believed that natural laws were also based on the famous first principles. He considered eternal law as the decree of God which is known to govern all his creations. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
Just like with Aquinas, ethical thoughts also happens to be the base for Confucius political thoughts. He however argued that the government that rules through peoples natural rights and rites of passage in the society happens to be the best form of government. He said that a good government should not use coercion and bribery. He supported this by using some important analects. One of them an argument that if people are led by law and if there are some stun punishment attached to wrong doing, people are likely to act in the right way so as to avoid punishment or to avoid shame. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
He supported the idea of government but had some elements that were supposed to limit the power of those rulers. He argued that honest happened to be of paramount importance. He also claimed that the truth must be presented by all means even if it is through the use of facial expressions. He also argued that the superiors should always be respected and that the inferiors should always give advices to the superiors in case they find the superiors making wrong decisions. (Wanda, T. Donna G., 2002)
In conclusion, there are a lot of different issues that were discussed by these two philosophers. Those issues were directly related to the activities that were taking place during the time that these philosophers were living. Most of those issues that they discussed are different but they revolved around their societies, God and epistemology. However, they happened to have some common theme in all their arguments. The first one is the value consciousness on ethics advancement, the rational concept on differentiating nature and man and the practice of the human beings natural disposition on both principles and constitution.
