Confucius
The teacher of cultivated relationships whose vision of order through virtue organized East Asian life for millennia.
“Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.”
Core ideas
- Do not impose on others what you do not wish for yourself
- Ritual and music shape character more than commands
- The ruler's example is stronger than the ruler's law
Historical context
A minor official and lifelong teacher in the chaotic sixth century BCE, convinced that the answer to disorder was education, not conquest.
Key works
Analects
Questions they speak to
Minds in conversation
Sources
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — Confucius