The Relevance and Role of Confucianism in The Modern World
Name
Institution
Instructor
Course
Date
The Relevance and Role of Confucianism in The Modern World
Part I: Outline
Part II
Introduction
Arising Questions
Research Question
Part III
Thesis Statement
Part IV
Annotated Bibliography
Part II
Introduction
Confucianism refers to a belief and philosophy system that originated from China and formed a basis for a significant part of the Chinese culture. The system’s founder is a teacher and philosopher who lived between 551 and 479 B.C.E. The philosopher’s disciples wrote down his moral character, good behavior, and ethics. Confucianism’s main idea is to encourage people to uphold good morals to ensure peaceful coexistence (Stephen, 2012, pg. 23).
Findings from The Research Topic
While researching the topic, it became clear that the concept of Confucianism has been controversial. Some previous researches have been based on determining whether Confucianism is a philosophy or a religion. The research shows that Confucianism started as the earlier religious tradition’s revival. However, there are no gods in the Confucianism society but the followers of the belief system temples where they perform civic and community rituals (Bell, Bell, & Chaibong, 2003, pg. 13).
The debate on whether Confucianism is a philosophy or a religion remains unsolved to date. Some people believe that it is indeed a type of religion, while others see it as a philosophy that provides an ethical guide on strong character for harmonious living. The third category of people believes that Confucianism is both a philosophy and religion (Tomasz, 2013, pg. 7).
Arising Questions
Confucianism has encountered both support and opposition not only in China, where it began but also globally. Most people who see it as a religion have strongly opposed the belief system because they are affiliated with different religious groups. However, several questions arise from the research findings on the belief and philosophy system.
Is Confucianism relevant in the modern world, or is it an outdated practice?
Are there universally accepted values and practices of Confucianism?
Does Confucianism have some practices and values that society can adopt to better their way of living?
Should society adopt the whole idea of Confucianism, or should it identify relevant practices and values and adopt them?
Research Question
Based on the study’s findings, a question that needs an answer was developed. This research will seek to answer the question: what is the relevance and role of Confucianism in the modern world?
Part III
Thesis Statement
Confucianism influences people in the modern world to uphold good moral character and ethics and coexist peacefully. It also affects the national economies, politics, and the relationship between employers and employees.
Part IV
Annotated Bibliography
Angle, Stephen C. Contemporary Confucian political philosophy. Polity, 2012.
The author of this book contextualizes the progressive Confucianism and points out the similarities it shares with contemporary political and social movements to show the relevance and roles of Confucianism in modern political and social engagements. He connects Confucianism’s values and practices with the current political and social sphere occurrences to point out the lessons and challenges the philosophy offers to the modern world.
Bell, Daniel, Daniel A. Bell, and Hahm Chaibong, eds. Confucianism for the modern world. Cambridge University Press, 2003.
The authors of this book elaborate on the roles that Confucianism plays in the modern world, especially among the countries that have included the philosophy in their governance structures. The authors explain the effects of Confucianism on economic development, social interactions, and governance. In this way, the book helps answer the research question on the relevance and role of Confucianism in the modern world.
Śleziak, Tomasz. “The role of Confucianism in contemporary South Korean society.” Rocznik orientalistyczny 1 (2013).
This journal article seeks to prove that parallels and derivative connections existed between Korea’s social, cultural, political, and economic traits when it adopted Confucianism. The article contributes to this research by providing information on South Korea’s formalized social conduct regulations adopted from the Confucianism that form the countries’ modern way of life. It further shows the advantages and disadvantages of the regulations.
Research Log
Research Log
Information source
Google Scholar
Date
27th October 2020
Search topic
The Relevance and Role of Confucianism in The Modern World
Book/Article Identified
Keywords searched
Relevant ideas
Angle, Stephen C. Contemporary Confucian political philosophy. Polity, 2012.
- Confucianism
- Role of Confucianism
- Relevance of Confucianism
- Confucian beliefs have influenced politics in East Asian countries.
Bell, Daniel, Daniel A. Bell, and Hahm Chaibong, eds. Confucianism for the modern world. Cambridge University Press, 2003.
- Confucianism
- Role of Confucianism
- Relevance of Confucianism
- Confucianism expresses universal significant values among the leaders to hold morality with high.
- Confucianism plays a significant role in the modern-day governance of countries such as Japan and the Republic of Korea.
Śleziak, Tomasz. “The role of Confucianism in contemporary South Korean society.” Rocznik orientalistyczny 1 (2013).
- Confucianism
- Role of Confucianism
- Relevance of Confucianism
- The Confucian mentality has contributed to the way Korean companies treat their employees.
Book Analysis
Angle, Stephen C. Contemporary Confucian political philosophy. Polity, 2012.
The author of this book contextualizes the progressive Confucianism and points out the similarities it shares with contemporary political and social movements to show the relevance and roles of Confucianism in modern political and social engagements. The author begins by introducing the Confucianism concept and elaborating its historical background. He then explains the morals, ethics, and practices of this philosophy and how some conform to the globally-accepted values and practices. In contrast, others encounter opposition from the philosophy’s opponents. The author proceeds to support his argument that progressive Confucianism is actually Confucianism. He later connects Confucianism’s values and practices with the current political and social sphere occurrences to point out the lessons and challenges the philosophy offers to the modern world.
Work Cited
Angle, Stephen C. Contemporary Confucian political philosophy. Polity, 2012.
Bell, Daniel, Daniel A. Bell, and Hahm Chaibong, eds. Confucianism for the modern world. Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Śleziak, Tomasz. “The role of Confucianism in contemporary South Korean society.” Rocznik orientalistyczny 1 (2013).