Confucianism is a philosophical system that deals with interest, ethics, achievements and attitudes of human beings. It was developed by Mencius from the teachings of Confucius, a Chinese philosopher and educator. Confucianism was developed to streamline the transcendent ideals, the social values and institutions of the Chinese society. Over the generations, it has acted as a guide and measure of the ways of life of the Chinese people.
In keeping with Goldin (2011), Confucianism has brought harmony in the social life of individuals. Through it, individuals are able to understand their place in the natural order which helps them play their part in the society well. By virtue of cardinal principle of communism, humanism, individuals are able to maintain peaceful relationships and effective communication when solving disputes .For instance, Confucianism provides guidelines of how a junior should relate with her elders, a senior with her students or siblings etc.
Confucianism stressed on social relationships rather than individualism. Individuals are expected to understand and carry out their defined roles and shared obligations. Confucian value of work dynamism emphasizes on the existence of proper relationships and reciprocity of actions by individuals. Yao (2000) argues that it has improved our daily life by ensuring there are beneficial mutual relationships in the society. Additionally, to ensure its primary concern of stable relationships is met, the philosophy has impacted our daily life by improving communication patterns (Yum, 1988).
The linguistic systems of East Asia have been shaped by the Confucian philosophy. It defines communication as an infinite interpretive process to help formulate, develop and maintain stable relationships. Effective communication in the society has brought about tangible results such as friends gained, fulfillment achieved and wealth developed. Arguably, communications patterns and social relations stem from the dogmas of Confucianism.
Confucianism has also positively affected the corporate world. It has ensured there is a family-like working environment in the corporate sector. Notably, Koreans and Chinese work organizations have strong bonds and relations between employees and employers. Employees feel accepted and respected by others which has motivated them providing long-term benefits to the corporate sector.
According to Berthrong et al (2004), Confucianism has promoted good governance. It emphasizes that in order to govern others, an individual must first be capable of governing oneself. This has helped bring up capable, industrious and accountable leaders to the benefit of the society. For over two millenniums, for a person to achieve an important position in the society, he/she had to pass a very difficult test derived from thoughts of Confucius.
Though it started many years before Christ, Confucianism has remained relevant because it provides a guideline and code of ethics of how to relate in the society. It emphasizes on five main relationships: friend and friend, husband and wife, ruler and subject, elder brother and younger brother, father and son. This has helped maintain respect, responsibility and obedience between members of the society. This has impacted the life if individuals by helping strengthen established institutions and social groups.
The Role of the Individual in our Society
As human beings, individuals have unwritten social roles to play in the society. Social roles are the parts that individuals have to perform in the society. Individual behaviors have to match the expectations of the society so that he/she attain respect and acceptance. The main role of an individual is to catalyze change. Individuals act as catalysts of better economy, governance and society as a whole. Every individual is a change agent who should use his/her qualifications and specialization to help engineer social change. People have diverse knowledge which when applied could help take the society to another level (Parsons et al, 2005).
Every individual takes a number of different roles, some related to work and others personal. All these roles are termed as the role-set and there are expectations about how they are performed. It is our social responsibility to help the disadvantages in the society. Ever individual should not only take care of his/her relatives and friends but also the marginalized people in the society. The blind, deaf, disabled and the poor all need help to survive in our generation. It is the responsibility of each and every individual to provide them with food, clothing, shelter, health care etc. Notably, every individual should join hands with authorities and other organizations to integrate other members into the mainframe of the society.
In accordance with Wolfensberger (2004), it is the role of any individual to help find solutions to societal problems. Many regions are encountering problems such as of insecurity, shortage of social amenities and low living standards. If things are going wrong, it is every individual’s social responsibility to step in and help others get out of the bad situation. Through cooperation and dedication, it is possible to provide support to those facing problems and help them find solutions.
Dietz et al (2005) stipulate that it is a societal role of ever individual to protect the environment. Every individual is expected to play a part in ensuring the world is a habitable place for our society and generations to come. We need to avoid pollution and plant trees among other environmental conservation measures. Individuals are also expected to play the role of preserving ecological systems such as water catchment areas and participate in government’s environmental conservation strategies to ensure the environment is sustainable.
Individuals are expected to be productive members of our society. To achieve this, they have to effectively perform several roles. Individuals should give back to the society by giving financial help to the sick and poor, participating in raising funds for development programs and contributing to societal activities and programs. These among other roles ensure one is productive and capable of helping in the wellbeing of the society.
Insecurity is a threat to the society. Individuals are expected to play a role in reducing this risk by reporting law breakers. This role helps the society become crime-free and secure for habitation. Additionally, individuals must abide by the law. Besides being law abiding, every member of the society has a duty of ensuring rules and procedures placed by the law are obeyed by all members of the society.
Individuals who spearhead the major developments in the society, known as the pioneers, have several roles in their respective society. In our society, pioneers take the aspirations of the society and put them in to practice. They initiate development processes by mobilizing members of the society to take part in these processes. In keeping with Aguinis et al (2009), every society has diverse aspirations that require strong individuals to engineer the desires of the society.
The pioneers also have roles of ensuring their initiatives are matched, duplicated and multiplied by other members of society. They are also obliged to eradicate pessimism in the society and help bring up development projects. They educate the other members, finance their ideas and provide necessary moral support in the societal projects. Pioneers are special individuals in the society that help other individuals conduct their roles.
In conclusion, irrespective of the fact that Confucianism was started many decades ago, its impact is still being felt in the society in the present day. It has helped shape the relations and communication between individuals in preceding generations which has shaped our current moral perspectives. Therefore, the impact of Confucianism in the society cannot be undermined.
The ethics and moral standards set by Confucianism have helped individuals in our society to not only identify their roles but also effectively perform them. The philosophy has been a guideline for individuals in performing their roles. The above critique on roles of individuals in our society has critically analyzed the duties every individual is expected to perform so as help his/her society. Notably, social roles of individuals are not written and individuals are not forced to carry them out. On the other hand, each and every society expects individuals within it to conduct these to promote their acceptance and respect within their respective societies.
Works cited
Aguinis, Herman, and Kurt Kraiger. "Benefits of training and development for individuals and teams, organizations, and society." Annual review of psychology 60 (2009): 451-474.
Berthrong, John H., and Matthew A. Levey Evelyn Nagai Berthrong. "Confucianism: A short introduction." (2004).
Dietz, Thomas, Amy Fitzgerald, and Rachael Shwom. "Environmental values." Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 30 (2005): 335-372.
Goldin, Paul R. Confucianism. Berkeley, Calif: University of California Press, 2011. Print.
Parsons, Charles K., Evan Caylor, and Harold S. Simmons. "Cooperative Education Work Assignments: The Role of Organizational and Individual Factors in Enhancing ABET Competencies and Co‐op Workplace Well‐Being." Journal of Engineering Education 94.3 (2005): 309-318.
Wolfensberger, Wolf. "Social role valorization." Special Educational Needs and Inclusive Education: Systems and contexts 1.6 (2004): 42.
Yao, Xinzhong. An introduction to Confucianism. Cambridge University Press, 2000.
Yum, June Ock. "The impact of Confucianism on interpersonal relationships and communication patterns in East Asia." Communications Monographs 55.4 (1988): 374-388.
