Variations on the Theme of World Order in the Analects and the Tao Te Ching
In the Analects of Confucius order has to do with political order. Confucius is interested in the “ordering of the people” in order to create a more justice society (Analects). In the Tao Te Ching, order is also important but it is of a different kind. It speaks of a cosmic order, of putting “things in order before they exist” (Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching). In this way, the two texts offer a variation on a theme when it comes to the notion of ordering of the world. In this paper, it will be shown that order is expressed in four different aspect. The first aspect is virtue, the second is humility, the third is obedience, and the last (the fourth) is justice.
For both Lao Tzu and Confucius virtue is an important aspect of the order of things. A man without virtue is lost. A society without virtue has no guide. For Confucius, virtue is “proper to humanity,” and it is through virtue that human beings learn how to act and behave (Analects). Virtue is to music in the same way actions are to musical notes. The way the music plays creates a harmony and in the same way the way people act and dispose themselves in the world contributes to the harmony of the social order. For Lao Tzu the analogy of virtue has to do with pain and the process of “having without possessing” and the realization that people should act selflessly, “with no expectations” (Tao Te Ching). The similarity between the two thinkers is that for Confucius virtue is community. For Lao Tzu virtue is selfless acts of kindness.
In Lao Tzu’s philosophy, humility is not only a way in which human beings can act. The philosophy of the Tao is that it “flows everywhere” and it is “hidden in our hearts” (Tao Te Chingˆ). Humility is at the core of human existence. To be aware of greatness is to have pride, but to be humble is to be quietly unaware. In Confucian way of thinking, humility is not the relationship between man and nature. It is the relationship of power between master and servant. While both thinkers agree that humility is important to the ordering of things, for Confucius is conduct that man shows humility “in serving his superior” (Analects).
Humility is different from obedience. Humility is something that in Tao Te Ching exist before the world was even created. In the Tao Te Ching, duty is related to obedience. But even those in power have to be obedient to the Tao. Otherwise there would be no more peace and “the law would not be written in their hearts” (Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching). In other words, even those in power are subservient to the law. However, in Confucius’s philosophy obedience is very important in the same way humility is important. It is shown through the actions between those in power and those below. If the servant only thinks of comfort, Confucius argues, he is not thinking of the law. Obedience should not be something people do so they can receive favors. Confucius thinks of it as the same as virtue.
Finally, the aspect of order that is perhaps the most important is justice. For Confucius lists justice as the last characteristic the man who is to rule — “he was just.” Obedience, kindness, humility and all the aspects of order funnel into the idea of justice. A just world has to be ruled by a person of upright order and virtue. Radically in the Tao Te Ching it is written “Throw away morality and justice, and people will do the right thing” (Lao Tzu). What he means is that once you make something a law it is no longer just. True justice comes from people willingly wanting to act justly.
In conclusion, we can see how Confucius’s worldview is about political order while the thoughts contained in the Tao Te Ching concern a cosmic order. But they are not incompatible philosophies. Confucius’s work reads like a guidebook of things one ought and ought not to do. The Tao Te Ching reads like a spiritual book that is describing how the world is and how the Tao is a force that influences all actions.
Works Cited
Confucius. The Analects. Web. 29 June 2015.
<http://classics.mit.edu/Confucius/analects.1.1.html>
Lao Tzu. Tao Te Ching. S. Mitchell, Translator. Web. 29 June 2015.
<http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/texts/taote-v3.html>
