Confucianism’s similarities to virtue ethics Essay

Confucianism, the ancient social philosophy of China, would have had no ethical parallel in the West as brusk as 30 years ago. on that point argon some small similarities that it holds with utilitarian ethical motive and deontology. There is very bantam in ethical egoism or relativism that lines up with Confucianism. I believe that fairness ethics, however, as laid out in Alasdair MacIntyres book After moral excellence bears a striking resemblance to Confucianism. unitary important feature of Confucianism, according to rear Koller, is that it is an essentially humanist philosophy in other words, human beings are the crowning(prenominal) source of values.This is in apposition to supernaturalnesswhich claims that values ultimately come from God, and realitywhich believes that values come from nature. Thus, Confucianism, answers the question of How hatful rock-steadyness and harmony be achieved? by looking for exemplars and principles in humanity itself. This is strikingl y similar to the picture that Alasdair MacIntyre paints of the world. According to MacIntyre, to the highest degree of the ethical language and arguments that are thrown around between ethicists and even day-by-day people is fundamentally incomprehensible or incoherent.Ethical prescriptions used to be ground on a common flavor in God and the ways in which He has ordered the universe. In at onces world, however, we no longer destiny that common belief, but we have unplowed the structures and language of our old ethical systems without the earthing stones on which they were originally built. To remedy this ailment, MacIntyre proposes waiver back to a kind of rightfulness ethics, an essentially humanist philosophy that defines pious behavior as what a good man would do. Like Confucianism, virtue ethics looks to neither God nor nature, but or else humanity to find the principles by which to live.Furthermore, twain Confucianism and virtue ethics focus less(prenominal) on the rightness of actions themselves, but alternatively on the development of virtuous people. Koller, notes The Confucian idea that virtue, rather than law, should be the tooshie of government . Similarly, virtue ethics sees ethical behavior as ultimately determined by character, not by rules (deontology) or consequences (utilitarianism). Both Confucianism and virtue ethics are interested in cultivating people prissy in doing good as the undercoat of a stable society.