I am a white male who has lived his entire life in the United States. I'm going to preach to you about Confucianism. (N.B. If you actually know anything about Confucianism, please tell me. It's pretty obvious I have no idea of what I'm talking about.)As good a place to start as any. From Watson's translation:
(1.2)"The gentleman operates at the root. When the root is firm, then the way may proceed. Filial and brotherly conduct--these are the root of humaneness, are they not?"
So why are filial and brotherly conduct the root of humaneness. As far as I can see, there are two approaches to answering this (or any question); actually attempting to answer it, and, what I call the Wittgenstein approach, showing an answer is unnecessary and either non-existent or unattainable by logic. How does Confucius answer this? Waley's translation:
(2.22)"The Master said, 'I do not know how a man without truthfulness is to get on. How can a large carriage be made to go without the crossbar for yoking the oxen to, or a small carriage without the arrangement for yoking the horses?'"
What makes us a part of humanity? (That is, not what makes us human, but what makes us a member of the human race.) Whatever that might be, isn't that the root of humaneness? the something or somethings that bind each person together as 'humanity'? To use Confucius' language (or in this case, Waley's), the crossbar.
Surely language is a major part of this 'crossbar', and the assumption of truthfulness seems necessary for language to function, but can't humanity exist without language? Imagine being stuck on an island with a girl who doesn't speak your language. Can you cooperate? Can you love her? Can you do all the things characteristic of human interaction?
What about apes? They can love, nurture, defend, play, learn, etc. Don't their relationships possess many, if not all, of the same qualities of our own? Is language (truthfulness) the root of 'apanity'? Then what is it?
Can we list the common factors of the above two scenarios and everyday life? Does love bind us? How about honour? Shame? Enjoyment? Duty? Hatred? Reverence? Or is it--
It seems the list is limitless. Confucius' answer (or rather the answer I pulled out of his words) is only leading to further confusion. Perhaps if we analyze one of these binding elements we may come to understand it, and thereby understand the 'crossbar' as a whole.
Reverence is as good as any. What does Confucius have to say about reverence? From Watson's translation:
(1.9)"Tend carefully to death rites, and pay reverence to those long departed, and the people will in the end be rich in virtue."
Again, more questions arise. Why does paying reverence to the dead lead to virtue? Why is virtue important? What is virtue? Whenever a statement like this is made how can we hope to understand it? It's filled with vague terms without definition. Without understanding what virtue is, what does it mean to anyone?
However, think for a moment. When you had read that, didn't you understand exactly what was meant? Or at the very least it did mean something to you. You understood that virtue's important, even if no reason is given. You also have an idea of what virtue is, even if your idea may differ from Confucius'. It is impossible to know how virtue came to be understood and given the name that it has, but it is something; and no one can say it is a vague term without definition.
Confucius weighs in on the matter as well. From Mr. Pound's translation:
(3.11)"Someone said: 'What does the sacrifice mean?' He [Confucius] said: 'I do not know. If one knew enough to tell that, one could govern the empire as easily as seeing the palm on one's hand.'"
Somewhere within, whether developed from evolution or placed by god, there is/are insatiable need(s). Of course 'need' is not the correct word, because this far precedes language and is too simple to be expressed through it. No one can understand what this is. You know what I'm referring to. The examples I gave above are all parts or results of this. It's difficult to say how they relate, but they certainly do. A few other potential words: emotion, necessity, humanity, or impulse.
This is where the 'crossbar' comes from. I am a member of humanity because I must be. My insides are screaming to love, to learn, to do, etc. This is not chosen. I can't rebel. There is no reason to.
But why? Why is this here? Is it a mechanism we've evolved in order to increase our chances of survival? It probably is, but that answer makes no sense to the human psyche. Even saying we were made in the image of god makes more sense. This is apart from logic. It's just there.
It's seems to me that this is what Confucius is talking about. He wants to do something about humanity, and the only way one can affect humanity is to analyze the individual human.
His ethics may or may not be flawed, but they give us something. A bar to measure up to. As Pound said, "What the reader can find here is a set of measures whereby, at the end of the day, to learn whether the day has been worth living." It doesn't matter if they are logically founded or not; it's apparent that everyone needs some sort of ethics (why? I don't know) and Confucius gives a way to find them.
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