Virtue - Latin Virtus

The word "virtue" is a transliteration of the Latin virtus. Virtue originated in Greece, and anything as long as it has certain advantages, this thing has virtue. Virtue is used to refer to all things good qualities(Yu, 1998, 323). Virtue is acquired in the study and practice obtained and virtue is an inherent property of a human with a strong social property. For the virtue of understanding, Aristotle and Confucius all have their own opinions. Virtue in Aristotle and Confucius view is a necessary quality that the monarch to  governance country. Their virtue theory thoughts are all in a complex and full of opposing the social background of initiation. Their similarity is that both believe virtue is the highest good, and thought to grasp the degree of virtue, cannot be too extreme and to be in a moderate state. Their difference is Confucius advocated the virtue of monarchy, and Aristotle  pursuit of the rule of law and rule by the middle class. This essay will compare Aristotle and Confucius for the rule of virtue to governance of differences and similarities and discussed from the aspects of political.

Confucius and Aristotle is a pioneering figure in the history of Chinese and Western ethics, which has a great influence on the development of eastern and western ethical thoughts. Because they are in the age of the more close, and living in a big change in society, so their ethical thinking is very comparable. Due to the region and the cultural environment of this two people are different, so their ethical thoughts in the core of the ideological and ethical standards, and other aspects maybe have some differences . Confucius was born in 551 B.C in Lu which is China’s shandong province now and died in 479 B.C. Aristotle was born in 384 B.C in Stagira in Macedon and died in 322 B.C in Euboea at the age of 62. This two people home environment also brought a lot of influence on them. Confucius from a ducal house descending from the house of Shang, the dynasty preceding that of the Chou. Aristotle’s father is a doctor, so Aristotle was very interested in biology. Confucius and Aristotle were in each dynasty, as an adviser(Hamburger, 1959).

For Aristotle, he thinks that virtue is the soul of good, not a good body.Virtue is a kind of the doctrine of the mean thought at the same time, under the provisions of the rational.In Aristotle's happiness is not a virtue, but an action of  virtue. Aristotle believed that the best life that is happiness, happiness is the realization of activities in line with virtue, and therefore Aristotle virtue is to focus on the happy life and expanded. According to the classification of the soul, Aristotle divided the virtue into moral virtue and intellectual virtue(Yu, 1998, 324). He believes that intellectual virtue occurs primarily through the teaching and development, so it takes time and experience. By moral virtue is to develop the habit. By comparing the Aristotelian virtue and affection, indicating virtue is a quality of the soul. Virtue has three elements: the proven wisdom of choice, in line with standard practice wisdom, customary behavior. The synergy of these three elements, is a man who not only do good, and to do the right, and will be responsible for the behavior of their own will. Aristotle inherited the virtue of the Socrates' views, he thinks that virtue is a human attribute, as it should be but virtue not only include rational composition, should also include irrational elements. Aristotle's ethics inherited and developed the rationalist Socrates and Plato Ethics tradition, but integrated into the city and relatively strong personal experience and rational combination of features, more scientific and realistic. One of his contribution to the concept of virtue is that his soul into rational and irrational, he believes that ethics should not only focus on the rational part, should also be concerned itself does not have to listen to the rational but irrational part of the rational soul. The man different from the animals is to be able to restrain myself rationally irrational that part of the soul.  Aristotle believed that the doctrine of virtue ethics is characteristic of it is that we make to help us find a quality legitimate sexual morality in the face of irrational feelings,  Aristotle put this modest quality is called the nature of ethical virtue. So virtue is a moderate quality.  In addition, Aristotle's politics is about city and citizen, He said that man is by nature a political animal, he believes that all States are a community, these communities the pursuit of virtue is the most noble quality and the city, city is the pursuit of the highest good(Politics: Ch.1). But the city can achieve good purpose depends on the regime, because the regime is the soul of polis . Aristotle believes that the best form of government must be able to make people happy. So the virtue of the political system is through the establishment of the basic political system and education so that every citizen can develop good behavior and happiness of life, which is also the political purpose of Aristotle. In the view of Aristotle is to cultivate virtue is a necessary condition for a happiness life, so people need to receive education, and education is defined by law, good law originates from the superior government, the government can only exist in the excellent good political system, and political system is established by the rulers. According to this logic, the people of the city can live a happy life is the legal basis for the rulers enacted. This is because a happy life depends on the cultivation of virtue. Morality precedes politics, because citizens do not cultivate virtue cannot participate in political activities in the city. In addition rulers and the establishment of political institutions through which government aims to promote virtue and help others cultivate virtue(Hackett,2012). Overall, Aristotle believed that there is an intrinsic link between virtue and politics, the ultimate aim is to allow citizens to have been a happy life of virtue.

For Confucius, Ren is the core of Confucius' ethical system, also is the basis of the theory of Confucius' virtue. Ren appeared in The Analects (sayings of Confucius's life) in over hundreds of times, the simply meaning of Ren is to love people. The term Ren consists of two components, meaning, respectively, "human" and "two," and points toward human relationships.(Yu, 1998, 323). It is this sense that figures in Confucius’ basic teaching that by learning to be good one becomes a person of Ren. In Athenian philosophy, the word arete is associated with aristos(excellent, best) and means the goodness of a kind of thing (it is therefore also translated as “excellence”). Ren is the spontaneous overflow of the heart, love is not just limited to the kinship  families, and even the whole world as one of their inner life.The basic goal of Ren is the instinct of a man desire into common social emotions, people will give way to rational desires, enables the people to act according to the requirements of social norms.The change of this kind of action means that emotion by the enlightenment, mind is no longer narrow, this is the face of virtue. Confucius's theory of another is called the li，the translation of li ranges from "rites" to "propriety," "ceremony," "decorum" and “manners"(Hamburger, 1959). The relationship between Ren and Li,  Confucius considered Ren is a basis of a moral person, with the emphasis on Ren will go to pay more attention to the Li. But love is a kind of natural property, how to determine the virtue of good?A person might love his parents, friends, brothers, but he also could be a robber or a murderer.So Confucius explicitly declared that a person has the Ren, must keep learning, if don't like learning, it easy to cause the people to make stupid things.  Hence Ren as love is not identical with human goodness, and needs to be constrained by li. Confucius's doctrine of the mean, the doctrine of the mean as a moral truth, and thus obtain the guidelines for dealing with various social problems. The doctrine of the mean in the whole of the Analects of Confucius, the doctrine of the mean is the concept of virtue has been emphasized in a state of mind Confucius. In the Confucian view of virtue is premise of the political and a wise monarch not only have Ren and Li, also need to have virtue, in order better to rule the entire country.