The East Asian Moral Theory and Practice - Coursework Example

The East Asian moral theory and practice East Asia is the eastern part of the Asian continent. Geographically, the regioncovers about twelve million square kilometers and about twenty eight percent of the Asia continents. The region is one of the most populated areas in the world. Between 20 and 25 percent of all the people in the world live in East Asia. Many societies in this region have been part of the Chinese culture. The East Asia is comprised of countries like Japan, South and North Korea, the People’s Republic of china Twain and Mongolia. In the north East Asia, countries like Japan and Korea are located there. Forming part of the East Asia, these countries have got their major religions including Confucianism, the Buddhism religion, and the Chinese folk religion among other religions. The Chinese calendar is the real roots from which close to all other East Asian calendars were derived. There is much influence from the Northern China civilization, whereby; the East Asia has in common the Confucian ethical philosophy, the common writing system as well as the political and legal structures, the Buddhism and (Bell, 2006). The eastern philosophy entails the various philosophies of East Asia. These include the Chinese, the Indian, the Korean and the Japanese philosophies. Moral theory and practice among the countries in the East Asia is defined by the interdisciplinary cooperation between theology, ethics and the empirical disciplines that include medicine, sociological aspects, law and economics. There are several ethics and moral practices that are witnessed among the East Asia. These ethics and practices are defined by the actions of the people within a particular state. Behavior is regulated by some set moral values which guide the peoples’ actions and practices. In the East Asia, religion and other rules legalized by the head of states determine what can be considered ethical, moral or immoral. The church in East Asia is considered to have a higher influence to the moral theology and practice within the region. There is quite a number of religions found within the region, which require some inter religious dialogue into an ethical reflection with traditions from all religions. Cultures within the region are deeply attached to the present forces of westernization and globalization as well as other numerous issues that help to generate and complicate. Despite the wide variety of terms by different churches, the traditions described as the East Asian religions and the Chinese religions are viewed as a distinct religious family. Syncretism in the East Asian religions is a common feature. This makes it difficult for the recognition of individual faiths. Taoism is the other term for the Tao religion. There are several faiths that are incorporated in the religion. Such include; the Japanese Buddhism and the Ch’an. The Tao is generally stated as the force behind a natural order. This is also the influence that keeps order and balance within the universe. This is the essential energy of existence and is compared to the origin of both the existence and the non-existence. Tao is associated with morality, proper attitude and good lifestyle. In practice, the actual meaning of proper is varied according to the East Asian faiths. Traditions in the East Asian are portrayed through the specific selection of things. In this case, all things are selected with respect to the East Asian culture of practice. Specific doctrines are used for the regulation of behavior among the individuals. Generally, Confucian has had a great influence in the East Asian moral theory and practice. It has a long historical legacy in the region and it extends from china all across Korea and Japan. The influence of the Confucian tradition has been effective in the political thought and institutions. It extends to the social relationships and in ritual exchange as well as in the provision of moral teaching and in educational philosophy. This tradition has also a great influence in the cultural attitudes and in the historical interpretation. Additionally, Confucian values also take a significant part in the East Asia life despite the arising trends of modernization and the issues of westernization. The potential of the culture is significantly shaping the East Asian societies in their pursuit for sustainable development as well as for the integrity of their environment. While the Confucian culture has an vast historical variations, national differences and cultural particularities within the region, at the same time, there are a certain essential key values and ideas that continue to spread across the region. These values contain the major elements of the tradition which endures irrespective of the historical changes and the political turmoil. These elements include a dynamic worldview for the promotion of harmony amidst change, ethical responsibility and the embeddedness of each individual in concentric circles of interactions, the significance of the family beginning the past the present and the future generations. There are other elements that are constituted in the Confucius values and these include; the function of the bureaucrat social system where loyalties to teachers and elders are critical; recognition of the significance of education in shaping an individual, contribution to the political order and enriching the family; the government role in establishing a political bureaucracy where large numbers of people can be efficiently ruled; and the value of history as a critical element of moral rectification and civilization stability. These values have a great contribution to the environmental thought and portray a cosmological world view if the Confucian culture that it promotes harmony and a positive change within the society. These values dictate the role of each individual in relation to the natural processes within their environment (Du 76). The worldview of the better part of the Confucian culture and values is characterized by four major elements; an organic holism in the continuity of being, a dynamic vitalism, an anthropocosmic perspective,and the comprehensive ethics that embrace both nature and human begins. The anthropocosmic perspective entails the immense triad of heaven, which is also perceived as a guiding force, nature and human beings. The Confucian thought has got this a central idea in its earliest expressions within the classical contexts all along to its later developments which arose in the end of the eleventh century. The ideal interaction of the three forces contrasts notably with the increased human influence by the western culture where the salvation of an individual has been centralized in relation to the divine figure. In the element of organic holism, the universe is seen as interconnected and unified. All things interact and have an effect on each other. Variety of things interconnect and thus and can be distinguished from each other in the elements of color, directions and virtues. In this aspect, according to the element of holism, the creator God does not exist behind the universe. The Chinese thought does not hold much to the theories of origin neither does it have much concern of the concepts of personal God and thus the interconnected universe is seen as a continuity of being. O the other side, the element of dynamic vitalism entails the roots of the underlying unity of reality constituted within the material force of the universe. This element creates the bases of a profound mutual dependence between the natural world and humans. The material force is a major substance of life and is seen as the bases for the progressive transformation and change in the universe. In the Confucian texts, there is a repetition of the words production and reproduction. The repetition is done to demonstrate the creativity of nature. Nature is recognized to play a significant role in the creation of new lives and these deserve its respect and protection. Through this consideration, individuals are subject to their natural responsibilities of protecting nature and portraying much respect to whatever nature has recreated. The recognition of the specific functions of nature in this case opens up the brains of individual to develop in them an aspect of respect and responsibility. Individuals get to understand that change is the bases of interaction and of the continuation of the interconnectedness of all life systems including vegetation, minerals, animals and human. The recognition of the material force of the universe celebrates transformation as the clearest expression of the creative process of life whereby human beings should demonstrate harmony in their actions. Human beings should essentially model themselves on the unending vitality of the vast process (Sitter-Liver 123). People living in the East Asia have a keen consideration of the Confucian ethics which are basically formulated within a cosmological context of an entire triad of the bliss, human beings and the earth. The triad is completed by human actions that are undertaken relatively to the natural world and the occasional changes. Human beings in this context are expected to behave like naturally ethical beings living in a world of complex relationships. According to the Confucian ethics, humans should cultivate the land, as a responsibility. People live by virtues, which are considered to be seeds sprouting through the moral practice and grow over time. Ethical vitality among the East Asians is situated against the background of the dynamic pattern of their culture. Martial arts and medical practices among the Chinese society echo their vitality in the protection and the maintenance their own physical and moral health. For many followers of the Confucian culture, this does not only mean the reciprocity with the nature patterns but also their responsibility for the health of nature. The regional government has therefore taken a critical measure to support agriculture through such systems like irrigation in an attempt to create the bases of sustainability within the society. Human culture and livelihood in East Asia is seen as continuous with nature. According to researchers, humans, the earth and the heaven are the basis of all creatures. Heaven plays its purpose to give birth; the earth nourishes the creation while humans should bring them to completion. Heaven is considered to provide the creation with a sense of brotherly love at birth, while the earth nourishes them with food and clothing. The human beings are thus believed to have a mandate in completing the creations with rites and music. All the three elements, the heaven, earth and humans should work together while none can be isolated from the other. According to the cosmological pattern of the Confucian culture, every individual is expected to be in a relationship with each other while none should live in isolation. In this light, there are more grounds the culture for an emphasis of the common good which is basic for developing ethics. The western culture has given emphasis to the significance of the individual, highlighting the individual’s rights and freedom. The Confucian tradition of the East Asia stresses the magnitude of cooperative group effort for the purpose that individual concerns are transformed to a larger sense of common good. Considering this, self interest and unselfishness for a common cause are not mutually exclusive while responsibilities are more stressed than rights. Such an important value system within the community may be vital for fostering sustainability within the community. The Confucian tradition has an emphasis on the continuity of the family whereby, it has placed consideration to a strong ethic of indebtness to the present and past generations and put obligations to the descendants. In consideration to this moral framework, we discover the potential for stirring up a sense of self-discipline and communal responsibility geared towards the environmental well-being of the future generation. The emphasis of lineage, according to the Confucian, is raised to a new ethical perspective of intergenerational obligations. This is geared towards maintaining a healthy and a hostile environment. This perspective brings light to the view that the unlimited development as well as the uncontrolled consumption should be shuttered. In the East Asian hierarchy of social systems of Confucianism, moral aspects can be expanded to place human beings in relation to their biological lineage of life. In this light, loyalty to teachers, and the elders and the departed members of the community is broadened to include respect for the forms of life and to the ecosystem that preceded human beings. Biodiversity is therefore highly valued within the regions of the East Asia. This aspect gives much emphasis on the issue of total dependence of human beings on other forms of life for sustenance and survival. In this light, loyalty is expanded from the human world and is made to include the natural world. Within the East Asian regions, there is the value of the Confucian education. This is essentially considered to be a form of moral cultivation and in another phase, it is considered to be a vital means of contributing to the development of a better social-political order (Du 56). To a greater extent, the ethical moderation towards the unlimited consumption of the environment and resources can be considered to add to the political and social stability of the society as a whole. From this perspective, moral education and suasion are vital means of evoking societal changes that may promote the stability of the society through personal choice and other voluntary measures instead of promoting sustainability through legislation from above. The Confucian education seeks to foster an understanding of how significant is an act of preservation. People in his case are educated on the specific measures that they should consider in the care and the preservation of the environment as an important aspect of promoting sustainability within the society. This opposes the mentality that all legal actions regarding the protection of the environment should be formulated and enacted through the legislation. An observation of the Confucian education in the East Asian regions has developed a moral sense of responsibility in individuals. There is much reliance on the moral education facilitated through the Confucian education. Many countries within the East Asia have the Confucian forms of government, which are generally centralized and dominant. These types of government can engage in a long range planning with other sectors such as the business community. The long term policy making is not familiar in East Asian communities. However, it is possible to include issues regarding the environment in the specific type of a centralized planning rather than putting all concentration on the immediate goals or periodical profits. This type of planning can be essential in the process of preserving the environment. History is valued in the East Asian societies where Confucian tradition has dominated. It is seen as a means of maintaining continuity in civilization and a collective memory of events and. In this perspective, there is a greater sense of the significance of the evolution of ritualized behavior. The process of transition of behavior becomes a means of deriving morals from the past to the present. History is thus narrated through a moral framework and is helpful in guiding the present process of decision making. The historical value brings out the state of comparison between decisions made in the past and the present ones. These values are helpful in raising issues of what is at stake in the present time in the move towards the global consumerism by the modern civilizations more especially on the ecological crisis and in the light of resource consumption limits. There is a long range of civilization perspectives that are held within the East Asia. These perspectives may not be of a great value in reorienting societies in the long-term sustainable policies and practices. In this situation, the world view portrays an enormous potential for the appreciation of nature. The Confucian perspective values nature as the source of all things that sustains life. This perspective, which provides the light to the need of respect and appreciation for nature lays down some moral principles and ethics that control the consumption, protection and the maintenance of all that nature has provided. Human beings, in any case, may be considered to be insignificant elements in the midst of others in as far as the provision and resources is concerned. On the other hand, humans play a critical role in the maintenance and care for nature. The East Asian societies are seen to have embraced the provisions of the global environmental ethic. Through the Confucian tradition, the East Asian societies have realized their responsibilities in the protection of nature. The Confucian tradition has taken place through the efforts of many Confucians within the region and has taken a long historical legacy within the East Asian societies. This tradition has had a great influence in the political and social thought as well as on institutions, ritual exchanges and on the social relationships. It has played a vital role in spreading central ideas and values across the region. Moral values within the societies are formulated with guidelines from a cosmological worldview. Through the consideration of the cosmological worldview and the aspects of nature, strong values and ethics have been enacted where individuals should act responsibly. Works cited Bell, Daniel. Beyond Liberal Democracy: Political Thinking for an East Asian Context. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 2006. Du, Weiming. Confucian Traditions in East Asian Modernity: Moral Education and Economic Culture in Japan and the Four Mini-Dragons : [conference... of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (aaas), May 15-18, 1991]. Cambridge Mass. [etc.: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Print. Sitter-Liver, Beat. Universality: from Theory to Practice: An Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Debate About Facts, Possibilities, Lies and Myths : 25th Colloquium (2007) of the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences. Freiburg: Acad. Press Fribourg, 2009. Print. Read More