Kongzi 2

Summary

This script delves into the concept of 'Li' in Confucianism, emphasizing its significance in societal organization and individual conduct. 'Li', often translated as 'ritual propriety' or 'right', is central to Confucian ethics, guiding how one should act within society. Confucius advocates for self-cultivation not for personal gain but to uphold social harmony and collective well-being. The script contrasts Western individualism with Confucian collectivism, highlighting how 'Li' naturally emerges from social interactions to maintain order and continuity with tradition. It suggests that mastering 'Li' leads to effortless living, as one becomes an integral part of the social fabric, aligning with the fluid, evolving nature of societal norms.

Takeaways

• 📜 'Li' is a fundamental concept in Confucianism, often translated as 'ritual propriety' or 'right', and is crucial for understanding Confucian ethics and social order.
• 🌐 'Li' is not just about individual conduct; it emphasizes the relationship between the individual and the collective, with the collective's well-being prioritized over individual desires.
• 🤝 'Li' is seen as an organic outcome of social interactions rather than a set of rules imposed by a governing body, reflecting shared values that emerge naturally within society.
• 🧘‍♂️ Confucius views 'self-cultivation' as the process of understanding and adhering to 'Li' for the benefit of society, rather than for personal gain or individual development.
• 🌟 'Li' is a reflection of the 'Heavenly patterns' or 'Tian', suggesting that social conventions are not static but evolve over time, mirroring the fluidity of the cosmos.
• 🤔 The script suggests that 'Li' is a vehicle for social harmony, where observing social conventions is essential for maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships.
• 👥 'Li' is not about individual action but about non-action in the sense that it is about fitting into a larger social fabric, acting as part of a collective rather than as an isolated individual.
• 🔄 The concept of 'Li' allows individuals to become part of their cultural heritage and traditions by observing the social conventions established by their ancestors.
• 🌱 'Li' is presented as a dynamic and evolving aspect of society, with the next video promising to explore how and why social conventions change over time.
• 🌿 The script uses the handshake as an example of a social convention that has emerged organically to solve a problem, illustrating how 'Li' can develop and serve a purpose within society.

Q & A

What is the significance of 'Li' in Confucianism?

In Confucianism, 'Li' is central and often translated as 'ritual propriety' or 'right'. It refers to the observance of social conventions and is crucial for understanding how to act in a good way, or 'Ren'. Confucius emphasizes the importance of adhering to 'Li' in all aspects of life, including sight, hearing, speech, and action.

How does Confucius define 'Ren' and its relation to 'Li'?

Confucius defines 'Ren' as goodness, and its relation to 'Li' is that one must understand and observe 'Li' to act in a good way. 'Li' provides the framework for how individuals should behave within society to maintain social harmony and order.

What is the difference between the Western and Confucian views on the relationship between the individual and society?

Western societies tend to emphasize the individual, with laws and organizations focused on the individual as the primary political building block. In contrast, Confucianism emphasizes the sustainability of the collective over the well-being of the individual, focusing on the relationship between the individual and the collective.

How does Confucius view the emergence of social conventions?

Confucius believes that social conventions, or 'Li', emerge organically and spontaneously from social interactions rather than being decided by a committee or a group of people. They are seen as natural reflections of a shared value system.

What is the role of 'Li' in maintaining social harmony?

'Li' serves as a vehicle for social harmony by establishing and maintaining inter-social relationships through proper observance. It helps individuals to enter into the social fabric of society and become part of a larger collective body.

How does observing 'Li' connect an individual to their past and tradition?

By observing 'Li', an individual becomes a member of society in a way that sustains and develops it, and also becomes a part of their own past. This is because 'Li' is a reflection of the practices and customs developed through the interactions of ancestors.

What does self-cultivation mean in the context of Confucianism?

In Confucianism, self-cultivation is not about personal growth in the Western sense but rather understanding and acting in accordance with social conventions for the collective good. It involves understanding why 'Li' works and promoting the well-being of society.

How does Confucius relate 'Li' to the concept of 'Heaven' or 'Tian'?

Confucius sees 'Li' as manifesting the patterns of 'Heaven' or 'Tian', suggesting that the social conventions that arise from society reflect a natural order. Observing 'Li' is a way of participating in and sustaining this order.

What does it mean to act in accordance with 'Li' from an individual's perspective?

From an individual's perspective, acting in accordance with 'Li' can be seen as a form of non-action, where one's actions are not as an isolated individual but as part of a larger, fluid, and interconnected whole.

How can 'Li' change, and what might be good or bad reasons for such changes?

While the script does not provide specific reasons for changes in 'Li', it suggests that 'Li' is not static and can evolve. Good reasons for change might include adapting to new social realities or promoting greater harmony, while bad reasons might be changes that disrupt social cohesion or are made for selfish reasons.

Outlines

00:00

📜 Understanding 'Li' in Confucianism

This paragraph introduces 'Li' as a central concept in Confucianism, particularly in Confucian ethics. 'Li' is often translated as 'right' or 'ritual propriety,' referring to the observance of social norms and conventions. The speaker emphasizes the importance of 'Li' by referencing Analects 12.1, where Confucius advises against engaging in anything that violates 'Li.' The paragraph also contrasts Western individualism with the Confucian focus on the collective, highlighting how 'Li' is about the relationship between the individual and society, and the importance of self-cultivation within this context.

05:02

🌐 Self-Cultivation and Social Conventions

The second paragraph delves into the concept of self-cultivation in Confucianism, distinguishing it from the Western idea of personal development. Here, self-cultivation is about understanding and adhering to social conventions for the collective good. The speaker clarifies that 'Li' refers to social customs and practices that arise naturally from social interactions, rather than being imposed by a governing body. Using the example of the handshake, the paragraph illustrates how social conventions can emerge organically to solve social problems and foster harmony. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the importance of observing 'Li' as a means to maintain social relationships and harmony.

10:05

🧩 The Role of 'Li' in Social Fabric and Tradition

The final paragraph discusses how 'Li' helps individuals integrate into the social fabric and tradition. It explains that by observing 'Li,' a person extends their identity into society and history, becoming part of a collective and a tradition. The paragraph draws parallels between 'Li' and the patterns of Heaven (Tian), suggesting that they are interconnected. The speaker also touches on the idea of non-action (Wu Wei) in the context of 'Li,' suggesting that those who are adept at observing social conventions move through life almost effortlessly, as they are acting in harmony with the collective rather than as isolated individuals. The paragraph ends with a teaser for the next video, which will explore how 'Li' can change and the implications of such changes.

Keywords

💡Confucianism

Confucianism is a philosophical system based on the teachings of Confucius, a Chinese philosopher who emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, and sincerity. In the video, Confucianism is central to understanding the concept of 'Li' (ritual propriety) and how it functions within the framework of Confucian ethics and society.

💡Li

Li, often translated as 'ritual propriety' or 'rite', is a fundamental concept in Confucianism that refers to the proper way of doing things, including manners, ceremonies, and social norms. The video explains that Li is central to Confucianism and is essential for understanding how one should act in a morally upright way, as exemplified by Confucius's teachings in Analect 12.1.

💡Analects

The Analects is a collection of sayings and ideas attributed to Confucius and his contemporaries. The video uses Analect 12.1 to illustrate the importance of Li, showing how Confucius advises against actions that violate ritual propriety.

💡Ren

Ren, often translated as 'goodness' or 'benevolence', is a key virtue in Confucianism. The video discusses how Confucius links Ren to the observance of Li, suggesting that to be good, one must understand and follow the social conventions and rituals that uphold society.

💡Social Convention

Social convention refers to the unwritten rules and customs that govern behavior in society. The video explains that Li can be thought of as social convention, guiding individuals on how to act appropriately within the collective.

💡Collective

The collective refers to a group of individuals considered as a whole. The video contrasts Western individualism with Confucian emphasis on the collective, highlighting that in Confucianism, the well-being of society as a whole is prioritized over individual interests.

💡Self-Cultivation

Self-cultivation in Confucianism is the process of refining oneself, not just for personal growth but to better align with social norms and contribute to the collective. The video explains that self-cultivation is about understanding and promoting the well-being of society through adherence to Li.

💡Sustainability

Sustainability in the context of the video refers to the ability of a society to endure and develop over time. Confucius's teachings emphasize that individual actions should contribute to the sustainability of the collective society.

💡Social Harmony

Social harmony is the state of balance and concord within a society. The video describes how Li acts as a vehicle for social harmony, as it reflects shared values and norms that facilitate smooth social interactions.

💡Non-Action (Wu Wei)

Non-action, or Wu Wei, is a concept from Eastern philosophy, including Taoism, suggesting that actions in accordance with nature or the greater social order require little effort and are in harmony with the universe. The video relates this to the Confucian idea that observing Li can be a form of non-action, as it aligns one with the collective.

💡Tradition

Tradition refers to the beliefs, customs, and practices passed down through generations. The video discusses how observing Li connects individuals to their cultural traditions and ancestors, making them part of a historical continuum.

Highlights

Confucianism is deeply rooted in the concept of 'Li', which is central to understanding the Analects and other Confucian texts.

'Li' can be translated as 'ritual propriety', 'rite', or 'social convention', and it refers to the observance of rights and social norms.

Confucius emphasizes 'Li' as a guide for moral conduct, advising against actions that violate its principles.

In Confucian thought, understanding and observing 'Li' is fundamental to acting in a good or morally correct way.

Confucianism contrasts with Western societies, which tend to prioritize individualism over collective well-being.

Confucius is concerned with the relationship between the individual and the collective, emphasizing the collective's sustainability over individual well-being.

Self-cultivation in Confucianism is about understanding social convention to promote societal well-being, rather than individual growth.

'Li' is seen as emerging naturally from social interactions, rather than being decreed by a governing body.

Social conventions, or 'Li', are reflections of shared values and are essential for maintaining social harmony.

Observing 'Li' allows individuals to become part of the social fabric and tradition, connecting them to the past and ensuring societal continuity.

Confucius suggests that those adept at 'Li' move through life almost effortlessly, as their actions align with the larger collective.

'Li' is considered a form of non-action, where individuals act not as separate entities but as part of a fluid, harmonious whole.

The concept of 'Li' will be further explored in the next video, including how it can change and the reasons for such changes.

Confucius believes that 'Li' arises organically from society, similar to how a handshake emerged as a sign of peace.

The observance of 'Li' is not about individual action but about participating in and sustaining the collective society.

Confucius views 'Li' as a natural order emerging from chaos, highlighting the importance of social conventions in organizing society.

Transcripts

okay so now we're going to talk about

League Li I should be spelling some of

these Chinese words for you but we're

going to talk about Lee and this is

really

um absolutely Central to Confucianism

especially to the Confucian analytics uh

if you can get some sense of how Lee

functions for Confucius it will become

much easier for you to read the analects

and to read other subsequent confusion

texts and the debates and so on and what

comes up in them

um so Lee you'll often find translated

as something along the lines of right or

ritual propriety ritual propriety right

the observance of Rights

um

that's Rite by the way in the sense of

uh religious rights like First Holy

Communion or bar mitzvah or something

like that

um

it doesn't hurt for our purposes to

refer to Lee as social convention

or to at least say that Lee refers to

what we generally think to be

um as social convention but in order to

demonstrate their centrality I'm going

to read uh from analect 12.1 really

quick here

so the question being posed to Confucius

here is um

about Ren good what's good and Confucius

answer is

um

do not look at anything that violates

the observance of ritual propriety

that's Lee

do not listen to anything that violates

the observance of ritual propriety

that's Lee do not speak about anything

that violates the observance of ritual

propriety we again

do not do anything that violates the

observance of ritual propriety so the

first thing that one might need to know

or think about when they're wondering

what good is what's a good way to act

what's the good way the Rendell

is that they need to know and understand

ritual propriety observe it and do

nothing which goes contrary to it so

it's an extremely important

aspect of Confucianism and the

organizational institution Society so

really quick we should make

generalization I probably could have

done this in the last video but I tend

to talk about this when I introduce Lee

um if we can make the generalization

about Western Society

that Western Society is more concerned

with the individual and it's developed

in that sense it's laws

um and the organization is sort of

everything

focused on the individual person as the

primary political building block right

as the atoms that built Society right so

how do I have it put in here

um

in Western societies the individuals

emphasized over Society or the

collective we can generalize the

opposite and say that

sustainability of the collective is

emphasized over the well-being of the

individual

um

Confucius is concerned

when we're talking about League

Confucius is concerned with

um how to put this the relationship of

of a person to the other and the other

could very much could very well be the

ten thousand things all the things in

heaven

uh as it were yeah 10 000 things really

just referring to everything which

exists

um

but what Confucius is most concerned

with

is the relationship of the person or the

individual to the collective and this is

emphasized over the well-being of the

individual so

um a sort of crude way to put it I guess

would be a

if it's good for society but bad for you

tough luck no I don't know um so here

what I want to say is that

um Confucius is concerned with the

relationship of one human to other

humans through the process of

self-cultivation and here

self-cultivation is something quite

different than what we think of right

immediately the Western ear hears

self-cultivation and thinks um

well about what it literally sounds like

in English to us right to cultivate the

self to do things that help us grow as

individuals whether that's

um to grow emotionally to grow

intellectually to take good care of

ourselves to go to the gym to eat well

um you know there's this these two very

important phrases in um this I think

permeate Western Society but stem back

to ancient Greek culture which is care

for thyself

and know thyself and these in in Greece

these are intertwined you must sort of

care for yourself in order to know

yourself but here in the confusion

context

um

self-cultivation means something more

like

understanding social convention why it

works being able to predict how Society

will develop being

understanding social convention in such

a way that you promote the well-being of

society that you um

act in accordance with the good way the

Rendell this is self-cultivation so

self-cultivation is for the collective

one cultivates themselves for the

collective and in terms of their

relation to the collective and not in

terms of themselves so um it's not about

learning how to do things so you could

go out and Tinker with machines or code

or just learning knowledge so that you

could talk to people about it unless of

course talking to people about it is

somehow a pedagogical tool that's good

for society so

um

Lee refers to social custom and practice

and the observances of these and

Confucius believes that so this is not

Lee social convention right and ritual

priding

um social normativity this is not

something that comes from some people

sitting down and deciding it there's no

um right and ritual propriety Council in

a Confucian society that sits down and

says this is the proper way to do it

this is the proper way to do it this is

the proper way to do it and here's why

[Music]

um

this is sort of an order emerging out of

chaos thing

Confucius believes that ritual variety

social convention arises sort of

naturally out of social interaction

um

so I'm gonna read I might read a little

bit more than usual when I'm talking

about Lee I apologize so order emerges

for chaos Society emerges from social

interactions between people it emerges

organically and spontaneously and not

from a meeting of people or decisions

made by a committee

um and

usually in class this is where I stop

and pause and sort of ask about some

conventions that we have and where they

came from

and I use the handshake as an example

um I there are different stories that I

I had one my students have another but

the handshake generally comes from the

idea that I'm not harmed I think so one

reaches out their hand in greeting to

show that you don't have a knife or a

gun or or so on and so forth so this is

a sort of natural solution to a problem

in society at one point in time which

thankfully we don't have quite as much

anymore

um which is that one has to fear

everyone else right um because you never

know you can't trust there's it's like a

kind of wild west thing but that's not

where it originates I think it

originates and

um not in the United States but in any

case

um

I hope that example works for you to

understand that social convention for

Confucius arises organically and

naturally this is not something which is

decided

by people intentionally

although the intent there might be

intent there

but it's not the decision of a committee

so

Lee are therefore natural reflections of

a shared value system emergent between

people emergent meaning that this arises

sort of organically between people they

are an expression and vehicle for social

harmony important here is that they are

a vehicle for social harmony so these

things arise and once they arise we need

to pay heed to them we need to observe

social convention

um because they're here for a reason and

that reason is they're necessary aspects

of inter-social relationships right so

Lee manifests the betweenness of people

so social convention is quite literally

a presentation of the fact that we exist

interpersonally inter-socially

um

with the need to be organized

um in some way in a society or so on and

so forth so Lee manifests the

betweenness of people the conventions

that establish and maintain inter-social

relationships through the proper

observance of Lee a person enters into

the social fabric of society

a complex Matrix Matrix of the

interaction between forces the

individual becomes extended into society

and into tradition so we could start to

see how Lee and the idea of heaven or or

the patterns of Heaven Tien when have

some overlap with one another and one so

hopefully you understand why I

introduced Heaven first

um

Lee manifested

so the individual becomes extended into

society and into tradition this means

that they not only become a member of

society in such a way as to help assure

the sustainability and development of

that Society but they become truly a

member of their own past by observing

ritual propriety by observing social

convention by by respecting

understanding and acting upon the

conventions which serve as the fabric of

society

we are able to enter into the deep

tradition that led here we are we are

able to really participate in the past

for Confucius so we are participating in

the past by observingly so like I said

not only do we

help sustain and develop Society but we

truly become a part of our past of the

practices and Customs developed

through the interactions of our

ancestors

um

and this last note

or maybe I have two notes

uh no I think this is the last one for

this video is to say that because Lee

emerged from society as a whole they're

not something that any individual

decides upon or makes themselves

from the perspective of the individual

to observe social convention to act in

accordance with social convention is is

can almost be considered like non-action

there's this idea that you will see in

other Eastern philosophies especially

um taoism of Wu way sort of doing

nothing or non-action

and Confucius beliefs that those who are

the most Adept those are the most

skilled in Social convention those who

um

understand where they come from why they

function and the way they function and

observes them or acts in accordance with

them sort of

uh

moves through life almost effortless

effortlessly

um to know and understand why you're

doing these things and to act in accord

with social harmony is to not act at all

because you're acting as part of a fluid

moving complicated whole you're not

acting as an individual you're acting as

one aspect of a larger Collective body

so in this sense what you have is uh

social convention adherence to social

Convention as a form of non-action

so in the next video I'll talk a little

bit more about Lee and how Lee can

change remember I said in the previous

video that heaven is not something fixed

and static it's actually fluid and so

there are some ways

cursory ways for our purposes here that

we can talk about

changingly

change in Social convention change in

right and ritual propriety

um what's a good reason for change

what's a bad reason for change

catch you in the next video