The Confucian Theory Post Reply The Confucian theory provides an overall account of both conduct rules and character traits and is a philosophy of ethical

The Confucian Theory Post Reply The Confucian theory provides an overall account of both conduct rules and character traits and is a philosophy of ethical and social conduct based on Confucius, who was a Chinese philosopher. According to Nagel-Angerman ( 2012), Confucius taught that personal excellence comes from the manifestation of five virtues ren, yi, li, zhi, and xin. The five virtues are based on the idea to create a harmonious society and a united country. According to Nagel-Angermann (2012) . If you live by these five principles, you can achieve worthiness to be called the perfect man.

Ren – the virtue of benevolence, charity, and humanity. This refers to generosity and kindness that teaches individuals to be selfless, thoughtful, and caring, meaning love for one another is essential.

Yi – Is one of the essential ideal ethic in Confucianism -righteousness. The principle of righteousness. It is upholding what is right above everything else and sacrificing oneself for it if need be. It is the ethic that says when others are in trouble, we should help them out of the problems. The belief states that we should have the ability to differentiate right and wrong.

Li – means respect and polite,“ doing what is appropriate” or “doing what is proper to the situation, the action which has been deemed appropriate by society, the principle of self-restraint

Zhi – the virtue of knowledge or wisdom, or intelligence

Xin – is the principle of honesty in life to be honest with oneself and being honest with the people around you builds trust and confidence, the virtue of faithfulness and integrity

Choose one of these principles and examine how it contributes to social harmony-

I selected the principle of ren. According to Molloy, “When we look at the Chinese ideogram for the virtue of ren, we understand its meaning: to think of the other. It is translated in many ways: “sympathy,” “empathy,” “benevolence,” “humaneness,” “kindness,” “consideration,” “thoughtfulness,” and “human-heartedness.” (Molloy, 2013, p.234.). I cannot help believe that if everyone practiced the concept of “Ren”, the world would be a much better place today. As a nurse, I believe “ren” sums up what I and every nurse should do for others. If we, all of society lived by the principle we could impact all of society and one would think the world would change.
“Ren” is a very important virtue to me and I have found great satisfaction in helping others without expecting anything in return both as a nurse and as a person. One of the things lacking in today world is the absence of love for one another and that has been characterized by the turmoil that we find ourselves living in and the state of insecurity that has overshadowed the world.

Molloy, M. (2013). Experiencing the world’s religions (6th ed.). New York City, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Nagel-Angerman, M., (2012). The five virtues. Calliope, 22(5), 16. Retrieved http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/70894481/five-virtues (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.