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The document compares the philosophies of Confucius and St. Thomas Aquinas, arguing that Confucius' ideas were more original and impactful. While Aquinas sought to combine prior traditions of Christianity and Greek philosophy, Confucius introduced new secular concepts in ethics and society that challenged Chinese religious traditions at the time. Though both had influence in their eras, Confucius' legacy has endured for over two millennia across East Asia, whereas adherence to Christianity and Aquinas' ideas is declining. Therefore, Confucius deserves recognition for his groundbreaking contributions through a dedicated monument more than Aquinas.

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2K views3 pages

Essay

The document compares the philosophies of Confucius and St. Thomas Aquinas, arguing that Confucius' ideas were more original and impactful. While Aquinas sought to combine prior traditions of Christianity and Greek philosophy, Confucius introduced new secular concepts in ethics and society that challenged Chinese religious traditions at the time. Though both had influence in their eras, Confucius' legacy has endured for over two millennia across East Asia, whereas adherence to Christianity and Aquinas' ideas is declining. Therefore, Confucius deserves recognition for his groundbreaking contributions through a dedicated monument more than Aquinas.

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api-226133628
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© © All Rights Reserved
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AnjaliZyla

Core

PowerofThought

Hewholearnsbutdoesnotthinkislost,Confucius,afamousteacherandphilosopher,
oncesaid.Ontheotherhand,St.ThomasAquinas,apriestandphilosopher,said,
Toone
withoutfaith,noexplanationispossible.WhileConfuciuswastryingtostresstheimportanceof
thinking,Aquinaswastryingtostresstheimportanceofbelieving.Whenpeopleareaskedwhich
ismoreimportanttothem,mostwouldsaythinking,sincethenumberofreligiouspeopleis
dwindlingquickly(USChristianNumbers).NotonlyareConfuciusideasmoreimportantto
thecommonperson,buttheywerealsomoreinnovativeatthetime.Confuciusismoredeserving
ofamonumentthanSt.ThomasAquinasbecauseConfuciusviewsweremoreoriginalatthe
timeandhislegacyhaslastedfarlongerthanSt.ThomasAquinaslegacy.
Theonlywaythecommonpersonwillspendtimelisteningtonewviewsisiftheviews
areoriginaliftheideasaresomethingthatpeoplehaveheardoverandoveragain,theywont
makethatmuchofalastingimpression.Confuciusbeliefs,alsoknownasConfucianism,were
veryoriginalandmanypeoplealloverEastAsiahadntheardthembefore.Confucianism
consistsoffourbasicparts:
jen
,orloveofhumanity
te
,orvirtue
yi
,orrighteousness

and
li
,or
decorumindailylife(
Confuciusin90minutes
21).Theyweresecular,orabouttheworld,andit
wentagainstthereligiousviewsinChinaatthetime(Nardo76).Confuciuswasagainstthemain
philosophyatthetime
tao
and
te
.
Tao
istheWay,ortheprinciplethatprettymuchexplains
theuniverse.
Tao
canalsobethecodeofbehaviorthatthatworkswiththenaturalorder.Taoism,
thereligionthatgrewoutof
tao
,causedtheindividualtowithdrawfromsociety.Confuciuswas
stressingtheimportanceofanindividuals
involvement
insociety.Heevensaid,Hehasnot
livedinvainwhodiesthedayheistoldabouttheWay.
Te
,anotherreligiousdoctrine,saidthat
apersongetsvirtuebyfollowingtheWay.Confuciusbelievedthatheavengavepeoplethe
capacityforvirtue,ratherthanpeopleearningit.(
Confuciusin90minutes
23).St.Thomas
Aquinas,ontheotherhand,soughttocombinescholasticism,orthesystemofteachingin
ChristianschoolsduringtheMiddleAges,andAristotlestheories.Hewasoneofthemost
influentialmedievalthinkersofScholasticismandbelievedthatfaithandreasoncouldwork
together,sincetheywerebothfromGod,toproveandperceiveGod(St.ThomasAquinas).
However,thiswasntanythingnewororiginalsinceChristianityandGreekthoughthadalready
beenputtogether800yearsbefore,withPlatonicideas(
ThomasAquinasin90minutes
29).
Aquinaswasalsoveryinfluencedbyscholasticismhewas,afterall,oftheScholastictradition
andAristotlestheories,somanyofhisphilosophieswerentevenhisowninsteadtheywere
ideasofphilosopherbeforehim.Forexample,AquinasusesAristotlesargumentofthe
unmovedmovertoprovetheexistenceofGod(ThomasAquinasBiography).Thisshows
thatmanyofhismainargumentsarenotveryoriginal,insteadanadaptedversionofanother

personstheories.Confuciusbeliefsweremuchmoreoriginal,especiallytothecommon,
religiousperson.
Acommonpersonwouldbeveryreligious,duringbothConfuciusandAquinastimes.
ThiswaswhatmadeConfucianismcontroversialandAquinasphilosophiesmoreimportantat
theirtimes.However,Confuciusphilosophiesnow,morethan20centuriesafterhisdeathand
noteven8centuriesafterAquinasdeath,aremuchmoreimportantthanAquinasbeliefs.
AquinasviewsapplyonlytoChristians,butanewstudybythePewResearchCenterfoundthat
5millionlessAmericansidentifythemselvesasChristiansinonlythepast8years7%less
(USChristianNumbers).Thisshowsthatmanypeoplearentreligiousanymoreturning
awayfromAquinasbeliefsandtowardsConfucius.Infact,Confucianismistheofficial
imperialphilosophyofChinaandmanypoliticiansadoptedConfuciustheoriesonpolitics,even
centuriesafterhisdeath.Confuciuswrotedownverylittleofhisphilosophies,whichwereonly
passedonthroughhisdisciples(Confucius).EventhoughAquinaswrotedownalotofhis
theories,theyarentnearlyaspopulartodayasConfucianism.ThereasonforthisisthatAquinas
canonlyinfluencepeoplewhobelievedinGod,whileConfucianismcanapplytoanyone.
ConfuciuslegacyisfarmoreimpactfultotodayssocietythanSt.ThomasAquinaslegacy.
Confuciushasmadeahugeimpactonboththemodernsocietyandthesocietyhelived
in,whileSt.ThomasAquinasphilosophieswereneitheroriginalnorgroundbreaking.Forthat
reason,Confuciusshouldhaveamonumentdedicatedtohimtocommemorateeverythinghedid.
Confuciusnewideasweresecularandwentagainstthereligiousphilosophyatthetime,while
AquinasphilosophiesweresimplyarepeatofanothermeetingbetweenChristianityandGreek
thoughteighthundredyearsbefore,especiallysinceAquinaswasheavilyinfluencedbyother
philosophies.AquinasmadeasmallimpactafterhisdeathcomparedtoConfuciusbecausehis
theoriesonlyapplytothefallingnumberofChristiansConfuciushashadabiggereffecton
todayssociety,withConfucianismbecomingChinasofficialstatephilosophy,becausehis
ideascanapplytoeveryone.AsSzemaChienwrote,morethanthreecenturiesafterConfucius
death,Therehavebeenmanykings,emperors,andgreatmeninhistory,whoenjoyedfameand
honorwhiletheylivedandcametonothingattheirdeath,whileConfucius,whowasbuta
commonscholarcladinacottongown,becametheacknowledgedMasterofscholarsforover
tengenerations.(Nardo87)

WorksCited

"Confucius."
Bio
.A&ETelevisionNetworks,2015.Web.13May2015.

Nardo,Don.
AncientPhilosophers
.SanDiego,CA:Lucent,2004.Print.

Strathern,Paul.
Confuciusin90Minutes
.Chicago:I.R.Dee,1999.Print.

Strathern,Paul.
ThomasAquinasin90Minutes
.Chicago,IL:IvanR.Dee,1998.Print.

"St.ThomasAquinas."
Bio
.A&ETelevisionNetworks,2015.Web.13May2015.

"ThomasAquinasBiography."
TheEuropeanGraduateSchool
.N.p.,n.d.Web.14May2015.

"USChristiansNumbers'declineSharply',PollFindsBBCNews."
BBCNews
.BBC,12May
rabbit
2015.Web.12May2015.

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