Essay - Comparative Analysis of the Dialogue Between Plato and Confucius Western...

Comparative Analysis of the Dialogue between Plato and Confucius

Western & Eastern Philosophy

Plato & Confucius Dialogue

*****: Human nature is something that is not fully understood. There is more to human nature than ***** influence of the Gods (Stevenson & Haberman 69). Tell me why do people do wrong?

Confucius:

People surely do not intend to ***** *****.

Plato: But that does not answer ***** question ***** ***** do wrong? If people are good, why ***** they do things that are immoral? Is it a person who does wrong?

Confucius:

man is responsible for his own actions, but even if a m*****n does *****, it does ***** mean he *****s to do so.

Plato: Well then how is it possible for a man ***** intends to do good to do wrong? People have the ability ***** rea*****n ***** thus to do what is right (St*****son & ***** 69). It ***** innately ***** to ***** the ***** ***** reason.

*****: I do not know ***** I only transmit from ***** heavens. I am not a heavenly being myself. But that does ***** mean it is not in man's power to ***** heaven.

Pla*****: ***** think therefore then that all things ***** are done wrong ***** those that are done in ignorance; people desire what is best.

Confucius: Yes, I th*****k so, we live in a moral world (Stevenson & Haberman 11). ***** is virtue everywhere, and that virtue comes from ***** and exists in me (***** & Haberman 11). Therefore, ***** cannot be ignorance then ***** which man does *****, but it has to be ***** else. Man ***** be ignorant ***** what is moral ***** right.

*****: I will agree w*****h that, that nobody wants what ***** bad (Cahn 7). I have proven ***** ***** want to ***** good.

Confucius: So ***** agree then than that morality and good ***** predominant in the world? *****f ***** heavens touch everything and you have shown that nobody ***** to be bad, then the world should be a perfectly moral place.

*****: But there are questions to what is t***** virtue of which we speak. No one wants ***** is bad, but people want what ***** good and the acquiring of things that are good can be in the ***** of goods through vanity ***** this *****not be good (***** 7).

*****: Then how do ***** determ*****e what is good? If ********** *****, and being able to reason is not enough to make ***** good, then ***** is your ans*****r? Is it not that heaven ex*****ts everywhere?

Pla*****: Well, God does exist everywhere; ***** is complete ***** absolute ***** (Stevenson & Haberman 11). But ***** exists something outside of the real world we perceive everyday; something that is greater than the physical realties we encounter on a daily bas*****. This is because there ***** unchanging forms that human beings are not aw***** of, ***** that exist ***** of human conception and only through the use of forms can ***** come to know