Comparing Confucianism And Daoism

Confucius was one of the most influential people on East Asian culture. Born in the sixth century, Confucius committed himself to spreading morality and inspiring people to do good (Ebrey, 42). Confucius linked moral behaviour to traditional roles and hierarchies in both social and political life. One of his main teachings was filial piety, the reverent respect for people in higher standing than you, such as parents and older people. His ideal world was one where hierarchy created harmony and conventions governed actions (Ebery, 42). The highest virtue for Confucius is called Ren, or “perfect goodness, benevolence, humanity, co-humanity, human heartedness, and nobility” (Ebery, 43).
I consider the morality and structure of Confucianism to be a great strength. I believe that filial piety is important for family harmony and respecting your superiors is important in order to progress in society. In addition, doing good for the collective is a great philosophy to have and makes you think of your actions on a greater scope than just your individual life. However, the weaknesses of Confucianism today is that the belief in traditional roles are not as prevalent as they were thousands of years ago. For example, in Confucian belief, the woman is less than their sons and other men, however I believe
While Confucianism focuses on the greater good for the collective or a group of people, Daoism focuses solely on the individual and how to better the individual’s life (Ebery, 47). In addition, Daoism belief does not accept the basic Confucian premise that the governments benefit the people and preferred rulers to leave the people alone. In addition, Daoism does not place human beings at the centre of the cosmos but rather humans upset the natural order of things (Ebery, 48). While Confucianism focuses on human affairs, Daoism focuses on the total reality of the natural world in which humans play a small role (Ebery,