By Paul Weiser
Of all the problems of morality, most central (perhaps ultimate) is discovering a guide to right action. Confucianism has a two-part answer which is incomplete in itself but potentially useful.
The first part of the Confucian way is an attitude of benevolence - that is, the worthy man will wish everyone around him well. This is an excellent starting point: purging hostile attitudes banishes the emotions of wrath, envy, jealousy and scorn. The resulting baseline, disinterested affection forms a suitable foundation for stronger, more particular emotions such as love and respect.
The second Confucian norm is the Golden Rule in its Oriental formulation: Do not do unto others as you would not have them do unto you. Again, an excellent starting point. Unfortunately, the two taken together leave a gap: they provide no guide to right action, only to right inaction. In Confucian theory this gap is filled by the Rituals - filial devotion, statute and customary law, conforming to the norms of one’s station. This is sufficient, perhaps, for a static society.
Problems arise from interested benevolence, that is, attempts to enforce one’s well-wishing. These lead inevitably to conflicts, corruption of both the person and the laws even though they begin with as praiseworthy an act as thrashing the town bully (for his own good and that of his victims).
It transpires, then, that unless all people not only espouse but actually follow the path of disinterested, benevolent inaction this pose - while esthetically pleasing - remains incomplete. More to the point, it provides no standard for evaluating the rightness of the laws and rituals themselves, should they become (or already be) corrupt. For laws, no less than men, can embody hostility, envy, jealousy and rage... and, since they regulate force and violence, they do not deal in affection.
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