Second, honesty: from tradition to modernity?
Honesty is an important concept of ethical philosophy put forward by pre-Qin Confucianists, and it is also an important category in the history of China's ethical thought. It was not until the period of Confucius that "honesty" was formed as a theoretical concept. Mencius not only formed a theoretical concept, but also had a very important position. He said: "it is sincere, and heaven is also; If you think sincerely, you will learn from others. Those who are sincere and motionless are not there; If you are dishonest, there will be no porters. " Here, honesty is not only the highest category of the ontology of heaven, but also the law and know-how of being a man. Xunzi developed the thought of "sincerity" and pointed out that "sincerity is the foundation of politics". He said; "The heavens and the earth are big, and dishonesty cannot change everything; As the saints know, if you are dishonest, you can't turn to the public; Father and son are close relatives, and dishonesty is sparse; Jun Jing, if you are not sincere, you are humble, your husband is sincere, and the gentleman keeps it. The foundation of politics is also. " In The Doctrine of the Mean, "honesty" has become the core category of etiquette and the highest realm of life: "Only honesty in the world can make the best use of it; If you can do your best, you can do your best; If you can make good use of human nature, you can make good use of things; If you can make the best use of it, you can praise the teaching of heaven and earth; If you can praise the cultivation of heaven and earth, you can go to heaven and earth. " As sincere as a god, with sincere moral character and attitude, you can infiltrate a variety of benevolence and morality, become an adult, and even achieve the natural feelings of people and things, praise the heavens and the earth only for their participation, and achieve the realm of "harmony between man and nature". The University regards "sincerity" as one of the eight items, namely, discipline, knowledge, honesty, honesty, self-cultivation, keeping the family in order, and governing the country. "Honesty" has become an important link for sages to abide by God's will, cultivate one's morality, and govern the country and the world. In the Song Dynasty, Zhou Dunyi further believed that "honesty" was "the foundation of the five permanent members and the source of all things." Take "sincerity", including honesty, as the foundation of benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and faith, and the beginning of all kinds of good deeds. Cheng Yi put it more bluntly, "You can do good even if you are not sincere", and his views are incisive.
Marxist ethics critically inherits the category of "honesty" and affirms that honesty is an important norm of social morality. In the long-term social life, the main moral requirements of honesty have gradually become clear: loyalty, integrity and honesty. The main purpose of loyalty is loyalty to the motherland, people and just cause. Of course, this kind of loyalty is not blind and narrow "foolish loyalty", but identifies with lofty ideals, pursues and makes unremitting efforts to realize these ideals, thus showing the spirit of being willing to contribute and being brave in sacrifice. Integrity means integrity, fairness and frankness. Honesty means telling the truth, doing honest things and being honest.
Faith is also the category of China's history of ethical thought. The meaning of "faith" is similar to "sincerity" and "truth". From the analysis of the glyph, the word faithfulness follows people's words, which originally refers to the sincere words to heaven and ancestors during sacrifice. Liang Ji, a doctor in the Sui Dynasty, said, "Be loyal to the people and believe in God" and "May history have correct remarks and trust." Later, due to the development of private economy and private thoughts, the original simple society was gradually destroyed. In the communication between countries and people, we must conclude an oath. However, the observance of vows and commitments still depends on the deterrence of the gods and spirits of heaven and earth. In the Spring and Autumn Period, under the advocacy of Confucianism, "faith" began to get rid of religious color and became a pure moral norm. Confucius believed that "faith" was the embodiment of "benevolence", and he asked people to "respect things and believe". He said, "If you believe, you will do whatever you want" and "If you don't believe, you don't know what you can do". Confucius and Mencius regarded "trust" as an important principle of making friends, emphasizing that "friends believe in their existence" and "friends believe in their absence". Most authorities in past dynasties regarded "trust" as an important tool to maintain order. "Zuo Wen Zhuan's Four Years" said: "Abandoning faith and damaging its owner will lead to chaos in the country." "Your Letter in the Spring and Autumn Annals of Lu" makes an incisive analysis of the consequences of faith and unbelief in social life: "If the monarch and the minister don't believe it, the people will slander and the country will be uneasy. If officials don't believe in it, they will be less afraid of growing up and look down on each other. If you don't believe in rewards and punishments, people will easily break the law and can't ban it. If you don't believe in making friends, you will be separated from your troubles and can't date each other. If all the workers don't believe it, the equipment will suffer, and if it is fake, the paint will be disloyal. The husband can follow it, take it as the end, respect it, be humble and poor, and believe only! " In the Han Dynasty, Dong Zhongshu listed "faithfulness" and benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom as the "five permanents" and regarded them as the most basic social behavior norms. And the "letter" is discussed in detail: "I try to write my feelings without modification, so it is also a letter." He believes that "faith" needs to be honest, consistent in appearance and consistent in words and deeds. Zhu proposed that "benevolence embraces the five permanents" and regarded "faithfulness" as the function and expression of "benevolence", which is mainly the way to make friends. He said: "Honesty is the foundation", which is basically consistent with Confucius and Mencius. In Confucianism, honesty is often used as a concept. The meanings of "faithfulness, sincerity", "sincerity" and "faithfulness" are very similar.
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