Hiding evil and promoting good in tradition

The similarities between China's ancient Confucianism and the humanistic spirit of ancient Greece and Rome (1) focus on people and human society. The thoughts of ancient Greek philosophers are full of humanistic spirit, emphasizing human dignity and value. However, humanism is not unique to the West. Confucius advocates that benevolent people love others, Mencius' theory of good nature, Xunzi's theory of evil nature, Dong Zhongshu's theory of three cardinal guides and five permanents, and the induction between man and nature are all concerned about the society between people. (2) Everyone regards morality as the basis of politics and thinks that rectifying morality is the foundation of rejuvenating the country and saving the country. Confucius regards the root of "the collapse of rites and bad music" as the loss of human morality, so the core of Confucianism is the theory of "benevolence" and "ceremony", that is, "benevolence" The connotation of "benevolence" is extremely rich, but its core content is "love". From loving parents and brothers to "universal love", Confucius built the foundation of restoring ideal politics on personal moral psychology, and transformed the compulsory constraints of external norms into people's inner conscious requirements, thus integrating ethical norms with psychological desires. Socrates, an ancient Greek philosopher, believed that to govern city-state politics well, it is necessary to improve people's souls, cultivate good citizens, teach people by virtue and govern people by virtue. Different points (1) pay different attention to people's attributes. Confucianism emphasizes "social" people, while ancient Greek thinkers especially emphasize "individual" people. Confucianism believes that everyone should assume their due responsibilities and roles in society and family, advocate the value of human relations, and emphasize everyone's position in social ethics. Protagoras, who occupies the school of Greek wise men, thinks that "man is the measure of all things" and emphasizes personal subjective feelings. Their opinions and speculations are often based entirely on personal perspectives and interests. Deny authority and dare to innovate. (2) The emphasis of dealing with the relationship between individuals and society is different. Confucianism emphasizes the hierarchical order of society, while ancient Greek philosophers emphasize the equality of human beings. Confucianism attaches great importance to ethical principles, and "three cardinal guides and five permanents" is regarded as a natural and eternal principle by Confucianism, while Confucius' pursuit of a society of rites and music is actually trying to maintain the hierarchical order under the monarchy. This has played an important role in maintaining the autocratic political system. The radical school of ancient Greek wise men opposed the obvious class division and inequality in the polis, and demanded that everyone in the polis be equal in education, property and race. Stoicism believed that people were born rational and equal, and demonstrated the core theory of western humanism of natural human rights, freedom and equality for the first time in human history, which laid the ideological foundation for the emergence of modern western democratic politics. (3) The research attitude of natural science is different. Confucianism emphasizes the unity of man and nature, and pays attention to the unity of man and nature. However, in the study of man and nature, Confucianism pays attention to social and humanistic issues and ignores the exploration of natural science. Ancient Greek thinkers explored nature and human beings in different ways, so their humanistic spirit was full of rationality and passion. Reason is the power to know the world, invent technology and explore the natural mysteries of the universe. Passion is the motive force to pursue romance, find happiness and appreciate beauty. Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher, paid attention to nature and human life. The scientific thinking method of seeking truth from facts in natural research embodies the humanistic spirit of human beings' constant pursuit of truth and understanding the unknown.