In the CrashCourse video, dedicated to the concept of justice, it is dwelled on how, instead of embracing the social and political complexity of the time, Confucius, Plato, and Aristotle are noted for their unique views on how society should be organized and developed. Their fundamental beliefs about virtue, justice, and the common good, for example, were wholly different from one another yet also shared certain similarities. Their traditional theories were all based on society. Aristotle considered that society is the natural state of humankind or the natural state of man. In contrast, Confucius thought that society should be founded on virtue, Plato believed that society should be based on function and harmony, and so on.
In the video, it is highlighted that both Plato and Confucius shared a commitment to reason and the value of the state. Plato and Confucius disagreed that a recluse was a complete human being in all respects (ChrashCourse, 2016). A human living alone and not a member of any society is missing something. Both of them stressed that all human connections should be maintained for the benefit of both parties rather than as a way for one person in a relationship to dominate the other. They both accepted hierarchy in human relationships to some extent. Both believed in what may be described as benevolence or, at the very least social duty. However, they diverged significantly in certain respects. Due to his extreme idealism, Plato’s ideas suggested a higher knowing that went beyond current existence, according to CrashCourse (2016). On the other hand, Confucius was a very pragmatic person who was only interested in matters of the present.
Aristotle disagreed with Plato’s authoritarian views and claimed that Plato’s conception of the State “eliminated any feeling of individuality”, which is ultimately essential for human development (ChrashCourse, 2016). Aristotle’s philosophy did not endorse liberalism or individualism. Still, he considered that Plato’s idea of society would result in a race of people that do not think or create for themselves and that this is essential in advancing human progress. According to Aristotle, humans are political animals, and to dispute and debate—which opens the door to new ideas—we must be in the company of other people, each with their own opinions. He added that another aspect missing from Plato’s civilization was that humans gathered and interacted with one another most naturally for procreation. His view was more personal and centered on what people are good at than the idea of destiny or having valuable metals embedded in the soul, even if he still felt that there were natural kings and natural enslaved people. Although it is unquestionably a more progressive and logical approach to determining a person’s place in society, the earliest concepts of individuality and liberalism did not truly take root until the Renaissance.
Nearly more than the physical world around him, Confucius was fascinated with the universe of forms. Another distinction is that Confucius shared Aristotle’s view that the traditional family unit is a fundamental tenet of society. Plato had radical ideas that questioned the absolute necessity of the traditional family structure. At least, in theory, Plato was thousands of years ahead of his time in that he felt that men and women should be treated equally (ChrashCourse, 2016). Confucius would have vigorously maintained the notion that the husband should be the head of the family — ideally, a human head, but the head.
In summary, Confucius was much more of a supporter of traditional common-sense morality, albeit reasonably benign and kind. In contrast, Plato was willing to use Reason to reexamine every facet of society and to take nothing for granted.
Reference
CrashCourse. (2016). What is Justice: Crash course philosophy #40 [Video]. YouTube. Web.