Confucianism and Daoism appeared in the 6th–5th century BCE in China as philosophical ways of life and worldviews created by Confucius and Laozi, respectively. Though they are from the same period of time and country, these two religions or philosophies are rather different as they are based on various concepts and perceptions of the world and its structure. The purpose of this paper is to contrast these two belief systems and discuss the four major differences between them.
To begin with, Confucianism and Daoism were different in perceiving an individual. First, the focus of Daoism is the person in nature. Since this philosophical view sees people’s lives as a small and unimportant part of a much greater process of the universe, humans need to focus on being in harmony with nature and protecting the environment as it is much more essential than society. On the contrary, for Confucianism, there is nothing more crucial than society (Documentary Base, 2019). Therefore, the goal of this belief structure lies in creating a peaceful, decent, and ethical community where people would be able to develop good moral characters.
Second, it is possible to contrast these two philosophical ways of life-based on the principles they value. For instance, there are three primary virtues that Daoism perceives as necessary for all persons, namely, modesty or humility, simplicity or frugality, and love or compassion (Documentary Base, 2019). These principles are mainly concentrated on the positive energy an individual should share with the universe. At the same time, in Confucianism, there are four basic virtues, including shame, integrity, righteousness, and propriety. It is evident that these principles are aimed at one’s behavior and actions in society (Documentary Base, 2019). This belief structure requires people to be strict in relation to themselves and other members of the community because only these traits can allow living in harmony with each other. In Confucianism, such virtues as love or compassion are not considered primary, probably because they are not necessary for a decent society.
Next, there is also a difference between the way these two philosophical ways of life perceive emotions and reason. For people who follow Confucianism, feelings and emotions appear to be distractors that may play with a person’s head and mislead them (Documentary Base, 2019). Therefore, Confucianism insists on trusting one’s reason over the heart and rationalizing everything. At the same time, Daoism’s idea is completely different, and its followers tend to romanticize and emotionalize situations, events, and the environment. They think that reason may betray their innermost desires and trust their hearts more.
Further, these two philosophies disagreed about the role and tasks of women. For example, in the modern world, Confucianism would not be considered appropriate by feminist movements. It created a patriarchal society where men were the ones who held power and had all the rights, while women were deprived of the basic ones (Documentary Base, 2019). Thus, females could not carry on the family name, inherit property, participate in public life, or say anything against their fathers, brothers, and husbands. On the contrary, Daoism perceived women as the representatives of yin, the cosmic force, and their purpose was to complete the men. Females were seen as powerful sources of energy because they were mothers who gave life. Many women were respected for their wisdom and believed to know empowering supernatural techniques. Therefore, Daoism did not make society patriarchal but respected and nurtured the power of both women and men equally.
Reference
Documentary Base. (2019). Eastern Philosophy – Part 1 – Full Documentary [Video]. Web.