Zhu Xi

[Cypress]

It's reminiscent of Jesus's admonition to remove the log from your own eye before you can see clearly to remove the speck from someone else's eye.

The ancient wisdom from the Near East, Greece, India, and East Asia is still worth thinking about today.

By learning history, it helped me better understand where these philosophers were coming from. Jesus was a Jewish apocalypticist who thought the kingdom of heaven was nearly upon us, and we better drop our petty material concerns and cultivate our morality to get right with God.

Confucianism was born in the chaos of China's Warring States period, and the Confucian scholar's obsession with creating a well ordered society, was a reflection of their desire to prevent backsliding into chaos and war.

[ThatOwlWoman]

The ancient wisdom from the Near East, Greece, India, and East Asia is still worth thinking about today.

By learning history, it helped me better understand where these philosophers were coming from. Jesus was a Jewish apocalypticist who thought the kingdom of heaven was nearly upon us, and we better drop our petty material concerns and cultivate our morality to get right with God.

Confucianism was born in the chaos of China's Warring States period, and the Confucian scholar's obsession with creating a well ordered society, was a reflection of their desire to prevent backsliding into chaos and war.

Wise men learn from, and borrow from, the past wisdom of other wise men. Our Founders borrowed from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Iroquois League of Nations) when crafting the documents that later became our Constitution.

[Cypress]

Wise men learn from, and borrow from, the past wisdom of other wise men. Our Founders borrowed from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Iroquois League of Nations) when crafting the documents that later became our Constitution.

This is why I was never a fan of George Dumbya's education law which emphasized testing for arithmetic and writing, nor the obsession with turning our universities onto STEM degree factories.

There is so much wisdom to be acquired from an investigation of the liberal arts and humanities, which simply cannot be acquired by learning differential equations, linear algebra, or software coding.

[goat]

I pretty much dig this Song Dynasty Neo-Confucian philosopher:



When you engage your mind in an investigation of things, knowledge is extended.

When knowledge is extended, your thinking becomes clear.

When your thinking becomes clear, you can rectify yourself; you can cultivate your own moral qualities.

When your moral qualities are cultivated, you will be able to properly order your family.

When your family is properly ordered, you will be able to govern your state well.

When you govern your state well, you will be able to bring order to the world.

Note the translation to the verb can instead of will: "you can rectify yourself; you can cultivate your own moral qualities". Today, China has a social credit system that forces conformity on 96% of the population. Only 4% of the people have the luxury to cultivate their own moral qualities. Eastern scholars show how and why the Chinese people have been programmed like robots. Vaccine mandates prove the US also has its own social credit system of obedience.

Government (empire) intentionally creates chaos to prevent clear thinking. No one knows what to believe. Old philosophers told us about mass psychosis so with only 4% of us holding on to reality, there will never be order to the world.

[Cypress]

Note the translation to the verb can instead of will: "you can rectify yourself; you can cultivate your own moral qualities". Today, China has a social credit system that forces conformity on 96% of the population. Only 4% of the people have the luxury to cultivate their own moral qualities. Eastern scholars show how and why the Chinese people have been programmed like robots. Vaccine mandates prove the US also has its own social credit system of obedience.

Government (empire) intentionally creates chaos to prevent clear thinking. No one knows what to believe. Old philosophers told us about mass psychosis so with only 4% of us holding on to reality, there will never be order to the world.

It is a misread of Confucian culture and Eastern philosophy generally to assume it promotes passive, conformist robots.

In the past 3,000 years, and up to and including the 20th century, China has been ground zero for countless revolutions, uprisings, revolts, and intellectual, cultural, and religious ferment.

Heirarchy and tradition are valued in Confucian culture.

But so is justice, legitimacy, and righteousness.

[Iolo/Penderyn]

You don't even know what fascism is, it's just something you heard somebody called. Talk about unfounded assertions.

Define fascism, you 'tard.

Fascism is the crisis form of capitalism, called in when the system is threatened. I spent a good deal of time (and got a broken nose) fighting the National Front, and my father was on a Hitler death list, incidentally. Trumpism is a very derivative form of fascism, sharing its illiterate populism and its racism without there being any real threat to the system itself - just to its natural believers.

[goat]

It is a misread of Confucian culture and Eastern philosophy generally to assume it promotes passive, conformist robots.

In the past 3,000 years, and up to and including the 20th century, China has been ground zero for countless revolutions, uprisings, revolts, and intellectual, cultural, and religious ferment.

Heirarchy and tradition are valued in Confucian culture.

But so is justice, legitimacy, and righteousness.

Robots. You want to see the American version?

[Cypress]

Robots. You want to see the American version?

Okay, so you do not actually know anything substantive about Chinese history.

[Cypress]

The western caricature of robotic, obedient Chinese is at odds with core Confucian teachings.

While Confucian culture expects a type of deference to parents and leaders, at it's core Confucianism promotes the doctrine of remonstrance. In the ideal Confucian model, one is expected to speak truth to power, and to correct a leader who is unjust and acting against the interests of harmony and against the Dao.

[NiftyNiblick]

I pretty much dig this Song Dynasty Neo-Confucian philosopher:



When you engage your mind in an investigation of things, knowledge is extended.

When knowledge is extended, your thinking becomes clear.

When your thinking becomes clear, you can rectify yourself; you can cultivate your own moral qualities.

When your moral qualities are cultivated, you will be able to properly order your family.

When your family is properly ordered, you will be able to govern your state well.

When you govern your state well, you will be able to bring order to the world.

But when you're constipated, all of that goes out the window.
[Everybody forgets the last sentence, Cypress.]

[goat]

Okay, so you do not actually know anything substantive about Chinese history.

Police states with a social credit system demand obedience to corrupt oligarchs and autocrats. Anyone who dares to buck the system end up jobless, imprisoned, or dead. We have to be able to separate optimism from reality. The US and China are both involved in creating a viral bioweapon in a lab, and those of us engaging our mind investigating that are ridiculed.

[ThatOwlWoman]

This is why I was never a fan of George Dumbya's education law which emphasized testing for arithmetic and writing, nor the obsession with turning our universities onto STEM degree factories.

There is so much wisdom to be acquired from an investigation of the liberal arts and humanities, which simply cannot be acquired by learning differential equations, linear algebra, or software coding.

A classical education includes both useful skills (math, coding, writing) and those things that enhance one's life and personality -- literature, art, philosophy, music, etc.

[ThatOwlWoman]

Fascism is the crisis form of capitalism, called in when the system is threatened. I spent a good deal of time (and got a broken nose) fighting the National Front, and my father was on a Hitler death list, incidentally. Trumpism is a very derivative of fascism, sharing its illiterate populism and its racism without there being any real threat to the system itself - just to its natural believers.

Fascist despots like #TRE45ON excel in creating fear and threat in their followers. It wasn't that long ago that scary, scary "Mooslums" were the threat, along with those disease-carrying rapist brown ppl from south of our border. The Reichtard brigade is *still* whipping up the fear of the latter, but have you noticed how they seldom freak out over Muslims these days?

Ironically, these people are so gullible and easily brainwashed that when an actual *real* threat came along -- Covid -- they eagerly joined their #MaliciousMango in pretending that the pandemic was a fake threat made up by the left to "control the people." They are seriously fucked up. Yet here's the idiot turkey, goat, trying to claim that it's the Chinese who are easily swayed.

[ThatOwlWoman]

Robots. You want to see the American version?

Here you go.

[evince]

I pretty much dig this Song Dynasty Neo-Confucian philosopher:



When you engage your mind in an investigation of things, knowledge is extended.

When knowledge is extended, your thinking becomes clear.

When your thinking becomes clear, you can rectify yourself; you can cultivate your own moral qualities.

When your moral qualities are cultivated, you will be able to properly order your family.

When your family is properly ordered, you will be able to govern your state well.

When you govern your state well, you will be able to bring order to the world.

Seeking knowledge is seeking truth


Truth is the key to all that is good


Lies destroy everything


Everything