The
following passage regarding Confucius, “Tzu Kung asked: “Is there any one word that can serve as a
principle for the conduct of life?”
Confucius said: “Perhaps the word ‘reciprocity’: Do not do to others
what you would not want others to do to you.” Which can be considered as the definition and answer of the question, what
is a good person? Why are the concepts of, what is a good person, differ
between people and societies?
When
Confucius answered Tzu Kung’s question on the principle for the conduct of
life, his answer helped understand the meaning of the principles of what a good
person is and also why people do the
things they do. He answered what a good person is by explaining that a person,
who would not treat themselves an improper way, would not treat others the same
way. However Confucius’s concept is obviously not believed by every person, because
of the different level of understandings that is developed in different societies
and communities. The understanding of situations and experiences can surely be
practiced in a different way. For instance, if a person treats himself a
certain way and others the exact same way -- it might be considered “improper”
in society. Which then people will not refer to that person as a ‘good’ person.
Thus the concepts of what is a good person always differs because every concept
of this definition is always affected by what is taught to that person from
childhood, cultural values, morals learned from experiences and many other
factors. Hence, why the concepts of what a good person is always differs
between people creating various conflicts and such.
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