A Brief Examination Of Traditional Ethics In China And Western Countries In Terms Of Cultural Difference

Ethics, as one of the three fundamental subjects in philosophy, is also known as moral philosophy which addresses questions about morality, that is. concepts such as good and bad. noble and ignoble, right and wrong, justice, and virtue. As we know, a nation's quality is determined by the qualities of its people in relation to how they get on with others, what education they get and why they hold a firm belief, etc. In fact, these reflections belong to ethical category.Considering discrepancies between Chinese culture and Western culture, this paper attempts to make a brief comparison of ethical views between the two cultures. The form and pattern of ethical values were not developed in one day. so this paper dates back to the main stages of development of respective ethics and their effects on the general course of human history in general and on the specific course of Chinese and Western culture in particular. Confucius is the founder of Chinese ethics, he devoted all his life to the career of regenerating old ethical system of customs of Zhou dynasty. Socrates. Plato and Aristotle are pioneers of Greek ethics, and they did outstanding contributions to human ethics. Therefore, this paper makes a detailed comparison between their great works.Nowadays, some young people disregard the classics handed down from in old times. Instead, they hold in esteem some popular and fashionable stuff taken blindly from other countries. This tendency shows in a way their lack of social experience and ignorance of Chinese traditional ethics. As a matter of fact, classic ethical values are never fading, so showing a pious attitude towards them and learning from them is rare and commendable work. Thus it is sincerely hoped this paper will awaken people's awareness of the necessity of obtaining some knowledge of ethics in Chinese and Western traditional ethics and developing their basic conscience and responsibility of society. In a word, this study is both realistic and profound weighty.