A Comparative Study Of Confucius And Aristotle’s Thought On Virtue

In the history of world philosophy,the thought of virtue of Confucius and Aristotle occupies an incomparable position.The school of Confucianism initiated by Confucius was founded from the 6th century to the 5th century BC,more than2,500 years ago.After the development of Confucius,the core of his thoughts evolved into stable spirit of moderation,serious self-cultivation,and the spirit of concern for individuals.Aristotle,a master of ancient Greek philosophy,first studied ethics as an independent field of philosophy.He invented the name "ethics".There are many similarities between Confucius and Aristotle,which makes it possible to compare them.This paper is divided into four parts to compare the virtue thoughts of Confucius and Aristotle.The first part compares the background of Confucius and Aristotle’s virtue thought.Confucius and Aristotle’s thought of virtue came into being in the era of war.Confucius lived in an era when the rites of the zhou dynasty were propriety-music disintegration.Aristotle lived in a time when slavery in the Athenian city-state declined and replaced by slavery in the Macedonian empire,which was characterized by social unrest and frequent wars.The second part compares the theoretical basis of Confucius and Aristotle’s thought of virtue.Confucius’ thought of virtue has a metaphysical basis of the concept of destiny.Aristotle’s thought of virtue is based on teleology and the view of soul,which Aristotle that the virtue of the soul is the highest good.The third part compares the contents of the virtue between Confucius and Aristotle.The core of Confucius’ thought is "benevolence".He regards cultivation as the highest ideal of individuals.Aristotle,distinguished virtue into the ethical virtue and intellectual virtue,and regarded people’s intellectual thinking of human beings.The fourth part compares the similarities and differences between Confucius and Aristotle.Confucius believed that a primitive nature is the basis for his own virtue.Aristotle paid attention to the experience in the cultivation of individuals.This article is based on "the Analects" and the "Nicomachean ethics" text,comparing the historical background and main contents of the virtue thoughts of Confucius and Aristotle,we can find out the similarities and differences between them.It play an important role in the study of virtue ethics in the new era.