Confucius held an optimistic view of human nature. He held the belief that human nature was such that morality existed inside every individual. This means that every person has the potential to act morally since the ability to do so lies deep within every individual. Despite the immorality that the world experiences today, human beings can act benevolently since they possess this heavenly goodness within them. In the summary of Confucianism article, the author puts into perspective Confucius view on human nature when he states that; “Confucius was optimistic about human potential; he wanted people to be sages or wise persons who instantiate the goodness of the heavens within them” The potential within the humans lies deep within waiting for the humans to make the decision to use it. Confucius agreed with other philosophers such as Plato and Socrates when he says that benevolence brings and morality brings happiness.
However, Confucius also noted another twist to the human nature. He recognized that despite humans having this ability to be moral, most people do not act morally. The article’s author says that; “Confucius recognized however that most people are not sages, they are miserable” This means that the free will to do what is morally right is often ignored by most people. Instead of acting benevolently, most often than not they freely choose not to be good. Confucius also noted that our surroundings play a vital role in shaping our moral character. This means for humans to achieve moral perfection, they need both cultural and social systems that uphold morality.
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Confucius recommends self-discipline among individuals in leadership positions. According to Confucianism, the leaders have the cure to the ills that the modern society suffers from. The world we are living in today is in desperate need of better leaders. The society requires leaders who have acquired the unique ability to unleash the morality potential possessed by all humans. Confucius teaches that if those in authority were to act morally, the whole society would change and benevolence would be rampant among the people. If the superiors were to embrace doing what is right because it is, by all means, right and not for profit, then the society would become less selfish, and people would be more kind towards others. As Gandhi put it, all people should strive to be the change they want to see in the world. This means cultivating self and becoming a better version of you. Such a person would become a better family head or a better leader in the community, and the ripple effect would be felt down the family line or the entire community respectively. It would be easier to respect authority, and society would become kinder.
However, if the leaders were not moral people, moral decay would trickle down to the subjects. This is because leaders act as the role models to most individuals hence they behave as their leaders do. For instance, corrupt state leaders are likely to encourage corrupt behavior among the subjects. Most people tend to view the character of their leaders as the yardstick to measure their own morality. Immorality among state leaders will, therefore, cause a repeat of the immoral behavior among the citizens leading to a morally broken society. However, this may not always be the case in all situations. Sometimes the leaders may act morally, but the citizens still behave immorally. This is because the nature of humans is such that they all possess the ability to freely choose to do what is moral. The fact that humans choose whether to be moral or not makes it hard to apply Confucianism since the leaders may act morally but if the citizens choose not to act morally, the leaders cannot compel them to be moral.
