Wednesday, November 11, 2009
question b
In the perfect world, all we would need is love. Who wouldn’t want a world with no hate, where everyone loved each other and treated each other with respect? Love is an important aspect in the world; however, we do need more than love for civil and social stability. While studying Taoism, we learned about yin and yang. We need opposites to understand aspects of living. Without hate, we wouldn’t know what love is. If everyone loved each other, we wouldn’t fully appreciate the meaning of love. Confucius taught that li and its opposite jen are important in a society. I agree with this way of thinking more than “all you need is love”. As I said earlier, opposite forces are necessary. We need both li and jen in order to function as a society, not just one of them. Respecting the custom and rituals of a society (li) are important for civil and social stability. Even if you don’t agree with the customs and rituals of a society, it is still important to be aware of them and treat them respectfully. This ties in with love; you don’t create war with another country because you don’t agree with their customs and rituals. You can respect each other’s differences. Good will and benevolence (jen) are also important for a society to function. You need more than just love to prosper as a society. If everyone loves each other, that’s great, but that doesn’t mean anything will get done. People must have a good will or attitude towards working and helping their society prosper. Benevolence is also important. You should help those in need of help willingly. However if you don’t have the means to help others, people are selfish and will think of themselves above all. You should be kind to everyone and go into new situations with an open mind towards the result. Though “all you need is love” is a nice thought, in reality it wouldn’t allow societies to function.
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You say that if everyone loved each other, we would not understand the true power of love. But wouldn't that be better than experiencing love or sadness? While our sadness makes our love greater, wouldn't you prefer to have no sadness all? I'm not so sure appreciating love is better than having only love. Just another way of looking at it.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we need opposites to appreciate many aspects of our world. I also agree that it would be difficult for a society to function if it is based on only love. But I must ask, do you think that more than just respect for the views and traditions of others is necessary? By this I mean that, isn't it possible that we need more than just respect for different customs, that we need to strive for actual understanding? I think it is one thing to say you respect something but another to really understand its meaning and value, and while you may not agree with it, it is important to acknowledge the importance it may have to others.
ReplyDeleteHi, Helen. I’m glad to see you taking a clear position, but remember the one main content rule regarding blog posts: explore the possible answers first, then take a position. Show me you’re actively considering the options.
ReplyDeleteAlso, why do you think li is the opposite of jen? Do you feel tradtion is the opposite of love??
Also, how is it that we can't acting lovingly toward one another without having it's opposite. Think about this. There needs to be hate in the world for me to hold a door for someone? For me to help feed someone who is hungry? Explain why.
I think you're on to something when you write, "If everyone loves each other, that’s great, but that doesn’t mean anything will get done." Take this further. What needs to get done?