Confucianism, in other words, provided structure to various sets of ideals existing at the time. Central to this structure was compassion in human relationships.
According to the Religious Tolerance Website, social harmony was achieved by means of regulating human relationships upon the basis of compassion. Most interesting in these terms is the political aspect of such relationships. Confucius held that internalized human behavior was a better regulator of the law than punishment and laws that citizens do not fully understand. In this way, the philosopher believed that an understanding of the reasons behind compassionate behavior was a better political tool than the law itself. This is a very idealistic view, but perhaps somewhat unrealistic when today's paradigms are taken into account. Human behavior is simply not based upon compassion; particularly in Western society. Furthermore, there is a profusion of belief systems and philosophies in existence today. Requiring an entire society to adhere to a single belief system is quite unrealistic. Requiring obedience to practical laws and regulations is therefore a far more realistic option for regulating society.
References
Hays, Jeffrey. History of Confucianism. Facts and Details, 2008. http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=89&catid=3
Religious Tolerance. Confucianism: Beliefs, teachings, and relationships. 2010. http://www.religioustolerance.org/confuciu2.htm
Ross, Kelley L. Confucius, K'ung-fu-tzu or Kongfuzi. 2007. http://www.friesian.com/confuci.htm
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Confucius. 2006. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/confucius/
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