A Similar Comparison between the Thought of Plato and Confucius on Social Hierarchy and Elitism

Abstract：The spring-autumn period and warring state period of Chinese thoughts coincide strikingly with the thoughts of the Hellenic Age in the west. Plato and Confucius， the two outstanding seminal thinkers have shaped the philosophy of their respective cultures through some similar means and thoughts which definitely meet at a series of significant points. The highlight of the academic thesis lies in the comparison of the general similarities between Plato and Confucius especially in terms of social hierarchy and elitism.

Key Words： similarities； social hierarchy；elitism

1. Introduction

It is well known to all that the spring-autumn period and warring state period of Chinese thoughts are astonishingly similar to the thoughts of the Hellenic Age in the west. At the same time， the thoughts of the two seemingly different cultures definitely meet at a series of important points in the teaching of the two seminal philosophers， who are Plato and Confucius. Separated by only fifty-two years but almost ten thousands kilometers， the two outstanding thinkers have shaped the philosophy of their respective cultures and both have profound influences on the human history.

Plato was originally a student of Socrates， and was much influenced by his teacher’s thinking. He was a classical Greek thinker as well as philosopher， mathematician， and founder of the Academy， which was the first institution of higher learning in the western world. Accompanied by Socrates and Aristotle， Plato made contribution to lay the foundations of natural philosophy， science， and western philosophy. “Alfred North Whitehead， a modern British philosopher， once quipped that： all of Western philosophy is but a footnote to Plato”.

Literally been called “Master Kong”， Confucius was a Chinese philosopher， great thinker and educationalist in the spring-autumn period. From his teaching， Confucianism which was a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed， gaining prominence in China over other doctrines like Legalism or Taoism during Han dynasty. Confucius wanted to revive the prefect virtue of Huaxia and the classical properties of the western Zhou dynasty so as to build a harmonious society. His complex quasi-religious system of moral， social， and political thought has had tremendous influences on the culture and history of East Asian countries.

At the very start， one would arbitrarily come to the conclusion that the two thinkers have few things in common， thinking that one is completely eastern while the other just stands for the west. It is universally acknowledged that we can’t be ignorant of the significant differences existing in the thoughts and lives of the two， but a couple of interesting similarities also become readily apparent that deserve our notice.

1.1 They Both Acted as Prophets

First and Foremost， they both acted as prophets. The“prophet”mentioned here is in a broad sense， not narrowly as the “prophet” appeared in the Old Testament. Plato and Confucius could both be regarded as prophets because their instructions could be considered of universal importance. Their places as prophets were marked by the unusual channel to get truth and revelation. After all， not everyone is bestowed with truth. The prophet indeed emphasizes the “inner inspiration” and “solitary perception”which are the obvious characteristics of the two philosophers. The word prophet can also be interpreted as a pure individual who transmits the supernatural charisma. Owing to their sense of mission， they propagated some quasi-religious doctrines. For Plato and Confucius， their authority as prophet was established on the academic tradition universally accepted and respected by people.

1.2 They Both Emphasized Education and Knowledge

Secondly， both Plato and Confucius spoke highly of education and knowledge. They both advocated contemplation and education as the means for moral attainment and strove to apply their moral theory to public services. Plato thought that moral evil was the result of ignorance which could be overcome by restoration of reason through education. Having fully realized the importance of education， Plato found the Academy in Athens， which was the first institution of higher learning in the western world. For Confucius， education and knowledge was the divide line that distinguished the noble man from suburban creatures. In Analects， contents associating with education appear many times. For example： “The Master said， I once spent a whole day without food and spent a whole night without sleep， in order to meditate. It was no use. It is better to learn”.

1.3 Similarity between the Philosopher King and Sage Emperor

Besides， the philosopher king resembles the idea of the sage emperor. Both the two are much like shinning models to the people of morality. The power is sharply limited and constant truthfulness is an absolute requirement of the two. Confucius and Plato both placed great importance on the cohesion of the society， advocating ultimate ethical ideas.

2.Their Similar Thoughts on Social Hierarchy and Elitism

Plato and Confucius both said high praise of social hierarchy and elitism. Social hierarchy was very essential to Plato’s thoughts， so was Confucius. Elitism was of equivalent importance to social hierarchy on the similar comparison between the thought of Plato and Confucius.

2.1 Their Similar Thoughts on Social Hierarchy

For the two， social hierarchy was in close relation to the ideal social order， which was a significant component to a just state.

Referring to family， Plato often discussed the father-son relationships in his masterpiece Dialogue， and questioned several times whether a father’s interest in his son had much to do with how well his son turned out to be. It might be known in ancient Athens that a boy was socially located by his family identity. Moreover， Plato more than one time referred to his characters in terms of their paternal and fraternal relationships.

Social hierarchy on the layer of family relationships was more obvious to Plato’s Chinese counterpart—Confucius. Taking the Analects and Confucius’s life into considerations， relationships were central to the Master. Particular rituals and duties took place from one situation to others. The individual was naturally related to a different variety of people because mutuality was prevalent in China. Filial piety， which reflected the father-son relationship， was the basic virtue. It was characterized by the respect that a child， actually a son， should show to his remote ancestors and parents both living and dead. It is best illustrated if given the following impressive examples from the Analects ：“Master Tseng said， when proper respect towards the dead is shown at the end and continued after they are far way， the moral force of a people has reached its highest point”. Besides， “The Master said， while a man’s father is alive， you can only see his intensions； it is when his father dies that you discover whether or not he is capable to carry them out. If for the whole three years of mourning he manages to carry on the household exactly as in his father’s day， then he is a good son indeed”. This father-son relationship was extended to the five bonds raised by Mencius.

On a higher hierarchical level， Plato asserted that societies had a tripartite class structure corresponding to the appetite， spirit， and reason structure of the individual soul， which stood for different parts of the body. The highest level was the governor which represented the head consisting of rulers and philosopher kings， who were bestowed with wisdom， rational， and well suited to make proper decisions for the public， with correspondence to the “reason” part of the soul. Standing on the second layer was the protective class which represented the chest being composed of adventurous warriors and brave guardians. They corresponded to the “spirit” part of soul. The lowest was the productive level which stood for the abdomen. The major elements of the level were workers， relating to the “appetite” part of the soul. This perfect model led to political harmony， which finally contributed to the construction of an ideal republic.

Confucius’s essential thought—loyalty to the senior ones was somewhat equivalent to Plato’s tripartite class structures on a different plane. The Analects acquiescently admitted the pyramid of power structure existing in the society. Loyalty was particularly relevant to the social issues. As a matter of fact， in most cases， emphasis was placed more on the obligation of the ruled to the ruler. It can be given some concrete examples in Analects. “Master Kung said， when the Way prevails under Heaven all orders concerning ritual， music and punitive expeditions are issued by the Son of Heaven himself. When the Way does not prevail， such orders are issued by the federal princes； and when this happens， it is to be observed that ten generations rarely pass before the dynasty falls. In such orders are issued by State Ministers， five generations rarely pass before they lose their power”. Another case is as follow： “Master Kung said of the head of Chi family when he had eight teams of dancers performing in his courtyard. If this man can be endured， who can not be endured？” What is more， “The Three families used the Yung Sung during the removal of the sacrificial vessels. The Master said， by rulers and lords attended， the Son of the Heaven， mysterious—What possible application can such words have in the hall of the Three Families？”Hence one can see the fundamentality of loyalty which was also an extension of one’s duties to family， spouse， and friends.

The term of “noble man” was also crucial to social hierarchy issue. Confucius exhorted all people to strive for the idea. Owing to their divine mandate， the sense of mission， the moral development and higher education， the noble man enjoyed a higher hierarchical status. Besides， as a requisite in Confucius’s thought， ritual which extended to include both the secular ceremonial behavior and propriety of politeness differentiated towards people in different hierarchical status could be seen as a means to find a balance between people， assigning everyone a proper place in society， and correcting their inappropriate behaviors.

2.2 Their Similar Thought on Elitism

For Plato， he rejected the fundamental principle of Athenian democracy that the ordinary people were capable of participating smartly in public affairs. He firmly believed that people could neither entrust a sick person nor a green hand to stand on behalf of the whole for the common good. These outstanding tasks should only be performed by the best talented people， or more exactly， the philosopher king. For democracy， Plato has made a joke that it was better to be reigned by a tyrant than a bad democracy， for that all people were responsible for such actions rather than one committing bad deeds. Plato reckoned that the ordinary person could only form an opinion of what beauty was from observing good things. The philosopher， aspiring to true knowledge went beyond what he saw and tried to grasp the “Ideal of Beauty”. Furthermore， the allegory of the cave， which often cited by scholars to convey Plato’s epistemology and metaphysics， was also connected to his elitist thought. He argued that only the person who had shattered the bondage， climbing out of the cave was fit to rule， because they got rid of the shadows by casting their eyes on the good things outside.

For Confucius， there should be no distinction of classes in teaching and learning， but for governance， it was totally a different case. In other words， it was the meritocracy in Confucius’s thought. The notion of the “ noble man” was mentioned 106 times in Analects. Confucius exhorted all people to strive for the ideal of the noble man， which is the combination of saint， scholar and gentleman. It was also a revolutionary idea of replacing nobility of blood with nobility of virtue. This kind of noble man formed by people with ability and wisdom was highly advocated by Confucius. Compared with the hereditary aristocrats in later Europe，the noble man was more closely to the concept held by Plato as “the best to rule”. The noble man stood for the man who dedicated himself to the moral and intellectual development for the common good and public services. There should be a distinctive divide line between the noble man and the common people. Firstly， the noble man as an individual could directly feel and realize that “Dao” was the most valuable thing in the universe. Secondly， the noble man’s words and deeds that full of inspiration testified the unspeakable heaven. The last but not the least， the divine mandate， and the sense of mission empowered the noble man to make warnings on the ruler. When it comes to the Analects， there are such sentences as “The Master said， a gentleman is not an implement”. And “Master Kung said， there are three things that a gentleman fears： he fears the will of Heaven， he fears great man， he fears the words of the Divine Sages”. In addition， “The Master said， he who does not understand the will of Heaven cannot be regarded as a gentleman”. Furthermore， “The Master said， the common people can be made to follow it， they cannot be made to understand it”. The common people didn’t have any responsibility for the society. Confucius was of the opinion that the divine mandate which people received from the heaven， and the obligation people should take were not from the miserable lives and social injustice. The actions of common people were restricted by awards and punishments， while that of the noble man were moral principles. This was the fundamental discrepancy between the social elite who received higher education and the uneducated common people. Analects never appear such contents as Confucius admonished， challenged the common people， nor the denouncement. Some even said that the trouble with Confucianism lied in the fact that the noble man was endowed with more than he could bear.

3. Conclusion

The classical period of Chinese thoughts shared a series of similarities with those of the west. Social hierarchy and elitism which closely related to political and moral philosophy were very central to both traditions. Although it must be realized that there are tremendous differences in the thought and life of the two philosophers， the similarities are also of great significance which deserve our great attention. To sum up， even though we never cease to explore the essence of western civilization， the marrow and great value of our Chinese traditional culture still deserve our cherishment and inheritance.

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