a.
Two basic
meanings to li: (1) concrete guide to human relationships or rules of proper
action that genuinely embody jen and (2) general principle of social order or
the general ordering of life.
b.Confucius recognized that you need a well ordered
society for wren to be expressed.
c.
First Sense: the
concrete guide to human relationships.
·
The way things
should be done or propriety: positive rather than negative ("Do's rather
than Don'ts).
·
The main components
of propriety emphasize the openness of people to each other.
§
The reification
of names: language used in accordance with the truth of things.
§
The Doctrine of
the Mean: so important that an entire book is dedicated to it in the Confucian
canon: the proper action is the way between the extremes.
§
The Five
Relationships: the way things should be done in social life; none of the
relationships are transitive. (Note that 3 of the 5 relations involve family;
the family is the basic unit of society).
i. father and son (loving / reverential)
ii. elder brother and younger brother (gentle /
respectful)
iii. husband and wife (good / listening)
iv. older friend and younger friend (considerate /
deferential)
v. ruler and subject (benevolent / loyal)
§
Respect for age:
age gives all things their worth: objects, institutions, and individual lives.