MountainPine
Deuteronomy 30:16
Does Confucianism have a policy against violence to animals and eating meat?
-
Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.
Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:- Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
- Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
- Access to private conversations with other members.
We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!
Confucianism and Animal Cruelty
- Thread starter MountainPine
- Start date
GoodbyeDave
Well-Known Member
Short answer: no.
Confucian philosophy concentrates on man in society. But it is a variety of virtue ethics, so one can draw conclusions about animals. Confucianism teaches that human nature is naturally good and our basic instincts are kind, when not obscured by acquired bad habits. How do people instinctively react to animals? With kindness, even if it's only feeding the birds. Thus cruelty to animals must be unnatural. But no Confucian abstains from animal food.
In Daoism, the monks of the Quanzhen "Complete Perfection" school use ascetic practices in their quest for personal development, and the Longmen sect are vegetarian. This is, of course, for their benefit, not for the animals! The Zhengyi "Orthodox Unity" priests do not practice or encourage asceticism. The general Daoist idea is to follow nature, and so to eat what your appetite teaches you to eat.
Confucian philosophy concentrates on man in society. But it is a variety of virtue ethics, so one can draw conclusions about animals. Confucianism teaches that human nature is naturally good and our basic instincts are kind, when not obscured by acquired bad habits. How do people instinctively react to animals? With kindness, even if it's only feeding the birds. Thus cruelty to animals must be unnatural. But no Confucian abstains from animal food.
In Daoism, the monks of the Quanzhen "Complete Perfection" school use ascetic practices in their quest for personal development, and the Longmen sect are vegetarian. This is, of course, for their benefit, not for the animals! The Zhengyi "Orthodox Unity" priests do not practice or encourage asceticism. The general Daoist idea is to follow nature, and so to eat what your appetite teaches you to eat.