Confucian and Taoist Views on Sexual Morality Confucianism and Contemporary Moral Issues Chung M. Tse

Basic Moral Concepts  Jen Benevolence and love Class of virtues: wisdom, courage, confidence, gravity, forgiveness, trustworthiness, earnestness, kindness The quality of moral perfection Moral perfection: is, negatively, the quality of having no moral deficiency, positively, the ideal state of possessing all possible moral virtues

Human nature - Mencius  A human being is the composite of the elements of greater ti and lesser ti  Lesser ti: the physical body with all its attachments and derivatives  Greater ti: the moral mind (hsin, jen- mind) “The mind is … a creatively active faculty for originating moral precepts alone” (238)

Ch’i  Confucian Cosmology  Ch’I: accounts for the origin of evil In the form of human body, it displays man’s natural qualities and capacities (emotions, senses, desires, temperament, instincts)  Evil begins when individuals follow their dispositions of Ch’I to the extent that they defy morality prescribed by the jen-mind

 The ultimate judge of morality is the jen- mind  Man is a composite being of jen-mind embodied in a configuration of Ch’I  acts deriving from the jen-mind are good, acts deriving from Ch’I can be morally agreeable, indifferent, or evil

Fundamental principles of Confucian ethics 1. Man must fully actualize the jen-mind activity in his own person and help others to do so (duty) and thus realize a world of Great Harmony 2. Man must respect his own person and that of others, respect is the essence of humanity 3. The jen-mind is in a constant process of self- actualization, every individual is potentially Heaven-in-particular. Thus, everything that which might suppress, subvert, or destroy this potential is forbidden

Confucian position on sexual morality  Extended view of sexual act  Human sexual intercourse is for the purpose of procreation  It is to be engaged by couples of opposite sex who are bonded and are willing to take this process to its fruition  The act of intercourse initiates many great virtues of the cosmic jen-mind: caring, love, intimacy, union, dynamic harmony, exchange of vital energy, joyful consummation, and creativity

Deviation form the norm  Incest and bestiality  Rape and child molestation  Homosexuality  Premarital sex  Extramarital sex

The Taoist View of Sex Geoffrey Parrinder

 What is the Taoist view of celibacy and sexual abstinence?  What sort of explanation do Taoists give for their view?  Why was this view opposed by Confucians and Buddhists?  What are some of the features of the Taoists view of male-female relationship, marriage, and sexual activity that conflict with the Confucian view described by Tse?

Main concepts  Taoist symbolism and metaphorical expression of sexual intercourse  Yin and Yang  The Tao  Rich sexual symbolism in Taoist philosophy

 Human sexual activity as essential associated with the balancing of principles necessary for human health, strength, and longevity  Cultivation of sexual energy, mutual exchange of yin and yang essences  Sexual intercourse: increase vigor and bring long life  Two purposes: procreation and the increase of male energy