The Analects

In a class taught by General George S. Patton, IV at the George Washington University in the early 80's, reflecting on his experience in Vietnam, he summarized the failure of US policy in SE Asia as a failure to understand the history and culture of the region. Years later as I prepared to deploy to......more

The term “analects,” in case you were wondering, is defined at dictionary.com as “selected passages from the writings of an author.” I mention this definition here because it seems that the only time we use the term “analects” is when we consider the writings of Confucius. Was there once a larger co......more

There are two things that are commonly labeled ‘philosophy’. The first is philosophy sensu strictu, which deals with technical problems in its various branches, such as epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, etc. The other is what one could call a “philosophy of life”, a vague category that one encounte......more

Confucius has a lot of wisdom. Anyone who is serious about living life well would do well to read the Analects. Poignant Quotes: If you try to guide the common people with coercive regulations and keep them in line with punishments, the common people will become evasive and will have no sense of shame......more

When Confucius was asked what he thought about the idea of being kind to someone who does you wrong, he pointed out that this would be unfair to people who treat you right, who deserve to be treated better than people who do you wrong. Confucius was therefore an advocate of justice, was Aristotle. J......more