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PowerofThought

Hewholearnsbutdoesnotthinkislost,Confucius,afamousteacherandphilosopher,
oncesaid.Ontheotherhand,St.ThomasAquinas,apriestandphilosopher,said,
Toone
withoutfaith,noexplanationispossible.WhileConfuciuswastryingtostresstheimportanceof
thinking,Aquinaswastryingtostresstheimportanceofbelieving.Whenpeopleareaskedwhich
ismoreimportanttothem,mostwouldsaythinking,sincethenumberofreligiouspeopleis
dwindlingquickly(USChristianNumbers).NotonlyareConfuciusideasmoreimportantto
thecommonperson,buttheywerealsomoreinnovativeatthetime.Confuciusismoredeserving
ofamonumentthanSt.ThomasAquinasbecauseConfuciusviewsweremoreoriginalatthe
timeandhislegacyhaslastedfarlongerthanSt.ThomasAquinaslegacy.
Theonlywaythecommonpersonwillspendtimelisteningtonewviewsisiftheviews
areoriginaliftheideasaresomethingthatpeoplehaveheardoverandoveragain,theywont
makethatmuchofalastingimpression.Confuciusbeliefs,alsoknownasConfucianism,were
veryoriginalandmanypeoplealloverEastAsiahadntheardthembefore.Confucianism
consistsoffourbasicparts:
jen
,orloveofhumanity
te
,orvirtue
yi
,orrighteousness

and
li
,or
decorumindailylife(
Confuciusin90minutes
21).Theyweresecular,orabouttheworld,andit
wentagainstthereligiousviewsinChinaatthetime(Nardo76).Confuciuswasagainstthemain
philosophyatthetime
tao
and
te
.
Tao
istheWay,ortheprinciplethatprettymuchexplains
theuniverse.
Tao
canalsobethecodeofbehaviorthatthatworkswiththenaturalorder.Taoism,
thereligionthatgrewoutof
tao
,causedtheindividualtowithdrawfromsociety.Confuciuswas
stressingtheimportanceofanindividuals
involvement
insociety.Heevensaid,Hehasnot
livedinvainwhodiesthedayheistoldabouttheWay.
Te
,anotherreligiousdoctrine,saidthat
apersongetsvirtuebyfollowingtheWay.Confuciusbelievedthatheavengavepeoplethe
capacityforvirtue,ratherthanpeopleearningit.(
Confuciusin90minutes
23).St.Thomas
Aquinas,ontheotherhand,soughttocombinescholasticism,orthesystemofteachingin
ChristianschoolsduringtheMiddleAges,andAristotlestheories.Hewasoneofthemost
influentialmedievalthinkersofScholasticismandbelievedthatfaithandreasoncouldwork
together,sincetheywerebothfromGod,toproveandperceiveGod(St.ThomasAquinas).
However,thiswasntanythingnewororiginalsinceChristianityandGreekthoughthadalready
beenputtogether800yearsbefore,withPlatonicideas(
ThomasAquinasin90minutes
29).
Aquinaswasalsoveryinfluencedbyscholasticismhewas,afterall,oftheScholastictradition
andAristotlestheories,somanyofhisphilosophieswerentevenhisowninsteadtheywere
ideasofphilosopherbeforehim.Forexample,AquinasusesAristotlesargumentofthe
unmovedmovertoprovetheexistenceofGod(ThomasAquinasBiography).Thisshows
thatmanyofhismainargumentsarenotveryoriginal,insteadanadaptedversionofanother

personstheories.Confuciusbeliefsweremuchmoreoriginal,especiallytothecommon,
religiousperson.
Acommonpersonwouldbeveryreligious,duringbothConfuciusandAquinastimes.
ThiswaswhatmadeConfucianismcontroversialandAquinasphilosophiesmoreimportantat
theirtimes.However,Confuciusphilosophiesnow,morethan20centuriesafterhisdeathand
noteven8centuriesafterAquinasdeath,aremuchmoreimportantthanAquinasbeliefs.
AquinasviewsapplyonlytoChristians,butanewstudybythePewResearchCenterfoundthat
5millionlessAmericansidentifythemselvesasChristiansinonlythepast8years7%less
(USChristianNumbers).Thisshowsthatmanypeoplearentreligiousanymoreturning
awayfromAquinasbeliefsandtowardsConfucius.Infact,Confucianismistheofficial
imperialphilosophyofChinaandmanypoliticiansadoptedConfuciustheoriesonpolitics,even
centuriesafterhisdeath.Confuciuswrotedownverylittleofhisphilosophies,whichwereonly
passedonthroughhisdisciples(Confucius).EventhoughAquinaswrotedownalotofhis
theories,theyarentnearlyaspopulartodayasConfucianism.ThereasonforthisisthatAquinas
canonlyinfluencepeoplewhobelievedinGod,whileConfucianismcanapplytoanyone.
ConfuciuslegacyisfarmoreimpactfultotodayssocietythanSt.ThomasAquinaslegacy.
Confuciushasmadeahugeimpactonboththemodernsocietyandthesocietyhelived
in,whileSt.ThomasAquinasphilosophieswereneitheroriginalnorgroundbreaking.Forthat
reason,Confuciusshouldhaveamonumentdedicatedtohimtocommemorateeverythinghedid.
Confuciusnewideasweresecularandwentagainstthereligiousphilosophyatthetime,while
AquinasphilosophiesweresimplyarepeatofanothermeetingbetweenChristianityandGreek
thoughteighthundredyearsbefore,especiallysinceAquinaswasheavilyinfluencedbyother
philosophies.AquinasmadeasmallimpactafterhisdeathcomparedtoConfuciusbecausehis
theoriesonlyapplytothefallingnumberofChristiansConfuciushashadabiggereffecton
todayssociety,withConfucianismbecomingChinasofficialstatephilosophy,becausehis
ideascanapplytoeveryone.AsSzemaChienwrote,morethanthreecenturiesafterConfucius
death,Therehavebeenmanykings,emperors,andgreatmeninhistory,whoenjoyedfameand
honorwhiletheylivedandcametonothingattheirdeath,whileConfucius,whowasbuta
commonscholarcladinacottongown,becametheacknowledgedMasterofscholarsforover
tengenerations.(Nardo87)

WorksCited

"Confucius."
Bio
.A&ETelevisionNetworks,2015.Web.13May2015.

Nardo,Don.
AncientPhilosophers
.SanDiego,CA:Lucent,2004.Print.

Strathern,Paul.
Confuciusin90Minutes
.Chicago:I.R.Dee,1999.Print.

Strathern,Paul.
ThomasAquinasin90Minutes
.Chicago,IL:IvanR.Dee,1998.Print.

"St.ThomasAquinas."
Bio
.A&ETelevisionNetworks,2015.Web.13May2015.

"ThomasAquinasBiography."
TheEuropeanGraduateSchool
.N.p.,n.d.Web.14May2015.

"USChristiansNumbers'declineSharply',PollFindsBBCNews."
BBCNews
.BBC,12May
rabbit
2015.Web.12May2015.