5. How the Philosophy was applied
• Qin Dynasty used legalism to conquer feudal
lords
• Neither the powerful or the weak could
escape consequences
• Would weaken the power of the feudal lords,
conquer and unify the warring states into a
single empire
6. Quotes by Lord Shang
• When people are stupid- “They are easy to
manage.”
• “Wise create laws, but stupid are limited by
them.”
• “Should not be punished for a misdemeanor,
but for the intention behind the thought of it.”
During the Qin dynasty
First great Chinese Empire- Qin Shih Haung Di- 221-206 BC (successfully used legalism to conquer and unite china) Harsh ruler (burned books and buried scholars alive); executed Han Fei Zi
Qin Dynasty only lasted 15 years with his Philosophy
2: Hsün Tzu- one of the three great early architects of Confucian philosophy (along with Confucius and Mencius)
-Died 233 BC
-Believed that people were naturally bad and had to be forced to be good (man is evil)
-Fascist
-Han Fei Zi (developed the doctrine of Legalism) “You cant control people with love or ritual; do it with fear and rewards and punishments” “burn all books that don’t agree with the state”
Teach peasants to grow food and fight
Reward those who do good and crush them when they don’t
No compassion for the weak (charity only encourages laziness)
2: Hsün Tzu’s Philosophy: Thinking was that humans are inherently evil and inclined toward criminal and selfish behavior
Policing force that would stringently and impartially enforce these rules and punish harshly even the most minor infraction
-He articulated a systematic version of Confucianism that encompasses ethnics, metaphysics, political theory, philosophy of language,
and a highly developed philosophy of education
4: individuals: by watching TV; songs (Santa Claus is coming to town- You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout I'm telling you why, Santa Claus is coming to town)
Real world: crimes committed
Taught legalism since we were little (singing songs about it; being told to be good- rewards for good behavior and punishments for bad)
- If you’re a Christian, you only go to heaven by obeying all the rules (not sinning).
