Date: Dec. 6th 2013 Session: Interfaith Partnerships: Living For the Greater Good: The Moral Foundation for Inspiring Innovative Change Speaker: Dr. Chandra Setiawan; Commissioner, Fair Trade of the Republic of Indonesia, Republic Indonesia

1. LIVING FOR THE GREATER GOOD: THE
MORAL FOUNDATION FOR INSPIRING
INNOVATIVE CHANGE
PRESENTED BY
CHANDRA SETIAWAN

2. THE SCOPE OF PRESENTATION
• I. Introduction
• II. To Be Human
• III. The Confucian perspective of Human
Nature
• IV. The concept of Virtue
• V. Superior Man/Junzi
• VI. Closing remarks

3. I. INTRODUCTION
• Different people see life differently, and each
of us has to find his own pathway to
meaning.
• The meaning of life should not be something
abstract, but should help us to live our own
unique life to the fullest.
• Religious people find that faith in God gives
their life meaning and purpose and helps
them find courage and strength to face
problem and to bear suffering and disaster.
(Bitinas, Bronislav (editor), My Journey in Life, 2001)

4. II. To Be Human
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•
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What does it mean to be a good person?
There are different answers
Why should I be good?
Why cannot I live just as I please?
It is because being good means being human.
Human nature is good. Humans are originally
good. (Mencius)
• If we choose some other way, sooner or later
we will face the consequences of our choice

5. III. The Confucian perspective of
Human Nature
• To start discuss the Way of human beings,
we must start with a moral concept, de
(virtue).
• The ability and power must also be cultivated
by individuals, and thus de became ‘a moralmaking property of a person’ that is able to
give the person ‘psychic power or influence
over others, and sometimes even over one’s
nonhuman surroundings’ (Nivison, 1996:17, as
cited by Yao, Xinzhong,2001:155)

6. IV. The concept of Virtue
• Virtue is not only a quality, but also an ability
to transform oneself and a power to
transform others.
• Life as a whole is a process of development
from the latter to the former, the goal of
which is to become a sage or to become a
superior man (Junzi).
• A sage is believed to have manifested the
greatest virtue which corresponds to Almighty
God and to have been given the blessing of
God.

7. V. Superior Man/Junzi…1
• A sage is morally perfect and intellectually
brilliant, and in carrying out the Way of
Heaven in the human world he ‘extensively
confers benefit on the people and sends
relief to all (Lunyu, 6:30).
• Junzi is ideal person, who any of us, rich or
poor, has the potential to become.
• The superior man learns in order to attain to
the utmost of his principles.

8. V. Superior Man/Junzi…2
• The superior man is everything puts forth his
utmost endeavours.
• The superior man must make his thoughts
sincere.
• What the superior man requires is that in
what he says there may be nothing
inaccurate.
• The superior man must be watchful over
himself when alone.

9. V. Superior Man/Junzi…3
• The object of the superior man is truth.
• The superior man is catholic and not
partisan.
• The superior man thinks of virtue; the
ordinary man thinks of comfort.
• The mind of superior man is conversant with
righteousness.
• The superior man wishes to be slow in his
words and earnest in his conduct.

10. V. Superior Man/Junzi…4
• The superior man is satisfied and composed;
the ordinary man is always full of distress.
• The superior man has neither anxiety nor
fear.
• The superior man has dignifies ease without
pride, the ordinary man has pride without
ease.
• The superior man is correctly firm and not
merely firm.

11. V. Superior Man/Junzi…5
• The superior man is affable but not adulatory
• The progress of the superior man is upward,
the progress of the ordinary man is
downward.
• The superior man cannot be known in little
matters, but may be entrusted with great
concern.
• The faults of the superior man are like the
sun and moon.

12. V. Superior Man/Junzi…6
• The superior man seeks to develop the
admirable qualities of men and does not seek
to develop their evil qualities
• The superior man honours talent and virtue
and bears with all. He praises the good and
pities the incompetent. The superior man
does not promote a man on account of his
words, nor does he put aside good words on
account of the man.

13. V. Superior Man/Junzi…7
• To be able to judge others what is in
ourselves, this may be called the art of virtue
• The superior man cultivates to the utmost
the capabilities of his nature and exercises
them on the principle of reciprocity, he is not
far from the path. “Do not impose on others
what you yourself do not desire”.

14. V. Superior Man/Junzi…8
• The practice of right-living is deemed the
highest. Complete virtue takes first place; the
doing of anything else whatsoever is
subordinate.
• The superior man conforms with the path of
the mean.

15. VI. Closing remarks…1
• From the highest to the lowest selfdevelopment must be deemed the root of all,
by every man.
• When the root is neglected, it cannot be that
what springs from it will be well-ordered
(The Great Learning).
• To pursue the art of life was possible for
every man, all being of like passions and in
more things like than different.

16. VI. Closing remarks…2
• Confucius revealed the process, step by step, by
which self-development is attained and by which is
flows over into the common life to serve the state
and to bless mankind.
• The ancients when they wished to exemplify illustrious
virtue throughout the world, he first ordered well their
states. Desiring to order well their states, they first
regulated their families. Wishing to regulate their families,
they first cultivated themselves. Wishing to cultivate
themselves, they first rectified their purposes. Wishing to
rectify their purposes, they first sought to think sincerely.
Wishing to think sincerely, they first extended their
knowledge as widely as possible. This they did by
investigation of things.

17. VI. Closing remarks…3
• “By investigating of things, their knowledge became
extensive; their knowledge being extensive, their
thoughts became sincere; their thoughts being
sincere, their purposes were rectified; their
purposes being rectified, they cultivate themselves;
they being cultivated, their families were regulated;
their families being regulated, their states were
rightly governed; their states being rightly
governed, the world was thereby tranquil and
prosperous (Great Learning, 4,5)

18. VI. Closing remarks…4
• To implement LIVING FOR THE GREATER GOOD as THE
MORAL FOUNDATION FOR INSPIRING INNOVATIVE CHANGE,
according to Confucius the character that has to be uphold
as follows:
• Investigation of phenomena
• Learning
• Sincerity
• Rectitude of purpose
• Self-development
• Family discipline
• Local self-government
• Universal self-government

19. VI. Closing remarks…5
• The five qualities essential to perfect virtue
(Analects, XVII: 6)
 Respect
 Magnanimity
 Sincerity
 Earnestness
 Kindness

20. REFERENCES
• Bitinas, Bronislav (editor) (2001). My Journey in Life,
International Education Foundation
• Chan, Alan K.L. (2002). Mencius Contexts and
Interpretations, University of Hawai’i Press
• Dan, Yu (translated by Esther Tyldesley)(2009).
Confucius from the Heart, Macmillan
• Dawson, M.N (1915). The Ethics of Confucius, at
sacred-texts.com
• Yao, XinZhong (2001). An Introduction to
Confucianism, Cambridge University Press.