2. Honesty: From tradition to modernity
Honesty is an important ethical and philosophical concept put forward by Confucianism in the pre-Qin period, and it has become an important category in the history of China's ethical thoughts in the future. Until the period of Confucius, "honesty" had not been formed as a theoretical concept. Mencius has not only formed a theoretical concept, but also its position is very important. He said: "it is a sincere person, and the way of heaven is also; If you think sincerely, you will learn from others. Those who are sincere and do not move are not there; If you are dishonest, there will be no movers. " Here, honesty is not only the highest category of the ontology of heaven, but also the law and know-how of being a man. Xunzi developed the idea of "sincerity" and pointed out that it was "the foundation of politics". He said; "heaven and earth are big, and if you are not sincere, you can't change everything; The sage knows, and if he is not sincere, he can't turn all the people; Father and son are close relatives, and if they are not sincere, they will be sparse; The monarch is respectful, insincere is humble, the husband is sincere, the gentleman keeps it, and the foundation of politics is also. " In The Doctrine of the Mean, "honesty" has become the core category of etiquette and the highest realm of life: "Only the world is sincere, so as to do its best; If you can do your best, you can do your best; If you can make the best of human nature, you can make the best of things; If you can make the best of things, you can praise the education of heaven and earth; If you can praise the cultivation of heaven and earth, you can participate in heaven and earth. " Sincere as a god, with sincere moral character and attitude, you can penetrate a variety of benevolence, righteousness and morality, become an adult, and even be able to make the best of human nature and material nature, praise heaven and earth for only cultivating and participating with heaven and earth, and achieve the realm of "harmony between man and nature" "University" regards "sincerity" as one of the eight items, namely, respecting things, knowing knowledge, sincerity, integrity, self-cultivation, keeping the family in order, governing the country and leveling the world. "Honesty" has become an important link for sages to observe God's will, cultivate self-cultivation and rule the country and the world. In the Song Dynasty, Zhou Dunyi further believed that "honesty" was "the foundation of the five permanent members and the source of all kinds of actions." Regard "sincerity", including honesty, as the foundation of the "five permanents" of benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and faith and the beginning of all kinds of good deeds. Cheng Yi said more bluntly, "I can do good without being sincere", and his views are penetrating.
Marxist ethics critically inherits the category of "honesty" and affirms that honesty is an important norm in social morality. In the long-term social life, the main moral requirements of honesty have gradually become clear: loyalty, integrity and honesty. The main purpose of loyalty is loyalty to the motherland, the people and the just cause. Of course, this kind of loyalty is not blind and narrow "foolish loyalty", but identifies with lofty ideals, pursues and strives tirelessly to realize them, thus showing the spirit of being willing to contribute and being brave in sacrifice. Integrity means being upright, being fair and frank. Honesty means telling the truth, doing honest things and being honest.
Faith is also the category of China's history of ethical thought. The meaning of "faith" is similar to "sincerity" and "truth". From the analysis of the glyph, the word faithfulness follows people's words, which originally refers to the honest words spoken to heaven and ancestors during the sacrifice. Liang Ji, a doctor of the Sui Dynasty, said, "Be loyal to the people and trust in God", "I wish the history a correct speech and trust." Later, due to the development of private economy and private ideas, the original simple society was gradually destroyed. The exchanges between countries and people have to conclude vows. However, the observance of vows and promises still depends on the deterrent power of heaven, earth and ghosts. During the Spring and Autumn Period, with the advocacy of Confucianism, "faith" began to get rid of religious color and became a pure moral norm. Confucius believes that "faith" is the embodiment of "benevolence", and he asks people to "respect things and believe". He said: "If you believe, you will do whatever you want", "If you don't believe, you don't know what you can do". Confucius and Mencius regard "faith" as an important principle of friendship, emphasizing "friends believe in it" and "friends have faith" Most of the authorities in past dynasties regarded "trust" as an important tool to maintain order. "Zuo Zhuan Wen Gong 4 years" said: "Abandoning faith and damaging its owner will lead to chaos in the country and death at home." "Your Letter in the Spring and Autumn Annals of Lu" makes a incisive analysis of the consequences of faith and unbelief in social life: "If the monarch and his ministers don't believe it, the people will slander and the society will be restless. If the officials don't believe it, they will be less afraid of being long, and they will despise each other. If you don't believe in rewards and punishments, people will easily break the law and cannot make orders. If you don't believe in making friends, you will be separated from your worries and can't date each other. If all workers don't believe it, the equipment will be bitter and fake, and the paint will be unfaithful. Husband can start with, end with, communicate with respect, and be humble and poor, and only believe it! " In the Han Dynasty, Dong Zhongshu listed "faithfulness" as the "five permanents" along with benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom, and regarded it as the most basic social behavior norm. And the "letter" is discussed in detail: "I try my best to write my feelings without embellishing them, so it is also a letter." He believes that "faith" requires honesty, consistency in appearance and consistency in words and deeds. Zhu Xi put forward "benevolence embraces the five permanents", and regarded "faith" as the function and expression of "benevolence", which is mainly the way to make friends. He said: "Faithfulness is based on reality", which is basically the same as that of Confucius and Mencius. In Confucianism, honesty and faith are often used as a concept. "Faith, sincerity", "sincerity" and "faith" are very similar in meaning.
from this point of view, traditional ethics regards honesty as a basic quality of human beings, and considers honesty as a good strategy to win people's trust, and the cornerstone of success. In a word, it is a rule of personal life.
Third, stories related to honesty
1. Ceng Zi kills pigs
Ceng Zi's wife went to the market, and her son went with her, crying as he walked. Mother said to him, "Go back, and when I come back, I will kill the pig for you." His wife came back from the market, and Ceng Zi wanted to catch pigs to kill them. His wife stopped him and said, "It was just a joke with children." Ceng Zi said, "Never joke with children. Children are not sensible at first, so they should learn from their parents and listen to their instructions. Now if you lie to him, you are teaching your child to lie. It is impossible to teach a child well if a mother deceives her child and the child does not believe her mother's words. " Ceng Zi then killed the pig.
2. Guo Moruo and Banana Flower
Guo Moruo was naughty when he was a child, but he was very filial. Once, his mother got a "dizzy disease". Guo Moruo heard that plantain flower can cure this disease. This kind of flower is very expensive and rarely blooms, so he ran to a garden with his brother to find this kind of flower. It happened that the plantain in that garden had a big yellow flower, and Guo Moruo and his brother secretly picked it and gave it to his mother. Although mother knew that Guo Moruo was filial to her, her son's behavior made him sad. From then on, Guo Moruo never stole anything from others.
iv. the function of honesty
from a philosophical point of view, "honesty" is not only a world outlook, but also a social value and moral outlook, which is of great significance and function to both society and individuals.
for a country and a society, "honesty" can be said to be the foundation of the country. The main body of the country is the people, and the sovereignty of the country also belongs to the people. Since ancient times, China has had the motto that "the people are the foundation of the country, the foundation is the foundation of the country" and "those who win the hearts of the people will win the world, and those who lose the hearts of the people will lose the world". These words are still wise sayings today. But what does the country's leaders rely on to unite the people? Relying on wise policies and spiritual beliefs, "honesty" is the humanistic spirit and moral beliefs that win the trust of the people and unite the people.
for a social unit (such as an enterprise) and a social undertaking (such as an industry and a profession), "honesty" can be said to be the foundation of a career. "Honesty", as a universally applicable moral norm and code of conduct, is a moral lever to establish a benign interactive relationship of mutual trust and mutual benefit among industries, units and people. It is hard to imagine that a unit or enterprise that does not stress honesty and keep promises will have a long-term foothold in a modern society ruled by law. Only by relying on honesty can a social undertaking develop smoothly.
for every member of society, "honesty" is the foundation of our life and the treasure of our life. Life has been in the world for decades, and we must keep learning to acquire and enhance knowledge. Knowledge is not only a tool for individuals to make a living, but also a tool for individuals to serve the society. However, it is not enough to be a person who really contributes to the society, and it must be guided by correct values. Otherwise, knowledge may become a tool to breed evil. The spirit of "honesty" is an important moral criterion to cultivate people's noble moral sentiments and guide people to correctly handle various relationships. If an individual is honest, he will be impartial and impartial, pay attention to credit, abide by the law, accept the contract and win the trust of others, and properly handle the relationship between good people and individuals and society.
We can say that the principle and spirit of "honesty" is the moral cornerstone to promote the healthy development of the socialist market economy; It not only plays an important role in promoting social stability and prosperity, guiding social customs and curing social mental diseases, but also plays an important role in strengthening the personal moral cultivation of social members, improving the civilized quality of the whole nation and cultivating a generation of citizens who are knowledgeable, productive, ethical and law-abiding. It is the foundation of founding a country and establishing a career, and it is also a spiritual magic weapon for individuals to settle down.
V. How to abide by honesty
If we teenagers want to abide by honesty, we must take responsibility and obligation for what we say, and we must keep our word and keep our promise. You must do what you promise others. Make an appointment with others, and be sure to be there on time. Be sure to arrive on time for school or various activities. You know, commitment is a very prudent act. You can't easily promise something that should not be done or impossible. Once you promise it, you should try your best to fulfill it. If we break our promise to others, we will belittle ourselves. If the situation changes in the process of fulfilling our promise, so that we can't fulfill our promise, we must truthfully explain the situation to each other and apologize. This is completely different from breaking promises, so it is necessary to start from scratch to establish honesty.
We should inherit and carry forward the traditional virtue of abiding by honesty, and we should also distinguish between "Jianghu loyalty" and abiding by honesty, recognize the essence and harm of "Jianghu loyalty", and be free from being polluted by this bad custom left over from the old society, so as to abide by honesty. Text [/c]
Honesty is the basic principle of being a man and doing things, and it is also the norm that must be observed in governing the country, which regulates the relationship between people and maintains social order.
Being a man needs honesty, and honesty wins dignity; Doing business also needs honesty, and honesty wins the market.
(1) Honesty is the fulcrum to support the morality of society
Honesty is one of the important contents of our traditional moral culture. "Honesty leads to the knot in the world", that is to say, honesty is the key to the code of conduct in the world. In the traditional Confucian ethics of our country, honesty is regarded as the condition of governing the country and leveling the world and an important moral norm that must be observed. Ancient sages and philosophers have many explanations on honesty. For example, Confucius said, "People have died since ancient times, and people have no faith." "People have no faith, and they don't know what they can do." "People stand with sincerity.": Mencius' theory of honesty: "Those who are sincere and don't move have nothing;" Dishonest, no one can move "; Xunzi believes that "cultivating the heart is not good at honesty"; Mozi said, "If you don't have a strong will, you won't be wise, and those who don't believe in it will fail." Laozi regards honesty as an important criterion of life behavior: "If you make a promise lightly, you will lose faith, and if it is easy, it will be difficult"; Zhuangzi also attaches great importance to honesty: "True people are sincere. Not refined and sincere, not moving. " Zhuangzi regards "authenticity" as the ultimate sincerity, and if it is not refined and sincere, it will not touch people, which will raise honesty to a new level; Han Feizi thinks that "cleverness is better than sincerity". In a word, ancient sages and philosophers praised honesty as a lofty virtue, which vividly showed the value and position of honesty in the eyes of China people. Since ancient times, people have attached so much importance to the principle of good faith. The reason is that honesty and credit are the basic moral norms to be followed in the relationship between people. Without good faith, there can be no morality. Therefore, honesty is the fulcrum to support the morality of society.
(II) Honesty is the morality of legal norms
The principle of honesty gradually rose to a legal principle, which began in Roman law and was later inherited and developed by important civil laws in the legal history, such as French civil law, German civil law, Swiss civil law, etc. For example, Article 2 of the General Provisions of the Swiss Civil Code stipulates: "Everyone must honestly exercise his rights and fulfill his obligations."
Honesty and credit is also an important basic principle of current laws in China, which is clearly stipulated in General Principles of Civil Law, Contract Law and Consumer Protection Law. Because of its wide scope of application, it plays a guiding and commanding role in other legal principles, so it is also called the "imperial rule". It can be seen that "honesty and credit" is not a general moral standard. When honesty and credit become legal norms, violating it will be a legal responsibility or a legal consequence that is not conducive to oneself. This legal consequence can be property or personal. It can be civil, administrative or even criminal. Therefore, honesty and credit are the fulcrum of laws supporting society and the morality of legal norms.
(3) Honesty is the key to governing the country
Honesty can win the trust of the people, so that the government can be harmonious. If you break your word, hide your eyes and ears, and practice fraud, there will be no social stability. In ancient times, there was a crime of "deceiving the monarch", which not only offended dignity, but also misled decision-making and brought disaster to the country and people. It is also impossible to "bully the people", so there is a saying that "water can carry a boat or overturn it". In ancient China, there were many stories about Shang Yang's belief in trees and trees, and there were also bonfire drama princes who didn't pay attention to honesty and suffered the consequences. China ancient thinkers regarded "honesty" as one of the main means to rule the world. In the Tang Dynasty, Wei Zhi described honesty as "the outline of the country", which shows the importance of honesty.
at present, "ruling the country by virtue" proposed by the party and the state is the embodiment of honesty and credit, and it is also the inheritance and development of China's excellent political thought. Implementing "ruling the country by virtue", implementing "Outline for the Implementation of Citizen's Moral Construction" and advocating the spiritual quality of honesty and trustworthiness in the whole society are the inheritance of fine traditions and the requirements of the times.
(4) Integrity is the foundation of the industry
Integrity is the way to be a person, the foundation of being in a position, and the basis of mutual trust between people. Speaking of credibility and keeping promises is a constraint and requirement for ourselves, and it is also a hope and requirement for outsiders. If an employee can't be honest and trustworthy, then the social groups or economic entities he represents can't get people's trust, can't have economic exchanges with society, or lack appeal and responsiveness to society. Therefore, honesty and trustworthiness is not only a social morality, but also a professional ethics that any employee should abide by.
As a professional ethics, honesty and trustworthiness, for an industry, its basic function is to establish a good reputation and establish a trustworthy industry image. It reflects that the society recognizes the value of an industry in past professional activities, thus affecting the position and role of the industry in future activities. "People can't stand without faith", for an industry, only by keeping promises and stressing morality can we fundamentally do a good job in industry brand and establish a good industry image.
Ceng Zi kills pigs
Ceng Zi is a student of Confucius. Once, Ceng Zi's wife was going to the fair. Because the child was crying, Ceng Zi's wife promised to kill the pig for him when the child came back. After Ceng Zi's wife came back from the market, Ceng Zi caught pigs to kill them. His wife stopped him and said, "I'm just kidding with the children." Ceng Zi said, "You can't joke with children. Children are not sensible, so they learn from their parents and listen to their instructions. Now you are coaxing him, that is, teaching children.