User:Bryce Pugh

Hello, my name is Bryce Pugh (he/him/his) and I am a student at UNCA. I am a chemistry major, neuroscience minor, and I plan on attending medical school after completing my undergraduate degree. I spend most of my time doing schoolwork, reading, and working.

Topic: Study/learning
"Study/learning (xue). These two words have different forces in English: it is possible to study without learning, but it is not possible to learn without study. But the Chinese xue covers both. What is made very clear is that xue does not necessarily imply the reading of books. One has to learn to be like exemplary persons and learn to deal with moral and political problems. To acquire understanding one obviously needs to study the tradition"

The Superior Man Loves to Learn
Confucius speaks often on the concepts of learning and study. While in some cases Confucius refers to learning as simply acquiring knowledge, he also seems to correlate the love of learning with superiority. Confucius claims that "a person may be said indeed to love to learn" and be virtuous if they have certain qualities like earnestness and carefulness in speech. In this case, one who holds virtuous (superior) traits, can be said to love to learn. It would appear that if someone loves to learn they may not necessarily enjoy taking classes and reading books, but they show traits that are considered to be better in the ancient worldview. "The highest class of men" he says are those born with knowledge, followed by those who actively learn and seek knowledge. What he considers to be the "Lowest of the people" are those who are dumb and do not seek to learn, reinforcing his beliefs that knowledge equals superiority. He even clearly connects learning to being good, "It is not easy to find a man who has learned for three years without coming to be good." To be good is to learn, and to learn is to understand the truth, "The object of the superior man is truth". To Confucius, the superior man will desire truth above all else; truth will be prioritized over even food and poverty to the point where "the superior man is anxious lest he should not get truth". Because of this great hunger to learn and fear of not being able to, the superior man must constantly "Learn as if you could not reach your object, and were always fearing also lest you should lose it".

Learning Is Pleasant
In the first line of the analects, Confucius says "Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application?" To learn is not only a way of becoming 'superior', but to truly dive into something and study and learn from it is a joy. To learn in this way is an active engagement; one must not only study that which is presented, but truly take it in and ponder it. As Confucius says: "Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous". Learning is not an individual endeavor however, but rather something that is meant to be shared and discussed. Confucius tells of how not being able to discuss what he has learned in depth is one of several "things which occasion me solicitude". In these lines, Confucius extends upon his claims that learning is something pleasant and enjoyable.

Learning is Wisdom
Learning seems to have more than one implication in many cases throughout the analects. A different context that seems to have a different connotation from learning is when Confucius speaks of the man who loves to learn. Confucius says that if a man "is earnest in what he is doing, and careful in his speech; he frequents the company of men of principle that he may be rectified:—such a person may be said indeed to love to learn." In this phrase, Confucius appears to define learning as not a way of acquiring intelligence, but that one who loves to learn is one who is wise and seeks a betterment of themselves. He further elaborates on the concept of what it means to love to learn in later analects. A man can be said to love to learn if he "recognizes what he has not yet" and "does not forget what he has attained to". By first understanding one's ignorance, can knowledge and wisdom truly begin to be understood. "At fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning". Learning is the first thing that Confucius sought after in his life, it is the foundational building block in the journey to gain wisdom. Confidence, knowledge, truth, and freedom all followed learning in Confucius's life.

Modern Worldview and Discussions

 * This idea that learning leads to superiority is relevant to the modern world in that those who study a lot and seek knowledge are often recognized as more wise. Some may consider one who learns continuously 'superior', but I think that this idea is becoming increasingly less relevant. One can be superior in many different aspects- athletics, academics, agriculture, etc. yet it would be hard to find someone who a lot of people consider to simply be superior human beings.
 * 'Learning is pleasant'. This idea will remain without waver. Learning does not necessarily mean schooling, but rather the acquisition of knowledge and wisdom. Learning something; gaining knowledge of things previously unknown, is what humans always have and will seek to do. Humanity is constantly seeking to be better. From the moment one is born, they learn nonstop, sometimes due to efforts but often subconsciously as well.
 * When Confucius refers to studying and learning, he does not really specify the learning of a specific topic, but rather he usually speaks as learning to be a general idea. Confucius uses the term 'the love of learning' a lot, which further implies that when he speaks of learning he is not referring to a specific subject. I believe he uses these phrases to speak of someone who loves to learn in general, one whos desire for knowledge knows no bounds. By only studying one thing, one can find themselves being restricted; only by truly loving to learn all things, can one grow closer to superiority and enlightenment.

Confucius
"'There is the love of being benevolent without the love of learning;- the beclouding here leads to a foolish simplicity. There is the love of knowledge without the love of learning;- the beclouding here leads to dissipation of mind. There is the love of being sincere without the love of learning;- the beclouding here leads to an injurious disregard of consequences. There is the love of straightforwardness without the love of learning;- the beclouding here leads to rudeness. There is the love of boldness without the love of learning;- the beclouding here leads to insubordination. There is the love of firmness without the love of learning;- the beclouding here leads to extravagant conduct'."The choice of the word "beclouding" here has an interesting effect on the phrase. To becloud is to make something unclear or indistinct. Confucius lists many great qualities that without learning, lead do certain decloudings like rudeness. My take on this is that one can hold these qualities: benevolence, knowledge, sincerity,... but without being paired with the love of learning, the path of superiority and righteousness are obstructed.

Amenemope
"'Do the good and you will prosper'."This is a simple yet important idea that is repeated throughout both the analects and the teachings of Amenemope. Amenemope defines it a little more directly; be a good person and good things will happen to you, while Confucius has a slightly different approach. In multiple analects, Confucius defines traits that most would consider to be good qualities, but says that this is someone who "may be said indeed to love to learn". It seems to be that learning equates to goodness, which then leads to prosperity.

Epictetus
"'Do not seek to have events happen as you want them to, but instead want them to happen as they do happen, and your life will go well'."The concept mentioned in this phrase is something that is not directly said, but definitely implied in The Analects. The world will always face a person with good and bad, this can not be changed and should not be fought. Confucius and Epictetus both speak of how one must first learn: learn how the world is, learn what morals and beliefs to follow, learn to learn... and learn to understand that the world works in this way, so it must first be accepted in order to achieve happiness, wisdom, and peace.

Socrates (Plato)
"'...it is no small thing for a young man to have knowledge of such an important subject. He says he knows how our young men are corrupted and who corrupts them. He is likely to be wise, and when he sees my ignorance corrupting his contemporaries, he proceeds to accuse me to the city as to their mother. I think he is the only one of our public men to start out the right way, for it is right to care first that the young should be as good as possible, just as a good farmer is likely to take care of the young plants first, and of the others later. So, too, Meletus first gets rid of us who corrupt the young shoots...'."In this paragraph Socrates is speaking of Meletus, who is the reason that Socrates is on his way to the king-archon’s court. Although Socrates may have reason to dislike Meletus, he speaks of how Meletus is just in his accusations against Socrates because his intentions and reasoning for it are good. Regardless of whether Socrates is correct in his teachings though, they all are able to agree that young peoples opportunity and accuracy for learning is of utmost importance. Because Socrates is teaching new things, Meletus sees this as him corrupting the students from the original and moral ways of humanity."'...and if I corrupt involuntarily, the law is not that you bring me in here for such involuntary wrongs, but that you take me aside in private to teach and admonish me. For it is clear that if I learn, I will at least stop doing what I do involuntarily. But you avoided associating with me and teaching me, and you were not willing to, but instead you brought me in here, where the law is to bring in those in need of punishment, not learning'."Here, Socrates refers to learning as a way of guidance. He says that if he really is corrupting the minds of the young, that he should not be scorned but rather he should be taught so that he may learn of the err in his ways. This principle is unique, but also can be drawn back to the idea of 'the superior man loves to learn', because in learning if you are doing something incorrectly, one is able to free themselves of ignorance and wrongdoing. Socrates goes on to say how it is unjust should he be tried without first having been told of his offense.