IB Philosophy 10.2 the Analects – Confucius Key Definitions

Epistemic humility is the intellectual virtue of recognising the limits of one's own knowledge and remaining open to correction, acknowledging what one does not know rather than overstating one's certainty.

Epistemology is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature, sources, and limits of knowledge, including the distinction between knowledge and opinion, the role of reason and experience, and the conditions under which beliefs count as justified.

In Confucian thought, government by virtue (de zhi) is the ideal that rulers govern most effectively through personal moral excellence rather than laws, rewards, or punishments, inspiring the people to goodness by the example they set.

Junzi: the Confucian ideal of the morally exemplary person who embodies virtue through disciplined self-cultivation, defined not by birth or rank but by fully realising the virtues appropriate to each of their relational roles.

ritual propriety or proper conduct, encompassing the ceremonies, customs, and everyday practices that structure moral life. For Confucius, li is not empty formality but a vehicle for moral transformation through which inner virtue is cultivated by repeated practice.

The Mandate of Heaven (tian ming) is a doctrine developed by Confucian thinkers holding that Heaven grants rulers the right to govern only so long as they rule justly and virtuously, tying political legitimacy to moral accountability.

Moral agency is the capacity of a being to understand moral principles, distinguish right from wrong, and be held accountable for its choices and actions.

In Confucian thought, the moral function of language reflects the idea that language is not merely a tool for describing the world but a moral instrument for shaping character, maintaining social order, and expressing the values that bind a community together.

Moral sense is a theory originating with Francis Hutcheson and developed by Hume and Smith, holding that human beings possess an innate faculty for perceiving moral qualities through sentiment, analogous to the physical senses.

a term introduced by J.L. Austin to describe utterances that do not merely describe a state of affairs but enact something in the world (e.g., "I promise" or "I now pronounce you married"). Rather than being true or false, performative utterances succeed or fail depending on whether the appropriate conventions and social conditions are in place.

In Confucian ethics, practical wisdom is the capacity to perceive what a specific situation morally requires and to respond appropriately, integrating knowledge, virtue, and experience into effective moral action. This parallels Aristotle's phronesis but is distinctively relational, requiring sensitivity to the social and ritual context of each situation.

In the Analects, qiao yan (clever words) refers to flattering or insinuating speech that prioritises social approval over sincerity and genuine moral character. It represents verbal cleverness without moral substance, a quality Confucius saw as antithetical to ren (humaneness).

In Confucian thought, the relational self is the view that a person is not an isolated individual but a being constituted through relationships with family, community, and the political order. Personal identity is defined by one's roles, duties, and connections to others rather than by inner psychological states.

Ren is the central Confucian virtue, variously translated as benevolence, humaneness, or goodness, representing the highest moral quality attainable through sustained self-cultivation. It is expressed as genuine concern for the wellbeing of others within concrete relationships rather than abstract universal love.

In Confucian thought, social harmony (he) is the ideal state of ordered relationships in which each person fulfils their proper role, creating a balanced and flourishing community grounded in mutual respect and shared moral commitment.

Developed by J.L. Austin and elaborated by John Searle, speech act theory analyses how utterances accomplish things beyond conveying information. It distinguishes the act of saying something (locutionary), the action performed in saying it such as promising or warning (illocutionary), and the effect produced on the listener (perlocutionary).

Virtue ethics is an approach to morality that focuses on developing good character traits rather than on rules or consequences, originating with Aristotle and identifying eudaimonia (human flourishing) as the goal of moral life.

The Wu Lun are the foundational Confucian framework of five dyadic relationships with reciprocal obligations: ruler and subject, parent and child, husband and wife, elder and younger sibling, and friend and friend.

Zhengming (the rectification of names) is the Confucian doctrine that social order depends on words being used correctly, so that titles, roles, and moral concepts accurately correspond to the realities they describe.

in Confucian thought, the capacity for both intellectual understanding and practical moral insight, encompassing the ability to discern right from wrong and to act wisely within specific social and ethical situations. Zhi is one of the cardinal virtues alongside ren, li, and yi, forming an integral component of moral character rather than a purely intellectual achievement.