The Analects 14.23 "The Master said: 'The junzi(gentleman) reaches out for what is above, the xiao ren (small man) reaches out for what is below.'"
“Xiao Ren” is literally translated as the “small man.” It is a term used often by Confucius (actually named Kong Zi or Kong Fu Zi) that refers to an ignorant, small-minded person. One of the things that Confucius often stresses in The Analects is education. There are two contrasting identities in The Analects, the junzi (the noble, upright gentleman) and the xiao ren (the small-minded fools concerned with profit). The junzi study and strive for education. The xiao ren are not only uneducated, but they actually resist education.
This “resistance of education” is very prevalent in today’s society. Instead of coming to a conclusion as to why this is, I want this post to be a point at which to start a discussion. I want it to ignite a conversation. Why is being educated, cultured, and a well-studied individual “uncool?” Why is it that talking intellectually is not cool? Basically, it isn’t cool to be smart, but why? Why do the xiao ren resist education? There have to be people that you know in your life that are just not interested in being educated, they do not take the time to study, and they put no effort into obtaining knowledge. Why is this?
So, please leave a comment expressing your thoughts.
hydro033
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I suppose i will attempt to add a spark to this conversation. This may not pertain totally to academics…but this specific rant could be used to exploit why humans are not taking education seriously. I believe, in all honesty, that there are two main reasons that today’s population do not strive to be simply a well-rounded human. One of these reasons is that society is making it too easy for individuals to accomplish tasks. Example: Highschool athletic directors are now outlawing a coaches ability to cut players…now everyone makes varsity (call mom and break out the champagne, you netted one of 50 free throws at practice,your on the team son). This is obviously is an outlandish amount of bullshit. The next reason is the society pampers to individuals who “can’t take the heat.” Perfect example; the FERPA law. In the past at my institution; professors would make public mockerys of students who performed poorly on exams; leading to public scrutiny and peer pressure until the individual simply quit or performed well on the next exam. When an individual reacts and meets the challenges of society, it gives the individual meaning and discipline, this can be viewed for academics to refurbishing a car, the point is someone is performing a fairly difficult task and finding meaning through learning and fellowship of said task. These days, kids sit around drinking coffee with ridiculous flavorings, guys are going out on the town with spray tans, and majority of individuals have never accomplished the “staple moment” of overcoming adversity. We need to bring back the days of Paul “bear” Bryant, and teach by way of instilling meaning in one’s life. As the great leader Robert E Lee said “Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less. “
By: warrior on March 11, 2010
at 10:17 pm
I completely agree. Why would anyone strive for more when they could just get along doing the bear minimum? Those people need to suffer, they need to die, and they need not to pass their genes onto the next generation. We, as humans, destroy natural selection and thus let ourselves down a path to our own self-destruction.
By: hydro033 on March 14, 2010
at 1:16 am