Confucius

Confucius: The Secular as Sacred by Herbert Fingarette, 79 pages

In this little book, Herbert Fingarette attempts to correct what he sees as a big misunderstanding.  It is his contention that later commentators, due primarily to Buddhist or Western influences, have attributed to Confucius a concern for inwardness which is fundamentally foreign to the Analects.  In his view, Confucius' concern is entirely with objective outward acts and right relationships, as embodied in traditional ritual.  Confucius is therefore less interested in the intentional ends of ritual than in the function of ritual in maintaining societal order and harmony.  It is through cult that a humane culture is nourished and sustained.

By thus prioritizing Confucius' insights into the necessity of ceremony in creating and upholding cultural unity, the necessity of culture for a fully human existence, and the necessity of tradition as a justification for ceremony, Fingarette presents Confucius as a great thinker of universal importance and continuing significance.