• Explain How His Wing Analogy Applies To Maturation Within The Five Constant Relations

1) How does Smith view the relationship between Confucianism and Taoism? Provide one or more example of how he sees them as complementary.

Smith views the relationship of Confucianism and Taoism as both ancient Chinese styles of living. Confucianism believes in setting good examples for others to follow, primarily in 5 key relationships: ruler and subject, wife and husband, older and younger sibling, friend and friend, and father and son. Taoism (a.k.a., Daoism) focuses on living harmoniously; this is where the concept of yin and yang originates. Smith believes each of the enduring world religions contains universal principles that transcend time and culture both Confucianism and Taoism can be combined into each other.

2) Explain how his wing analogy applies to maturation within the five constant relations. What are the 5 constant relations?

If they are tilted at the right angle, then, as these currents of human relationships come towards us every day, we will mount and our full humanity will blossom. But if our wings are slightly tipped downward, then we’ll go devolving into the atrocities that human life can lead to.

The five relationships of Confucianism are father and son, elder brother and younger brother, husband and wife, older friend and younger friend, and ruler and subject.

Now, what is the secret of whether the wings are tipped up or tipped down? And their word is ren -ren which in terms of the pictograph, is composed of two radicals. The first is for a human being -you have a torso and two legs. And then the second is two lines -two human beings. So ren is the ideal relationship between any two human beings. And the heart of that relationship is empathy. Can I empathize with your feelings and your interests? To what extent that I can, then my wings are tipped up, and moving through these human-as these human relationships come at us every day, why, my maturity will