This study will compare and contrast the teachings of Confucius and Plato. On first glance, one would suspect that the two teachers have little if anything in common, considering that one is so thoroughly Eastern and the other is just as thoroughly Western. In fact, there are significant differences in the systems of thought and life delineated by the two, but at the same time the thought of East and West definitely meet at a number of important points in the teachings of these two philosophers. For all their emphasis on reason (Plato) and individual propriety (Confucius), it will finally be argued here that both Confucius and Plato believe together in the indoctrination of people in order to have them behave obediently and to create an orderly state or society.
Graham might suggest that Confucius "anticipated St. Augustine's 'love and do as you please'" (Graham 84), but in fact Confucius' philosophy was based not on laissez-faire tenets but on thorough inculcation of traditional virtue by any means necessary. Similarly, Plato may have written at length in the most glowing terms about reason and the role of the Socratic method in education, but when he designed the blueprint for his ideal society in the Republic, he relied on the most blatant of deceptions.
Both Confucius and Plato favor the method of dialogue as a means of teaching, asking questions and inquiring layer-by-layer into the matter at hand. Confucius employs this method in person, while Plato focuses on such a method in his writings, using Socrates as a figure to express his views. Both have strong beliefs about how a human being should behave, and both very clearly do not teach their ideas on virtue merely for the sake of talking and thinking, but rather believe strongly that such virtues should be applied to the real world, especially in politics. Both recognize the importance of the relationship between the individual and the state, and the importance of shapi...