Good morning

Good morning Honorable judges lades and gentlemen when Socrates meets Confucius it s a kind of fuzzy to me since they lived in a remote age but it s fantastic to think about it so just let me expand to see where I can get It s known that Socrates is the father of Western philosophy who has a reputation for confusing and stunning his partners into the unpleasant experience of realizing their own ignorance But things are different when he meets Confucius a powerful opponent He bombards a lot of questions as usual yet encounters Confucius explicit answers and insurmountable confidence However Socrates wouldn t give up since he believes critical inquiry is the vital step towards the acquisition of genuine knowledge They go round and round of this ask and answer mode of dialogue with no intention to win but respect and appreciate each other Today many colleges curriculum is just a combination of Socrates asking and Confucius answering Interaction between the instructor and the students help students form their own ideas and enlighten the students with the thoughts of their professors Both methods are effective in promoting students intellectually and morally Not only the teaching manner but also the contents are different between them They both live uncompromising lives in search for virtues but the most prominent part of virtues are different Socrates believes knowledge is virtue He says knowledge and virtue are so closely related that no one ever knowingly does evil By comparison Confucius supreme virtue is Ren which consists of 5 basic virtues seriousness generosity sincerity diligence and kindness It generally means to fulfill one s responsibilities toward others Today every country no matter how economically developed is facing severe challenges posed by tremendous advances in science and technology How is a new ethics to be created to help people live an abundant spiritual life in globalization I conceive the cooperative virtues such as magnanimity kindness and mutuality is of central importance Global dialogue will challenge us all to rethink traditional assumptions and to learn from one anothe