The Good

The Good

Ok so I know the first time we talked about Confucius we were trying not to impose our own worldview on the text too much. But, I think it would be helpful to relate a few concepts to our Western conceptions.

Tzu-kung said, If a ruler not only conferred wide benefits upon the common people, but also compassed the salvation of the whole State, what would you say of him? Surely, you would call him Good? The Master said, It would no longer be a matter of 'Good.' He would without doubt be a Divine Sage. Even Yao and Shun could hardly criticize him. As for Goodness - you yourself desire rank and standing; then help others to get rank and standing. You want to turn your own merits to account; then help others to turn theirs to account - in fact, the ability to take one's own feelings as a guide - that is the sort of thing that lies in the direction of Goodness.

So to be brief, my question is, is this path to knowing Goodness similar to Plato's idea that to know the Good is to do the Good? How would we define Goodness for Confucius from the analects we read?