Who were Aristotle, the Buddha, and Confucius?

Where can we turn for advice on how to live well? One place to start is with the A, B, and C of ancient philosophical wisdom: Aristotle, the Buddha, and Confucius—three startlingly original thinkers from geographically distinct cultures—who nevertheless agreed that good lives are ones that cultivate virtue and wisdom through practice and study.

These are the three thinkers that will shape our exploration of the seven universal virtues.

Aristotle

Aristotle (384-322 BCE) studied in Plato’s Academy in ancient Athens for twenty years before establishing his own school, the Lyceum in 335 B.C.E. Aristotle wrote about logic, metaphysics, mathematics, physics, biology, botany, ethics, politics, poetry, and theatre. His Nichomachean Ethics is the most widely taught philosophy text in contemporary university curricula. Aristotle believed good lives cultivate a set of moral and intellectual virtues and thought of these virtues as midpoints between behavioral excesses and deficiencies. He also saw a central role for practical wisdom (phronesis) in the exercise of virtue. For Aristotle, ethics was not about following ironclad rules but about developing the right sort of character. Aristotle has been a major influence in Christian moral thought through his influence on St. Thomas, on Jewish moral thought through his influence on Maimonides, and on contemporary Western positive psychology.

The Buddha

The Buddha (c. 563-483 BCE) taught on the Indian subcontinent for 40 years following his enlightenment experience. His teachings focused on the alleviation of suffering. His eightfold path to the alleviation of suffering included: 1) meditative mindfulness and concentration, 2) the cultivation of virtues such as compassion, lovingkindness, equanimity, sympathetic joy, non-greed, and non-anger, and 3) the recognition of impermanence, how we create our own karma, the insubstantiality of the self, and our interrelatedness with all that exists. His teachings on mindfulness, compassion, and lovingkindness are a major influence on contemporary Western psychology.

Confucius

Confucius (551-479 BCE) lived at a time when China had devolved into a set of squabbling dukedoms plagued by chaos, war, poverty, poverty, and hunger. Confucius was interested in on how to restore peace, harmony, tranquility, and prosperity so that people could flourish. He taught that peace, harmony, tranquility, and prosperity arose when everyone—kings, dukes, ministers, parents, and children—cultivated a set of virtues that included benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and fidelity, and emphasized developing a culture of mutual care, fairness, and respect. His philosophy continues to be an important influence in contemporary East Asian culture.

The seven universal virtues

We can identify seven "universal virtues" that Aristotle, the Buddha, and Confucius all held in high regard.