The most original philosophical notion attributed to Confucius was, first and foremost, that of humaneness (Chinese: ren; Japanese: jin).
He underscored the feeling of commiseration in the human which would naturally flourish in the practice of humaneness (jen) extended to other humans and toward all living and non-living things.
In concluding, he criticizes alternative accounts of humanity, i.e., Confucius' spirit of humaneness, on various conceptual and ethical grounds.[13] Following the early Han tradition, Zhu associates humaneness with cosmic creativity.
One could say that within the Confucian worldview, ren is ren: embodying the virtue of humaneness requires that one become an ethically mature human being.
As ubiquitous intelligent technology takes care of routine tasks and expands our capabilities, humans can concentrate on tasks deemed meaningful (Rise of humaneness).
Mencius argued for the inborn goodness of humanity, noting how that goodness issued naturally from a mind endowed with the beginnings of humaneness, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom.
Badger welfare, in terms of humaneness, was evaluated by comparing the night-time activity periods of badgers and by monitoring their daytime use of setts.
Two pilot culls held in Somerset and Gloucestershire last Autumn fell short of their targets in terms of humaneness and the number of badgers killed and the government is now considering whether to extend the culls across the country.
The cardinal virtue of humaneness, when conceived as a sentiment of benevolence or as a conscientious concern, has played a key role in scholarly discussions within environmental philosophy, bioethics, and the ethics of care (particularly in medical ethics).
And when discussing the global dimensions of climate change, the governor displayed a level of humaneness that fellow congregants in his Mormon church often saw but that his current presidential campaign has been at pains to highlight.
The future of our planet may well depend on the pace of that growth — not in material wealth, but in moral values that return us all to the essential Confucian virtue of humaneness.
