Question

(25 points)

"The intelligent sovereign makes the law select men and makes no arbitrary promotion himself. He makes the law measure merits and makes no arbitrary regulation himself." Han Fei Tzu
What does the quote mean?
What philosophy does the quote belong to and why?
How might this quote affect people’s beliefs today?

Answer 1

Note: i know this question is from forever ago, but I figured I would just add it in for those looking at it now. I am taking the FLVS course rn and this is the answer I did:

The way that I interpreted this quote is that an intelligent leader makes the law to choose good men in the government instead of picking them based on preferential treatment. And that he's has the law to judge things instead of his opinion. This belongs to the philosophy of legalism. This affects people's beliefs today because it stresses the importance having a good leader who follows what the law says instead of what he thinks. A good example is how Trump had all of his supporters turn on Mike Pence the second he said that he would not defy the constitution and say the vote was fake.

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

What does the quote mean? This quote shows the political idea of governing through laws. A leader will not pick and choose persons based on personal preference but based on their merits and what the law says.

What philosophy does the quote belong to and why? This quote belongs to the Legalist philosophy. It is a Chinese philosophical school whose theories represented the interests of rich people and landowners. The main objective of this current of thought was to strengthen the power of the monarch by postulating that the basis of the functioning of the State is in the laws. According to this philosophy, the State must have strict laws and must give rewards to those who comply with them and punish those who do not.

How might this quote affect people’s beliefs today? This quote might affects the current beliefs of people in the sense that most people give importance and credibility to the laws. Many times it is thought that because of the fact that laws are written and endorsed by governments they are fair standards that benefit the greatest number of people.