RULES AND PRINCIPLES OF ADMINISTRATION IN CONFUCIUS AND AL-MĀWARDĪ: A COMPARISON

Elif Canaltay

ABSTRACT

Muslim philosophers dealt with good administration in the field of practical philosophy consisting of ethics, household management, and city management. This classification began with Aristotle and expanded its content, especially by Muslim philosophers. Unlike the classical Aristotelian classification, they considered the close relationship of administration with theoretical philosophy as well. One of them, al-Māwardī wrote several works on state administration, both theoretically and practically. When we look at the Chinese tradition of philosophy, we observe that Confucius is the salient name that emphasizes administration, especially administration by virtue. In this paper, I will examine the administration issues in both Islamic and Chinese traditions of philosophy by comparing al-Māwardī and Confucius.