How Confucius Changed My Mind: And What He Can Teach You About the Art of Being Human

by Charles B. Jones

A compelling exploration of humanity, morality, religious practice, and leading a good life based on traditional Confucian thought.

In this exploration of humanity, morality, religious practice, and leading a good life based on traditional Confucian thought, you are invited on a path of transformation. The unexpected depths to be found in Confucianism surprised author Charles Jones when he began teaching East Asian religions to undergraduate students thirty years ago. It raised fascinating questions relevant to life today, like what does it mean to be human? To understand the Confucian answers to these questions, Jones familiarizes us with Confucius, his main successors, and the situations to which their writings responded.

But this is not another textbook introduction to Chinese religion and thought. Jones is an engaging, inquisitive scholar and thought provocateur whose ideas address problems all of us face throughout our lives. By engaging with the Confucian ideas explored in this book, like rethinking “human nature” and uncovering cultural presuppositions previously unnoticed, you might discover new horizons and possibilities for your life that previously you never could have imagined. And you will discover Confucius in an all-new light as a profound shaper of modern thought as much as Aristotle and Lao-tzu—whose revolutionary ideas have the power to change your mind for the better.

Genres: Philosophy

176 pages, Paperback

Published May 20, 2025

Reviews

[Sidney Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating journey into the teachings of Confucius and how they apply to everyday life. Professor Jones cautions that it is not a comprehensive study of the Chinese sage's teachings, yet he gives you a good sense of the all-important context in which those teachings were given, as well as a primer on how they were interpreted by Confucius's followers. Leavened with personal vignettes and humor - Jones is certainly the first world-class scholar of eastern thought to quote Popeye the Sailor, and to discuss the philosophical implications of choosing to eat spaghetti with your hands - the slim book is both rigorously analyzed and surprisingly easy to read.

[Debra Harr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely outside my usual reading, I read it as a group selection. I found it enlightening and thought provoking. I appreciated the ease of reading in a subject with which I was unfamiliar. The personal stories kept it entertaining and engaging.