Chapter two, discussing the Way, or Tao, states that Confucius does not see some sort of alternate path other than the Way of Li. According to what Fingarette states, Confucius didn't see choice as a factor of life; the idea that there is one path, and anything but that path is wrong, or at least a mistake from which we can learn. This seems all fine and dandy at first, what would be the best decision is simply the one that we should make, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Where this doesn't seem to make sense to me is in the case of a military coordinator. That is to say, if there is an individual, faced with no single good, just, or Jen decision but in which she or he must decide, what would be the Li thing to do? To simply say that which is the best out of the two would appeal to the western "psychological" aspect of choice; given this alternative or that alternative, what would be the best thing to do. This doesn't however, align with the Confucius ideology. If there are no good decisions, what is one to do? The Li method seems to fail in such situations.
Somewhat tangentially, it reminds me of Pascal's Wager; you are already part of the game, which do you choose-The existence of God? Or lack thereof? It's a little more loaded than this when one gets into it, but the idea is there. Again, this is a "choice," but it does seem to reflect the recognition of the Way, or non-Way of Confucianism. What do you guys think?
Maybe is it just like, the choice you make is the right choice, because you took out the time to think about it. If you are already following the Master the your would have already been practicing "correct" decision making skills up to the point of the current situation you are in.
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