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This is the first moment in the Analects when Confucius speaks to the importance of holding oneself accountable to self-improvement—that is, “take [oneself] to task inwardly.” Previously, he has mentioned ways to learn from teachers and from one’s community, but here he highlights the importance of self-observation and self-correction in the process of developing moral virtue. The fact that he feels he needs to “give up hope” because he hasn’t found a man who is self-critical enough suggests that Confucius’s standards for self-correction and self-observation are very high. This comment is particularly striking because Confucius has dozens of disciples; this…