“When humanity is at stake, do not defer even to your teacher” appears in the Wei Ling Gong chapter of the Analects, where it stands as an entire brief passage. Here, “defer” means yielding precedence. Confucius is not teaching disrespect for a teacher. He is saying that when humane action becomes one's own responsibility, authority is no reason to hand the action to someone else.
Today, respect for expertise can coexist with independent responsibility. When help is plainly needed or an injustice should be corrected, we may listen to those with more experience without turning “waiting for someone else” into an excuse. Action must still answer to facts and to the limits of our ability; refusing to defer is not the same as rushing in recklessly.
https://ctext.org/analects/wei-ling-gong
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