More 'Mencius-on-human-nature' Discussions: What are they about (original) (raw)
Related papers
2012
Confucius was an extremely influential figure in Chinese culture. He was born around 551 B.C.E. and lived a long and full life before his death around 479. He is thought to have been the first man in China to devote his life to teaching and the first to encourage education for all people. As with many great figures from antiquity, little about his life is known for certain and the few facts that we do have available have become intermingled with myth. One fact is certain-his work and example became a cornerstone of Chinese thought. His texts were taught in the Chinese schools and were the basis of their civil service examinations from 1313 until 1905.
Mencius and Xunzi on Xing 性 (Human Nature)
Philosophy Compass
This article introduces and analyses the debate between Mencius and Xunzi on xing 性 (human nature). While Mencius claims that xing is good, Xunzi claims that xing is bad. A common way of interpreting these two different claims is to determine the scope of xing. It is generally agreed that, for Mencius, it is the heart/mind that falls within the scope of xing, for Xunzi, the sensory desires. This article also explores a different way of approaching Mencius's and Xunzi's different claims about xing. It is suggested that Mencius's and Xunzi's different views on xing can be understood in terms of their different views on the heart/mind (xin 心). While Mencius thinks that the heart/mind has a morally good natural tendency, Xunzi thinks that the heart/mind has a morally problematic tendency.
The Role of Human Nature in Moral Inquiry: MacIntyre, Mencius, and Xunzi
Forthcoming in History of Philosophy Quarterly (October, 2015)
Appeals to human nature in normative enquiry have fallen out of favor among contemporary philosophers. In this paper I examine reasons for believing that the notion of human nature has an indispensable role to play in ethics by looking at Alasdair MacIntyre’s views on human nature in light of two diverging conceptions of human nature found in the works of two ancient Chinese philosophers, Mencius and Xunzi. Examining their conflicting accounts, I contend, helps illuminate the development of MacIntyre’s position on human nature, and offers reasons for taking the notion of human nature seriously in moral enquiry.
THE DEBATE BETWEEN MENCIUS AND HSÜN-TZU: CONTEMPORARY APPLICATIONS
Journal of Chinese Philosophy, 1998
This article takes one of the richest historical debates, that of Hsun-Tzu and Mencius, as the contextual starting-point for the elaboration of human goodness. In support of Mencius, this article develops additional metaphysical and bio-social-evolutionary grounds, both of which parallel each other. The metaphysical analysis suggests that, in the spirit of Spinoza, an entity’s nature must necessarily include the drive toward its preservation. Likewise, the multi-faceted bio-social-evolutionary argument locates the fundamental telos of humanity in the preservation of social ties and species preservation, leading to a life-affirming philosophy and bio-psychological deduction of human emotions based on the primary emotion of love.
A Discussion of Human Nature in the Neo-Confucian Tradition
In this essay, four possibilities of human nature put forth in the Neo-Confucian tradition of Chinese Philosophy will be explored, in hopes of shedding light on the arguments and ideas supporting belief in each of the varying possibilities; Mencius, who claimed human nature is good, and Hsün Tzu, who believed human nature is evil. As well as Kao Tzu, who believed human nature is neither good and evil, and Yang Hsiung, who believed that human nature is a mixture of both good and evil.
Human Nature and Moral Sprouts: Mencius on the Pollyanna Problem
In this paper I respond to a common criticism of Aristotelian naturalism known as the Pollyanna Problem, the objection that when combined with recent empirical research, Aristotelian naturalism generates morally unacceptable conclusions. In developing a reply to this objection, I draw upon the conception of human nature developed by the ancient Chinese philosopher Mencius, and build up an account of ethical naturalism that provides a satisfying response to the Pollyanna Problem while also preserving what is most attractive about Aristotelian naturalism.
Dao, 2020
This experimental essay intends to analyze interpretational cases related to the understanding of the Mencian theory of human nature. The first part introduces straightforward reading by a representative sinologist, historian, and philosopher. The second part discusses two examples that reinterpret the Mencian theory in an injective way with the Kantian theory and processing philosophy, respectively. The third part reexamines our understanding and evaluation of human nature in the Mencian theory using new discoveries of experimental psychology. The claim that there exists a foundation of goodness in human nature has been revealed by both Mencius and modern psychologists from their own perspectives. It should be meaningful to further examine the rationale of acceptance of these theories. Such study also contributes to establishing a right attitude towards people and human societies, which in turn will influence the quality of our life in the long term.