Before anything else, I will try to simplify (and I may be incurring in error) the difference between Mencius and Xunzi. According to the videos and readings here exposed, the explicit is simple: Mencius sees human nature as intrinsically good, while Xunzi sees it as intrinsically bad. Both agree in the crucial point that, being it good or bad, there is an urging need to cultivate virtue in human nature. If it is good, as in the Mencius' case, it needs to be cultivated in order to not be lost, and I dare to say, in order to better it. Likewise in the case of Xunzi, being it bad, it needs to be cultivated for the obvious reason of making it good, otherwise it would not be possible to live a harmonious life in a harmonious society, and the men's own impulse to cultivate it comes from its own intrinsically bad nature, since from Xunzi's point of view, men seek what they don't have. Now to simplify, I risk to say that Mencius sees human nature as good, but with a tendency to get bad, while Xunzi sees it as bad, but with a tendency to turn into good (and is because of that that the man must strive to keep a child's heart, for Mencius, or to put in other words, to not let his good nature be lost, while for Xunzi, the mere fact that a man only seeks what he doesn't already – and since his nature is bad – is what makes him looks out and search for benevolence). In both cases, again, virtue is achieved through education, learning, self-cultivation and reiteration of the rituals. In his Article, Keightley argues that China possesses an epistemological optimism, and in his lengthy argument, that was supposed to focus on the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods, he ended up using a lot of later texts to justify his points of view, therefore ma... ... middle of paper ... ...us activities (in this case, the simple conscious activity of looking for what one doesn't possess, in the same way one who is poor will look for richness). Despite the fact that my essay is possibly too much influenced by my own interpretation and opinion, if my reading of Mencius and Xunzi is correct, they are not that different altogether. Their little epistemological difference about the intrinsical goodness or badness of the human nature is soon corrected by the symmetrically opposite tendency of the good nature to lose itself and of the bad nature to look for its opposite. It is also corrected by Mencius' and Xunzi's point of convergence – the necessity of learning and self-cultivation. Be that as it may, I hereby defend that both are epistemologically optimistic, although the semblance of their writings seem to make their thought more apart then it really is.
It is widely debatable whether humans are inherently good or evil. From the past, people had their own opinions on this topic, and the debate still goes on today. The Aphorism 17.2 “The Master said: By nature men are pretty much alike; it is learning and practice that set them apart.” from Confucius Analects conveys Confucius’s view of human nature. Confucianism was the most important philosophy of China throughout the history and it greatly influenced China. The relevance of Aphorism 17.2 to China’s many of history can be easily seen.
Confucius has influenced my social justice point of view because I believe that if people practiced their own virtues, then the world will coexist in harmony. Humanity will considerate of other’s well-being, uniting countries, disposing of evil. Society must recognize people’s virtues instead of penalizing humanity for their flaws. Confucius highlights the virtues of humanity, believing that they possess the characteristics to live in a society free of harm or judgement. Human nature consists in instinct virtues of survival, but Confucius also believes that they are not all bad, just poorly dominated by political authority figures. The Chinese philosopher aspired that his teachings liberated his country, whereas society restraints natural state. Individual’s rebel against laws that interfere with happiness, therefore humans are less likely to experience happiness, and if dared to challenge policy makers then one are punished. Confucius focuses on the qualities of a human being naturally virtuous, whereas society sees it as chaotic herd waiting to
...ut more importantly Mencius' core conception that human nature is also aware of its actions, and considers the well-being of others and that people are morally obligated to do so is also key to attaining our full potential. This conception of human nature and proper order together is what has shaped East Asian political and social thought for centuries. It is credited with creating an East Asia that is economically robust, and socially coherent and once again will be the center of human society in the decades to come. And contrary to popular Western belief, East Asian political thought does appreciate the necessity of the individual in defining society. In fact the only way to attain our human nature is to healthily self-cultivate ourselves morally and materially so we can reach our highest potential and in that way be a valued and contributing member to society.
Mencius brings up many examples in this argument on why all humans are essentially good. He says that naturally all humans have compassion and empathy inside them. The example he brings up is that all humans cannot bear to see another suffer, if someone saw a child about to fall into a well as human would automatically be filled with compassion, distress, pity and alarm. He argues everyone is filled with pity and compassion for others and that if they do not have these feelings they are not human. Xunzi argues that human nature is evil and goodness comes from training. He thinks that one is born with a feeling of envy and hate and over time with loyalty and good faith the evil in us goes away. From reading both of these arguments I felt that I agreed with Mencius more than Xunzi. I felt like when reading them that Mencius gave more arguments and examples of how people react to situations and why that made me agree more with him than Xunzi. I felt like some of Xunzi arguments were a little too much for me in the sense that he felt that all human beings are born with so much evil in us. I did not think his portion of this was as convincing as Mencius.
He was not into Confucianism, but more concerned with governmental policies. Therefore, both Confucius and Han Feizi have their own idea of what they want to see, but they both have similar aspects of what they want to change as a society. In the Analects reading, Confucius is based on moral and ethical essences of a good life To know oneself, you need to take pride, dignity, evolve your personality to become a better person later in life. Confucius stated again “.Both small matters and great depend upon it.
Confucianism is human in itself. Confucianism is humanism in the sense that this philosophy is centered on improving on human behavior and that of the collective community, but leaning on religious beliefs of yang and yin, tian as well as ritualism. The main ideas behind Confucianism being defined are moral are the four virtues of yi (appropriate behavior, li (ritual property, ren (humanity) and zhi (practical knowledge. Other concepts like self reflection and transformation through introspection coupled with renxing(human nature) are also part of the Confucianism moral philosophy. This development seeks to explain the moral theory behind Confucianism and self cultivation.
Hsun Tzu, a follower of Confucius, believed that human nature was to be fundamentally evil. Tzu, in “Encouraging Learning, wrote to Confucians questioning why should they be educated and what human nature really was. Since Confucius never stated his thought on human nature, some people suspect that humans needed to be educated not because they were evil, but because it was moral, and that way they could become into the person Confucius taught them to be. Tzu disagrees with this because of his belief, that humans, in fact, were born with wrong ideals. Tzu considers human nature to take its course on people, and that is why some people are inferior to others. But, with proper training and education, Tzu agrees Confucians can become a better person, and not just that they are becoming into the people that they are meant to be. It could be that Tzu wrote this to straighten out the mystery of what human nature was and how to fix humans evil nature.
Following the Way in the pursuit of goodness leads people to the status of “gentleman.” However, this status can only be achieved from a lifelong pursuit, which if accomplished by many, will eventually lead to innate goodness within the entire society. Confucius reveals the amount of learning and time required for achieving such status of “gentleman” in book two, chapter four, where he states, “At fifteen, I set my mind upon learning. At thirty, I took my stand. At forty, I had no doubts. At fifty, I knew the will of Heaven. At sixty, my ear was attuned. At seventy, I follow all the desires of my heart without breaking any rule” (Analects, in NAWL, eds. Martin Puchner, et al., 3rd edition, vol. A, 1335). Confucius presents the achievement of the “gentleman” status in a superior, yet moderate manner. He does not motivate by promising personal gain or achievement; he instead teaches to always place what is right and morally correct as top priority. It was believed by Confucius that moderation led
... only an idea but a standard to be followed for all Chinese youth. An easy way to see the differences between Mencius and Hsun Tzu is this, Mencius believed that nature was good and nurture was important only to re-enforce what was already there. While Hsun Tzu believed that nature was bad and that the nurturing effects of teaching and work were the only way to overcome mans natural disadvantage.
Shows how Confucius teaches individuals of both high and low birth to strive for success in their lifetime.
For those individuals that choose to look into the philosophy of Confucius, Confucianism recognizes that the quest for virtue is ordinary and providential. However, in this quest of moral aptness Confucius tried to offer other people the fervent self love that he had greatly embodied. To actually make oneself as perfect as possible was the central concern of life. Al...
Legge, James, Trans. Confucius — Confucian Analects, The Great Learning, and the Doctrine of the Mean. New York: Dover Publications, 1971.
The Chinese philosopher, teacher and politician, Confucius, highlighted the importance of personal morality and the ability to think for one’s self during the failure of imperial rule. His teachings became an orthodox philosophy in which followers realize the prominence of higher thinking and how one can achieve personal junzi, or “the gentleman”, through Confucius’ lessons. Throughout much of The Analects of Confucius, the master lists many ways to achieve junzi, such as book XII, chapter 16. The gentleman theme appears multiple times during the book to emphasize what Confucius believes a superior man should strive to achieve in his lifetime so as to reach Heaven. His goal in writing down his lessons was to produce moral men to think, speak
...y will do anything to produce the response that they want. On the other hand, gentlemen encompass both the desire and ability to see the entire context in which they are situated. The prominent strength of the junzi is the capability to make decisions for an entire being. For this reason, they alone have the necessary understanding to lead others as portrayed by Confucius when he preaches, “if you try to guide the common people with the coercive regulations…the common people will become evasive and will have no sense of shame. If…you guide them with Virtue…the people will have a sense of shame and will rectify themselves” (2.3). Confucius displayed the qualities of a gentleman and tried to be the model for his disciples to follow. His goal was to reform corrupt societies through princes, ministers, and common servants who based their lives on the example of jinzi.
For many centuries, Confucianism has been widely revered by the Chinese for its emphasis on morality. Confucius, who lived from 551 to 479 BCE, is different to most philosophers in that he showed no interest questioning his existence, the possibility of a God, or the reality that he seemed to live in; instead he focused on the human relations side of philosophy as it was his belief that people should “give (themselves) earnestly to the duties due to men … (and) keep aloof from (spiritual beings)” (Confucius 195). By negating the metaphysical side of philosophy, he was able to devote himself to mold his disciples into ideal gentleman who were morally righteous, and were able to benefit society. He believed in the importance of individuals who knew their roles in an well-structured society, that was a feudal system. In his opinion, the ideal gentleman should be obedient to his elders, have humanness and be morally righteous. Through his teachings, he was able to reform an entire country; the Chinese found Confucianism to embody practices of humaneness that they could apply in their daily lives through his religion.