Mengzi and Xunzi are two of the well known Confucian philosophers who hold contrasting views in terms of interpretation of the Analects. Mengzi believes that human beings are essentially good and they can shape their development by rituals. Xunzi, contrarily, argues that human beings are essentially evil and they need rituals in order to avoid this evilness if they do not want to become selfish and uncivilized individuals. This is a great debate that two of the philosophers introduce their own arguments about human nature.
Mengzi mentions in book two, 2A6, that all humans have hearts which enables them to inhold the feelings of compassion, disdain, deference, and approval and disapproval. The heart is seen as a root system where human virtues grow. For him, such virtues are grown like sprouts. He believes that if one is lack of these feelings, or sprouts as stated in the passage, then the one is not human. In the passage, he classifies these feelings under the name of benevolence (ren), righteousness (yi), propriety (li), and wisdom (zhi,) respectively. These four feelings are very important because he metaphorically considers them equal to limbs, which are the things they are innate to us and also essential for human beings in order to function properly. In other words, these feelings are within our structure. They are placed in us, somehow, and we do not need any effort to reveal them, but we have to cultivate them. He explains his claim, that humans are not unfeeling toward others since they have the Four Sprouts in them, with an example which makes a perfect sense in this situation. In this famous example, we suppose there is a child who is in danger and there are some random people who see that the child is about to fall in...
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...of that person. As we have seen in the example above, people have a tendency to rescue the child. The reason why we have this tendency is inexplicable. Mengzi mentions this is because of the sprouts in ourselves. So, it seems that his understanding of human nature works with the inclinations. Nevertheless, Xunzi runs counter to him. He agrees that there is a process that makes changes permanently, but the source of this change is not internal, it is external. Even though this changing process is external, awaiting teachers or practicing rituals,(284-5) it requires a certain kind of internal structure, the equipment or materials that we have in ourselves to know the patterns of benevolence or righteousness. Unlike Mengzi, we have to practice in order to resist our own crooked nature because his understanding of human nature is something that works against resistance.
Confucius was a philosopher, political intellect and an educator whose philosophies have significantly prejudiced not only the Chinese principles but the entire world evolution. He lived through the “Spring” and “Autumn” epoch of Chinese history, when east central China was separated over a dozen fighting states. The inordinate ailment and grief he saw swayed his political thoughts, which highlighted command, grading and the rule of a compassionate self-governing state.
On The Genealogy of Morals, Essay I refers to the second stage of human morality—the emergence of the concepts of "Good" and "Evil" as categories o...
Tzu also states that, “ (man’s) goodness is the result of his activity” (198). This means that a man’s actions are what determine the goodness of such a man’s nature. However, Tzu explains that in reality man acts apparently good but only because his actions of goodness are born from selfish reasons. According to Tzu, because man’s nature is evil and his focus is on personal gain, man seeks the gain that comes from doing good. This idea continues to be argued today. One can find people in either side of this debate almost anywhere and anyplace. It is interesting to learn how his views on this matter originated from so long ago.
Riegel, Jeffrey. "Confucius." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy . Ed. Edward N. Zalta. Stanford, 3 July 2002. Web. 8 Mar. 2012. .
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.
...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.
Confucius argues that children are born neutral and over time their minds will be refined to bring out the goodness in them. The humanitarian philosopher Mencius believed that human nature was essentially good. The philosopher Xunzi argued something completely opposite from Mencius. He stated that evil was built in human nature and that humans needed training severely by a trained instructor to be able to eliminate the evil that dwells inside human nature.
Confucianism is a philosophy and way of life formed in China by Confucius, an early Chinese philosopher. It began as a simple concept with ideals of personal virtue, simple filial piety, and basic gender distinctions and social inequalities. But, over time with the emergence of Neo-Confucianism it began to transform into a way of life that was degrading towards women with certain hostilities towards rivaling religions. In its early period, from around 500 B.C.E to the Common Era, Confucianism changed in that it became the leading belief system and a major part of Chinese tradition. From the transition into the Common Era to the end of the Classical time period, Confucianism was altered because of a loss of popularity following the collapse of the Han dynasty and the corruption in the governing political system. In its ending period, the post-classical era, Confucianism underwent perhaps its biggest adjustments with the emergence of Neo-Confucianism. The ideas and virtues presented in the “rebirth of Confucian philosophies” of intolerance of foreign religions and extreme filial piety...
Consequently, the actions of Adam and Eve have opened the doors for the two types of evil we see today, moral and natural. “Natural evil is the consequence of moral evil” (Elwell,...
Chinese Philosophy not only is the fruit of thinking of the Chinese nation, but also is the important component part of world culture. In Chinese philosophy, there are three main parts: Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Among them, Chinese Buddhism, which came from India, experienced a course of sinicization under the influence of Chinese traditional culture represented mainly by Confucianism and Taoism , so it keeps the general features of Buddhism ,and also formed its Chinese characteristics. The changes of Chinese Buddhism from "going out of this world " to "being in this world " and "building pure land in this world " fully manifested the humanistic spirit of Chinese culture. Both Chinese Buddhism and Western Christianity are religion, but in the realm of thoughts and culture, they are important symbols of Oriental and Western culture. This paper compares the two schools' philosophy of life, so as to explore the modern meaning and value from the mankind's common culture legacy.
Is man naturally good or is he evil? This question has not only been pondered by countless philosophers, but also by religious leaders around the world. Most often a single religious faith believes in either one or the other, and often these beliefs tend to create a certain world-view which dictates much of the faith. However, in some cases such as the one I will be discussing, two religious dignitaries do not agree and the repercussions of this can be found throughout the religion. The two men are Mencius, an early pupil of Confucius and Hsun Tzu, a later follower of the same faith. Mencius believed that each man, born of woman, would be naturally good and Hsun Tzu believed almost the complete opposite. Through Mencius and Hsun Tzu’s differing beliefs on human nature a completely different world view was formed for each and it’s effect on their ideas and more importantly a young religion were apparent.
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...
Confucianism is a moral and religious system of China. Its origins go back to the Analects, the sayings attributed to Confucius, and to ancient writings, including that of Mencius. Confucius was born a mandarin under the name Kongzi. It was developed around 550 B.C. In its earliest form Confucianism was primarily a system of ethical concepts for the control of society. It saw man as a social creature that is bound to his fellow men by jen, or “humanity.” Jen is expressed through the five relationships—sovereign and subject, parent and child, elder and younger brother, husband and wife, and friend and friend. Of these, the filial relation is most important.
Legge, James, Trans. Confucius — Confucian Analects, The Great Learning, and the Doctrine of the Mean. New York: Dover Publications, 1971.
Confucianism and Taoism are religious belief systems which have co-existed in China for well over two centuries. Confucianism deals with social matters and status, while Taoism concerns itself with the search for meaning and being one with nature. I agree with the statement that Chinese philosophies and religious practices are concerned with the creation of harmony as this will be proven in this essay as the similarities and differences between Confucianism and Taoism with regards to their strategies for the creation of harmony will be analysed. Furthermore, the maintenance and restoration of harmony within the individual will be analysed in accordance with the Chinese philosophy of Yin and Yang and Qi through acupuncture. Social and cosmic harmony will also be discussed with regards to Confucianism and Taoism respectively. The conclusion will be based on beliefs of Confucianism and Taoism alike.