One of the well-known Chinese philosopher, Mencius mentioned a hypothesis to propose his theory of the Four Beginnings is that if a child is going to fall into a well, every single person who witnesses this accident will be shocked since they feel sympathetic towards the child. This sympathy is not due to their relationship with the parent of the child or their moral image among their neighbors but their inborn humaneness. This spirit of kindness towards others can break the boundaries causing by ages, genders, nationalities and any other factors. The Four Beginnings consist of the beginning of benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom which all people should possess. It is obvious that every human being are born with good nature, but the evil characteristics can adhere to them afterwards. This paper will examine Mencius's Four Beginnings Theory focusing on the beginning of benevolence and righteousness by explaining the relationship between these characteristics and original goodness of human nature, and concludes that no one born with evil nature.
The beginning of benevolence is an inborn characteristic for every human being. The definition of benevolence stated by Confucius is that benevolence is the mind to achieve the highest standard of moral behavior, which requires the ability to extend kindness from self to the neighbors, from the neighbors to the whole community. This extension can be expanded even from human to objects, resulting in human’s goodness towards every matter in the world and utility of human and heaven. In the Book of Mencius, it proposed that all human are born with the beginning of benevolence and the feeling of commiseration are the beginning of benevolence. Before this beginning has been contamin...
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...act, there are still more and more crimes committed around the world every day. This statement may not be true because people with the beginnings of benevolence and righteousness may not mean that they would not commit crimes. Generally, people would have the right to decide whether to develop or abandon the four beginnings. If people choose to develop these beginnings, they would probably sufficient to protect others within the world. Otherwise they cannot even bear the responsibility of serving their parents. In the book of Mencius, people who had not developed the beginnings are destroying themselves. However, if anyone with these beginnings and give the fullest extension and development to them, the result would like fire beginning to burn or a spring beginning to shoot. This men would therefore steps forward to the road of the highest moral standard gradually.
It is the contention of this paper that humans are born neutral, and if we are raised to be good, we will mature into good human beings. Once the element of evil is introduced into our minds, through socialization and the media, we then have the potential to do bad things. As a person grows up, they are ideally taught to be good and to do good things, but it is possible that the concept of evil can be presented to us. When this happens, we subconsciously choose whether or not to accept this evil. This is where the theories of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke become interesting as both men differed in the way they believed human nature to be.
Inwardly examining his own nature, man would prefer to see himself as a virtuously courageous being designed in the image of a divine supernatural force. Not to say that the true nature of man is a complete beast, he does posses, like many other creatures admirable traits. As author Matt Ridley examines the nature of man in his work The Origins of Virtue, both the selfish and altruistic sides of man are explored. Upon making an honest and accurate assessment of his character, it seems evident that man is not such a creature divinely set apart from the trappings of selfishness and immorality. Rather than put man at either extreme it seems more accurate to describe man as a creature whose tendency is to look out for himself first, as a means of survival.
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 was right on the idea that without learning good manners many idea that started out being acts of kindness would be wasted on bad character. It is important that we hold these truths so that we cannot make the mistake for our acts of kindness to become a waste.
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.
When people realize that good and evil are just points of view that are placed on other people and actions, it is possible to transcend these superficial roles. Since it is people who create the meaning of evil, it cannot be said that people are evil, or are born evil, because not only is that a perspective that is assumed onto others, which will change with different cultures, societies, and eras, but the very same acts may appear to be both good and evil, depending on the perspective in which the acts are seen. Ultimately, it is the individual’s responsibility to decide for himself the effects of his actions on himself and others.
In Confucianists, the thought of morality is comprehensive. In moral theory of Confucianism, Confucians contend that morality begins with an individual, right at this point and right at this time. A central part of morality in this philosophy is ReI (humanness) (Moral Theory and Practice 1). Humanness being at the center is the only way and strategy of determining character, and behaving in a way to establish others. At the core of Confucian philosophy, it is believed that morality is invariable. This means that morality cannot be performed in different environments but should be a continous action throughout existence. Almost all practices from the book of Genesis onwards reveals a wisdom of things that should be done right. Among the founders of Confucianism (Mencius) developed a question on morality. This query revolved around the scenario that has a child aged three sitting at the border of the well and an onlooker is watching. What should the observer
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.
Both Kantian and virtue ethicists have differing views about what it takes to be a good person. Kantian ethicists believe that being a good person is strictly a matter of them having a “good will.” On the other hand, virtue ethicists believe that being a good person is a matter of having a good character, or being naturally inclined to do the right thing. Both sides provide valid arguments as to what is the most important when it comes to determining what a person good. My purpose in writing this paper is to distinguish between Kantian ethics and virtue ethics, and to then, show which theory is most accurate.
As presented by Aristotle, generosity is the intermediate of wastefulness and ungenerosity, wastefulness being the excess and ungenerosity being the deficiency. Ungenerosity is a greater evil than wastefulness and error in this direction is more common. It is always better to be wasteful than ungenerous but one should strive to reach the intermediate.
In the present world we’re often taught key principles in order to live a flourishing life. Young children especially are often reared in school to become successful, and be the best they can be; and be a good person. We pose the question what does it mean to be a good person? According to Jacques Thiroux & Keith Krasemann mentions, when individuals apply these virtuous behaviors into their daily lives it promotes a decent human being (Thiroux & Krasemann, pg 78). This paper will examine the argument how having virtues can promote a balance in today’s society, and how this virtue ethics can also pose a problem.
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.