Human Nature In Mencius

Mencius, the Latinized form of Meng Zi, a Confucian philosopher whose influence was second to that of Confucius, focused his theories and teachings on the subject of human nature. In D.C Lau's "Mencius", the dialogues between Mencius with the kings, military men, and other philosophers showed that Mencius had a strong view on human nature that he believed was intrinsically kind. While there were other Confucians who held opposing views about human nature, Mencius believed that every person was born with four main virtues that would only develop fully if nurtured and put to effect appropriately. He claimed that individuals who were not virtuous were corrupted by the environment, and Mencius integrated elements of Taoism into his theory that one’s natural tendencies were good to begin with.
For one’s natural good tendency, one must work to uphold their good nature. Mencius says, “Every person has a heart-mind which feels for others” . He applies this to a popular example where if one observed a child falling into a well, it is not possible to not feel anything; people have a heart and mind that would be shocked or sympathetic, which may become a motivation to act and save the child. However, if one listens to their sense of desire, “I don’t want to be involved”, then they would stop themselves from helping others.
From this example, he concluded “a man without the feeling of mercy is not a man; a man without the feeling of deference and complaisance is not a man, and a man without the feeling of right and wrong is not a man. The feeling of commiseration is the beginning of the feeling of love; the feeling of shame and dislike is the beginning of righteousness; the feeling of deference and complaisance is the beginning of wisdom. M...

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...He believed that these tendencies should be viewed as the content of human nature [Lau, 6A15].
We have reasons to reject Mencius’s position on human nature, if we believe that the heart (sentiments and emotions) and mind (logic) work separately, while there may be more reasons, based on Mencius’s theory of balance, that the heart-mind work together. While Mencius explains and identifies the four basic qualities of the heart with the four virtues, there is no quick conflict between “nature” and “nurture”. Mencius believed that biology and culture were mutually dependent upon one another in the development of the virtues to portray that human nature is good. Mencius paid attention to the observation of human relationships and moral feelings. I also believe that the universe is a moral one infused with Qi and that the "The organ of the heart can think.” [Lau, 6A15]