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Mencius expounds on the concept that the human is naturally righteous and humane. It is the influence of society that causes bad moral character . Mencius describes this in the context of educating rulers and citizens about the nature of man.
Frequently explored is Mencius's most famous idea that there exists intrinsic good in human nature. His argument that each person possessed an inborn potential of virtue, contrasts with the position of contemporary figure Yang Zhu (440 – 360 BC), who argued that that human nature is motivated by self-interest. [2]
Mencius argues that human nature is good. [24] [21] [25] He understands human nature as the innate tendency to an ideal state that's expected to be formed under the right conditions. [26] Therefore, humans have the capacity to be good, even though they are not all good. [26]
Not for Mengzi, who argued that virtue had an objective grounding in human nature. All human beings, he thought, had the seeds of virtue within them: our basic moral feelings of compassion, shame ...
According to Xunzi's theory of evil human nature, morality will ultimately become a tool of external value used to maintain social stability and appeal to authoritarianism. Mencius' theory of good human nature, on the other hand, states that humans are inherently good and we have an internal value foundation (the Four Beginnings).
Gaozi's teachings are no longer extant, but he was a contemporary of Mencius (ca. 372-289 BCE), and most of our knowledge about him comes from the Mencius book (6) titled "Gaozi". Warring States philosophers disputed whether human nature is originally good (Mencius) or evil . [1]
Mencius, idealist who proposed mankind is innately benevolent. Wang Fu, endorsed the Confucian model of government. Wang Mang, emperor who sought to create a harmonious society, yet chaos resulted. Xunzi, broke from Mencius' view, instead arguing that morality is extrinsic.
In the Neo-Confucian formulation, li in itself is pure and almost-perfect, but with the addition of qi, base emotions and conflicts arise. Human nature is originally good, the Neo-Confucians argued (following Mencius), but not pure unless action is taken to purify it.