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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.
The Mencius is an anthology of conversations and anecdotes attributed to the Confucian philosopher Mencius (c. 371 – c. 289 BC). [1] The book is one of the Chinese Thirteen Classics, and explores Mencius's views on the topics of moral and political philosophy, often as a dialogue with the ideas presented by Confucianism.
Wong (2018) underscores that Mencius' characterization of human nature as good means that "it contains predispositions to feel and act in morally appropriate ways and to make intuitive normative judgments that can with the right nurturing conditions give human beings guidance as to the proper emphasis to be given to the desires of the senses." [27]
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]
The first prominent moral sense theory (especially using the term "sense") is found in Mencius (372–289 BCE). The eponymous text deals with an innate moral sense possessed by all human beings. All orthodox interpretations of Confucianism accept this view, several unorthodox groups make a point of refuting it (see: Xunzi).
For Mozi, Heaven was not the "amoral", mystical nature of the Daoists; rather, it was a benevolent, moral force that rewarded good and punished evil. Similar in some ways to the beliefs systems found in the Abrahamic religions , Mozi believed that all living things lived in a realm ruled by Heaven, and Heaven possessed a will which was ...
Noting that the term Chengming or rectification of names only appears once in the Analects, and not at all in Mencius, Sinologist Herrlee G. Creel argued for its further earlier development through "Legalist" Shen Buhai (400–337 BC) for the same reasons. However, as Creel himself argued, Shen Buhai has Confucian elements and is largely ...