Mencius Human Nature
Mencius ( 385 – 303 BCE ) was a Chinese philosopher who was arguably the most famous Confucian after Confucius himself. Mencius was famous for claiming that human nature is good. Mencius was one of the outstanding followers of Confucius. Mencius’ famous doctrine of human nature curiously his view of history.
Confucius spoke very much about Jen and made a sharp distinction between ‘YI’ and ‘Li’ ,but he failed to explain why it is that a man should act in this way. Mencius, however attempted to give an answer to this question. Mencius has become an enduring topic for debate among the Chinese thinkers throughout the ages.
There were those who said that human nature is neither good nor bad, while other said that it could be caused to either good or evil, still other some men are nature good, while men are naturally bad. Human nature is good or human nature is evil. Mencius held the first opinion. Since the time of Mencius, human nature has been a main concern of Confucian philosophy.
Mencius believed that all men were born with the same kinds of human nature and that human nature good. Mencius said that all men, in their original nature, possess four feelings just as be has his four limbs.
Mencius also said that the natural feeling of human nature will do well. If even man becomes evil, it is not the fault of man’s original capacity. The sense of mercy, the sense of shame, the sense of respect, the sense of right and wrong are all found in all men. The sense of mercy constitutes humanity; the sense of shame constitutes righteousness: the sense of respect constitutes decorum; the sense of right and wrong constitutes wisdom.
Within Confucian tradition, Mencius’ doctrine about human nature gained the status of orthodoxy. Mencius held that the purpose of education was to cultivate good people who knew their station in society. Mencius was part of the intellectual movement known as subjective idealism. He saw the human heart and human nature.
According to Mencius, natural goodness is human nature and badness is concerned with human behavior. Although original human nature is good, a man behave badly. For Mencius , YI as the character of goodness is important to get rid of bad behavior. Mencius’ view was that man was predisposed to good and if some individuals wandered from the right path and turned to evil, its was because external influences had ‘perverted their hearts’.
Mencius gives some evidences to prove that the human nature is Good. The first argument is as follows :
- All men are born with the same kind of human nature.
- The wise who is naturally good. Therefore all men have good nature like a wise man. This prove that human nature is good.
The second argument also shows the good element of human nature. All men process four good elements of human nature. They are: - The feelings of sympathy
- The feelings of shame and dislike
- The feelings of reverence and respect and
- The sense of right and wrong.
These four good elements point out the fact that human nature is good. So according to Mencius, human nature is basically good and that could be developed not only by study but by a process of self-cultivation.
If a man is guided by his innate goodness then he will do what is good. If a man does not do what is good, his instincts are not to be blame. If is only that he has lost his original power for good. Mencius said that men should preserve their good nature.
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