Advocate Goodness of Human Nature to Anyone Coming across : Analysis on “Good Nature Theory” of Mencius
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Mencius’ view on human nature can be summarized as “goodness of human nature” or “goodness of nature”; however, it is seriously misread and distorted when it becomes a “common sense of all the people.” Human nature can be a good starting point ― Since Mencius, it has been proven time after time from the aspects of life-experience and of formal logic. The starting points of “humanity, righteousness, propriety and wisdom” come from Heaven (tian 天),1 and are internalized in human heart. The goodness of human nature is,however, not an absolute concept but a relative one, opposite to badness. Mencius, nevertheless, had never denied bad starting points of human nature;for him, bad starting points also truly and substantially lie within human nature. When studying and analyzing Mencius’s theory of human nature,“interpreting Mencius by Mencius” should be adopted as a methodological principle. In interpreting text and thought of Mencius, the distinction between “nature” and “nature for the exemplary person” must also be stressed. On the level of the exemplary person, Mencius deliberately emphasizes “little difference” between nature of the exemplary person and that of animals. As a matter of course, the exemplary person should take “four starting points” as his nature instead of “food and sex.” On the other side, since Mencius does not deny the bad starting points from the aspect of nature or human nature,he also maintains that “the excellent parts 大体” and “the common parts 小体” co-exist within one human heart. From a view of Gongfulun 功夫论(accomplishment of cognizing things), the exemplary person excludes “taste,”“sex,” “sounds,” and “smell” from one’s nature, but for common people, on the contrary, such bodily functions and desires are still included in their nature. Since Qin and Han dynasties, scholars presented various interpretations on Mencius’ notion of human nature, but most of them had neglected the distinction between “nature” and “nature for the exemplary person.”
Abstract
Mencius’ view on human nature can be summarized as “goodness of human nature” or “goodness of nature”; however, it is seriously misread and distorted when it becomes a “common sense of all the people.” Human nature can be a good starting point ― Since Mencius, it has been proven time after time from the aspects of life-experience and of formal logic. The starting points of “humanity, righteousness, propriety and wisdom” come from Heaven (tian 天),1 and are internalized in human heart. The goodness of human nature is,however, not an absolute concept but a relative one, opposite to badness. Mencius, nevertheless, had never denied bad starting points of human nature;for him, bad starting points also truly and substantially lie within human nature. When studying and analyzing Mencius’s theory of human nature,“interpreting Mencius by Mencius” should be adopted as a methodological principle. In interpreting text and thought of Mencius, the distinction between “nature” and “nature for the exemplary person” must also be stressed. On the level of the exemplary person, Mencius deliberately emphasizes “little difference” between nature of the exemplary person and that of animals. As a matter of course, the exemplary person should take “four starting points” as his nature instead of “food and sex.” On the other side, since Mencius does not deny the bad starting points from the aspect of nature or human nature,he also maintains that “the excellent parts 大体” and “the common parts 小体” co-exist within one human heart. From a view of Gongfulun 功夫论(accomplishment of cognizing things), the exemplary person excludes “taste,”“sex,” “sounds,” and “smell” from one’s nature, but for common people, on the contrary, such bodily functions and desires are still included in their nature. Since Qin and Han dynasties, scholars presented various interpretations on Mencius’ notion of human nature, but most of them had neglected the distinction between “nature” and “nature for the exemplary person.”
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