According to Chinese Confucian philosopher, Mencius, human nature is good. He believed that we are all inherently good and with time, people become better. In this paper, I will elaborate on Mencius’ views on human nature and reasons why he thinks people have intrinsically good nature. Second, I will introduce Xunzi’s argument on his negative views of human nature. His beliefs are that people are morally blind and emphasizes the importance of rituals, sages, and teachers in the world. Then, I will present Mencius’ possible counterargument to Xunzi’s opposition of good human nature. Lastly, I will draw to a close on how I agree with Mencius on how human nature is inherently good and that the argument on human nature being bad is implausible
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Mencius believed that becoming a good person was a process throughout one’s life. He stated that failing to become a good person was like failing to have the right amount of limbs and like a tree, we grow and take time to become the good person we were meant to be (Binghamton University, PHIL105, 16 Jan 2018, Goodman). In Mencius’ book, he explains that humans are born with the Four Sprouts and during our journey in life of becoming a good person, our goal is for the Four Sprouts to later grow and become the Four Virtues. The Four Sprouts are having a heart of compassion, shame, modesty, and righteousness and wrongfulness and for them to transform into having benevolence, righteousness, the observance of rites, and wisdom. In support of the existence of the Four Sprouts and Four Virtues and them being a fundamental part of being human, Mencius shares a story of a child falling into a well. According to Book II Part A in Mencius, Mencius speaks of a man seeing a young child on the verge of falling down a well. Because one has the Four Sprouts, the man would obviously have some type of urge to save the child. This goes to show that humans have a natural impulse to be good. Any person that sees a child on the edge of death would have motivation to save him. This parable reveals that all people are meant to be good. The only reason people are not is because of environmental circumstances (Lau 125). In Book VI Part A, Mencius presents a circular argument that states that goodness is a result of growing in a healthy environment, and a healthy environment is one that comes from humans being good. He explains that a man is always capable of being good and the bad in him is not the his fault and because of this, all people are meant to be fundamentally
Mencius believed that becoming a good person was a process throughout one’s life. He stated that failing to become a good person was like failing to have the right amount of limbs and like a tree, we grow and take time to become the good person we were meant to be (Binghamton University, PHIL105, 16 Jan 2018, Goodman). In Mencius’ book, he explains that humans are born with the Four Sprouts and during our journey in life of becoming a good person, our goal is for the Four Sprouts to later grow and become the Four Virtues. The Four Sprouts are having a heart of compassion, shame, modesty, and righteousness and wrongfulness and for them to transform into having benevolence, righteousness, the observance of rites, and wisdom. In support of the existence of the Four Sprouts and Four Virtues and them being a fundamental part of being human, Mencius shares a story of a child falling into a well. According to Book II Part A in Mencius, Mencius speaks of a man seeing a young child on the verge of falling down a well. Because one has the Four Sprouts, the man would obviously have some type of urge to save the child. This goes to show that humans have a natural impulse to be good. Any person that sees a child on the edge of death would have motivation to save him. This parable reveals that all people are meant to be good. The only reason people are not is because of environmental circumstances (Lau 125). In Book VI Part A, Mencius presents a circular argument that states that goodness is a result of growing in a healthy environment, and a healthy environment is one that comes from humans being good. He explains that a man is always capable of being good and the bad in him is not the his fault and because of this, all people are meant to be fundamentally