Mencius

(Locke 125). As an Empiricist he holds that “knowledge derives from experience rather than from pure reason” (Short). “John Locke viewed human nature as not inherently self-interested or aggressive” (Locke 125). Mencius and Hsun Tzu are two philosophers of the warring states period of China. Mencius says that human nature is good, and Hsun Tzu believes that it is evil. The Philosophy of both confucians’ on the subject of human nature directly counters both…

The unfortunate story of Actaeon, as recorded by Ovid, unfolds as follows: As the sun nears its peak on a warm day, Actaeon calls a halt to his hunting party, using the break to wander through an unknown area of the forest. During his exploration, he stumbles across the hunting goddess Diana naked. As punishment for what Actaeon has seen, Diana transforms him into a stag and wills him away into the forest. Soon after his hunting dogs catch his new scent and unknowingly kill their previous owner,…

inclination to be good. Mencius offers up a now classic example of a child falling into a well in an effort to prove his point that “No man is devoid of a heart sensitive to the suffering of others.” His hypothesis is that, if a man were to see a child fall into a well, he would be compassionate. Mencius is sure that the man is pure in his compassion and is not so due…

The East Asian Conception of Human Nature (Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist) The East Asian conception of human nature holds that heaven produces the teeming multitude in a manner that in everything that is produced, there is a principle in its existence. Everything that is produced in heaven has principles for its being. This implies that by the time someone is born, heaven gives him his nature (Bary, 704). Human nature can simply refer to principles. It is referred to as the nature because it…

Being Inherently Good This has been a long argument for many years that people have tried to pin point an answer to. Not only has there been many debates on being inherently good or evil there is much evidence that humans are inherently good. Human nature means the ways of thinking, feeling and acting that are common to most people. It is our base mentality to be inherently good. We are born in this world with love and happiness. Human beings are inherently good. From evidence around the world…

by discussing moral luck and responsibility, which segues into the problems with both a libertarian conception of free will and hard determinism that make them inadequate options, before continuing into an examination of texts from Confucius and Mencius which he interprets to support compatibilism. In addition to his own interpretation of the texts, Hwang appeals to other scholarly articles on the matter to help build his argument, uniting important topics such as the heart-mind, flood-like ch’i…

hypothetical situation he suggests that humans could have nothing but sympathy for the child in need and attempt a rescue only on the basis of feeling scared for the kid. This will be further addressed and argued against in the upcoming paragraph. Mencius then recognizes the significance of benevolence when he states, “Benevolence is the high honour bestowed by Heaven and the peaceful abode of man. Not to be benevolent nor wise, devoid of courtesy and dutifulness, is a slave.” (Solomon p.463).…

Mencius claims that much like water, human nature can be twisted and manipulated into to perform acts and behave in ways that it normally would not (79). Mencius also states that there are many different moral characters within a man, and that each one is responsible for the way that he behaves or acts that are created within a man…

Confucius was believed to be born around 551 B.C and lived to 479 B.C. Confucius was a Chinese philosopher in the fifth and sixth century that influenced many people and still does to this day. The Analects is said to be the most reliable source of Confucius’ ideas. The Analects is made up of sayings from Confucius and the people that were with him in his travels. Even though he did not define human nature in any way, Confucius said that all human beings are equal. Confucius’ theory would be…

During most Chinese dynasties, women had comparatively lower social status compared to men and did not enjoy the same rights. In fact, this situation might be a result of honoring and following the doctrines of traditional Chinese philosophical schools, which originally flourished in the Pre-Qin era. Although some schools of thoughts recognized the necessity of equality between men and women, most refused to acknowledge any such thing. The three important philosophical schools, Confucianism,…