Transcript Document

Human Nature 1
Mencius (孟子)
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372-289
His is one of the 4 books
Career mirrored Confucius’
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Born in Zou
Studied under Zisi
Wandered amongst states
Unsuccesfully sought
official positions
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Minister in Qi (319-312)
Gathered students
Challenges to Confucianism
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Two rivals
The words of Yang Zhu and Mo Di fill the country. If you listen to people's
discourses throughout it, you will find that they have adopted the views either of
Yang or of Mo. Now, Yang's principle is "each one for himself," which does not
acknowledge the claims of the sovereign. Mo's principle is "to love all equally,"
which does not acknowledge the peculiar affection due to a father. But to
acknowledge neither king nor father is to be in the state of a beast.
M3b9
Challenges to Confucianism
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Two rivals
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Mozi – interests of all are equally valued
Yang Chu – one’s own interests are supreme
Third rival?
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Legalists
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Much more important than Yang Chu
They largely agreed with Yang Chu on human motivations
Interests (利, lì)
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The pursuit of interests will not likely result in moral acts
What is the point of mentioning the word “profit”? All that matters is that there
should be benevolence and rightness.
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No benevolent man ever abandons his parents, and no dutiful man ever puts his
prince last.
M1a1
Human Nature (性, xìng)
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Our ability to be trained in the virtues depends on our
nature
Many different views current
‘Gaozi said, “There is neither good nor bad in human nature.”
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‘But others say, “Human nature can become good or it can become bad.
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‘Then there are others who say, “There are those who are good by nature, and
there are those who are bad by nature.
M6a6
Human Nature (性, xìng)
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Gàozĭ (告子), ca. 420–350
Appetite for food and sex is nature
M6a1
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Human Nature is as subject to influence as water
Human Nature (性, xìng)
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Against Gàozĭ
It is certainly the case,’ said Mencius, ‘that water does not show any preference
for either east or west, but does it show the same indifference to high and low?
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Now, in the case of water, by splashing it one can make it shoot up higher than
one’s forehead, and by forcing it one can make it stay on a hill. How can that
be the nature of water?
M6a2
Human Nature (性, xìng)
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Gàozĭ
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The nature of a thing is the set of properties that are common to all
instances of that thing
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Hence, food and sex
Mencius
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The nature of a thing is that which is the unique possibility of that
thing.
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Food and sex are common to all animals
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‘heart’ (心, xīn) is unique to Man
Heart (心, xīn)
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A cognitive faculty capable of judgement
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Unlike other faculties
The organs of hearing and sight are unable to think and and can be misled by
external things… The organ of the heart can think.
M6a15
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Some now call it the ‘Heart/Mind’
Allows us to transcend interests and judge ‘morally’
Heart (心, xīn)
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All men are capable of the first steps to moral judgement
First proof:
My reason for saying that no man is devoid of a heart sensitive to the suffering
of others is this. Suppose a man were, all of a sudden, to see a young child on
the verge of falling into a well. He would certainly be moved to compassion, …
From this it can be seen that whoever is devoid of the heart of compassion is not
human
M2a6
Heart (心, xīn)
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All men are capable of the first steps to moral judgement
First proof:
My reason for saying that no man is devoid of a heart sensitive to the suffering
of others is this. Suppose a man were, all of a sudden, to see a young child on
the verge of falling into a well. He would certainly be moved to compassion, …
From this it can be seen that whoever is devoid of the heart of compassion is not
human
M2a6
Heart (心, xīn)
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All men are capable of the first steps to moral judgement
First proof:
My reason for saying that no man is devoid of a heart sensitive to the suffering
of others is this. Suppose a man were, all of a sudden, to see a young child on
the verge of falling into a well. He would certainly be moved to compassion, …
From this it can be seen that whoever is devoid of the heart of compassion is not
human
M2a6
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Note: this doesn’t mean we will all act morally in this situation, but
we will have an appropriate feeling (if we are humans)
Heart (心, xīn)
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All men are capable of the first steps to moral judgement
Second proof:
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The sages existed before there was anyone to teach morality
the sages did nevertheless become moral
Therefore the sages were capable of making themselves moral
The heart of the sage is of the same kind as the heart of all men
Therefore it is possible for all men, even today, to become moral.
Virtues - Origins
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There are four universal intuitions, and they are the
necessary bases of four virtues
The heart of compassion is the germ [duan, 端] of benevolence [rén]; the heart
of shame, of dutifulness [yì]; the heart of courtesy and modesty, of
observance of the rites [lǐ]; the heart of right and wrong, of wisdom [zhì, 智].
M2a6
Virtues - Development
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How can we turn those four intuitions into real virtues?
Reflection and Extension
The organ of the heart can think. But it will only find the answer if it does think;
otherwise it will not find the answer
M6a15
But what kind of thinking?
Virtues - Development
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How can we turn those four intuitions into real virtues?
Reflection and Extension
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Note similarities between situations that inspire the heart and those
that don’t
Consider them thoughtfully
If you judge they are similar in the right ways, then your intuitions
will extend their range to include the situation that was outside your
initial concern
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Consider King Xuan and the Ox
Virtues - Development
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King Xuan of Qi
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Saw an ox going to sacrifice
Thought it looked sad, like an innocent man going to be executed
Spared it and said take a lamb instead
If you can extend compassion even to an ox, then you
can extend it wherever it is appropriate
Virtues - Development
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Note: Virtue is not a matter of principles
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The lamb was still sent to slaughter
There is no harm in this. It is the way of a benevolent man. You saw the ox but
not the lamb
M1a7
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This is a general feature
Not to help a sister-in-law who is drowning is to be a brute. It is prescribed by
the rites that, in giving and receiving, man and woman should not touch each
other, but in stretching out a helping hand to the drowning sister-in-law one
uses one’s discretion
M4a17
Virtues - Nourishment
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The seeds need to be nourished by qì (氣/气)
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Qì is a part-physical, part-spiritual universal flux
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Gross qì descends; refined qì ascends
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The body attracts gross qì; the heart requires refined qì.
qì is replenished overnight
The heart must be fit to receive
and retain this qì
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Virtues – The Problem of Evil
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Consider the state of Ox Mountain
Mencius said. ‘There was a time when the trees were luxuriant on Ox Mountain.
As it is on the outskirts of a great metropolis, the trees are continually lopped by
axes. Is it any wonder that they are no longer fine? With the respite they get in
the day and in the night, and the moistening by the rain and dew, there is
certainly no lack of new shoots coming out, but then the cattle and sheep come
to graze upon the mountain. That is why it is as bald as it is. People, seeing only
its baldness, tend to think that it never had any trees. But can this possibly be
the nature of a mountain?
M6a8
Virtues – Why be good?
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First reason
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Success in the pursuit of interests is determined by fate (mìng, 命)
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You cannot control it
Your efforts in this direction are in vain
Don’t do that
Concentrate on that whose success you can determine
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The development of your own heart is up to you
Do that
Virtues – Why be good?
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Second reason
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Be better than the beasts and birds
That whereby Man differs from the birds and beasts is but slight. The mass of
people cast it away, whereas the superior man preserves it
M4b19
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Be better than small men
Those who follow that part of themselves which is great are great men, and
those who follow that part of themselves which is small are small men
M6a15