Transcript 芻豢之悅我口

371-289 BCE
“second sage” of Confucianism
contemporary of Zhuangzi
Mencius
孟子
The Internal Confucian Debate on Human Nature
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Mengzi / Meng-tzu: humans as moral agents
Xunxi / Hsün-tzu: human nature equated with self-interest
Early Chinese Views of Human Nature
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2.
3.
4.
5.
neither good nor evil (Gaozi)
equal parts of good and evil (a Han theory)
some persons good, some persons evil (Wang Chong)
evil (Xunzi)
good (Mencius)
Early Chinese Views of Human Nature
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
neither good nor evil (Gaozi)
equal parts of good and evil (a Han theory)
some persons good, some persons evil (Wang Chong)
evil (Xunzi)
good (Mencius)
Mencian Metaphors (find)
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6A1
6A2
6A3
6A4
6A7 a
6A7 b
6A8
6A10 a
6A10 b
6A12
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6A1 – willow, cups & bowls
6A2 – water
6A3 – white things, dog/ox
6A4 – white things, elders, roasted meat
6A7 a – barley, shoes and baskets
6A7 b – mouths/flavors, ears/sounds
6A8 – trees of Ox Mountain
6A10 a – fish and bear’s paw
6A10 b – food & soup, possessions
6A12 – a finger
The Mencian View of Human Nature
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Gaozi said, “Human nature is like swirling water. Open a passage to the east, and it
flows east. Open a passage to the west, and it flows west. The basic indeterminacy
of good and evil in human nature is just like the basic indeterminacy of east and
west in the flow of water.” (6.A.2)
Water flowing west
Water flowing east
Does water flow east “naturally”? What is the analogy to human nature?
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Mencius said, “Water certainly has no particular tendency to flow east or west, but
can the same be said of flowing up or down? The basic goodness of human nature
is just like the downward flow of water. There is no more a human being utterly
lacking in goodness than there is such a thing as water that does not flow
downward.
VI.A.2
Does water flow down “naturally”? What is the analogy to human nature?
Water flowing down
Water flowing down
Can water flow up? What is the analogy to human nature?
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“Now, with my hands or my feet I can splash water over my head; by channeling it, I
can direct it all the way to the top of a hill. But is this the basic nature of water?
No. These results are due to external force. The fact that people can be made to
do evil reflects the same violation of their basic nature.” (6.A.2)
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Gaozi said: “Human nature is like a willow tree;
righteousness is like cups and bowls. To make human
nature benevolent and righteous is like making a willow
tree into cups and bowls.” (6.A.1)
Human nature
Benevolent
Righteous
Willow tree
Cups
Bowls
Human nature
Willow tree
Benevolent
Cups
Righteous
Bowls
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Mengzi said: “Can you make cups and bowls from willow wood by
following its natural grain or is it only after you have hacked the willow
wood that you can make a cup or bowl?”
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“If you must hack the willow to make cups and bowls from it,
must you hack people in order to make them humane and
righteous? ”
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Answer to the question:
6.A.1
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For Gaozi ….
For Mengzi….
Natural Goodness
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Humans all have the heart of compassion 惻隱之心.
Humans all have the heart of disdain for evil 羞惡之心.
Humans all have the heart of respect 恭敬之心.
Humans all have the heart of approval and disapproval
是非之心. (6.A.6)
惻隱 cè yǐn
羞惡 xiū è
恭敬 gōng jìng
是非 shì fēi
Compassion – Concern (Commiseration)
Disdain for evil -- Shame
Respect – Yielding (Deference)
Approval and disapproval -- Judgment
This is from ch. 6
This “Heart” defines “human nature”
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“Clearly, one who did not have the heart of concern would be inhuman. One
who did not have the heart of shame for wrong-doing would be inhuman. One
who did not have the heart which places others before oneself would be
inhuman. And one who did not have the heart which distinguishes between
right and wrong would be inhuman." (Nadeau translation)
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“One who lacked a sense of dismay in such a case could simply not be a person.
And I could further show that anyone who lacked the moral sense of shame
could not be a person; anyone who lacked a moral sense of deference could not
be a person; anyone who lacked a moral sense of right and wrong could not be
a person.” (Eno translation)
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(2.A.6)
This is from ch. 2
What do people have in common?
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心之所同然者何也？
謂理也，義也。
聖人先得我心之所同然耳。
故理義之悅我心，猶芻豢之悅我口
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Mencius (6.A.7 – last paragraph)
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心之所同然者何也？What is it that hearts prefer in common?
謂理也，義也。
聖人先得我心之所同然耳。
故理義之悅我心，猶芻豢之悅我口
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心之所同然者何也？
謂理也，義也。 fine patterns … righteousness…
聖人先得我心之所同然耳。
故理義之悅我心，猶芻豢之悅我口
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心之所同然者何也？
謂理也，義也。
The sages (simply) first discovered
聖人先得我心之所同然耳。 what our hearts have in common
故理義之悅我心，猶芻豢之悅我口
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心之所同然者何也？
謂理也，義也。
聖人先得我心之所同然耳。
故理義之悅我心，猶芻豢之悅我口
delighting my heart .. my mouth
故理義之悅我心，猶芻豢之悅我口
理義之悅我心，猶
芻豢之悅我口
chúhuàn 指牛羊猪狗等
“Righteousness and virtue delight my heart just like meat delights my mouth!”
悅 yuè to please
(like food, or music, or beauty)
The “heart” of goodness
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Mencius said: “All persons have a heart which cannot bear to see the suffering of others人皆
有不忍人之心. The Sage Kings had such a heart, and their governments did not permit the
suffering of the people. In ruling the kingdom, if you manifest this heart to implement such a
government, you can hold the world in the palm of your hand.
“What I mean by saying that ‘all persons have a heart which cannot bear to see the suffering
of others’ is this:
Anyone who suddenly came upon a toddler about to fall into a well would have a heart of
alarm and concern 今人乍見孺子將入於井，皆有怵惕惻隱之心。 And we cannot say that this
heart arises from wanting to be favored by the parents 非所以內交於孺子之父母也, or from
seeking the praise of one's friends and community非所以要譽於鄉黨朋友也, or from hoping to
avoid a reputation for callousness 非惡其聲而然也.
Van Norden: “and not because one would dislike the sound of the child’s cries”
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“Clearly, one who did not have the heart of concern would be inhuman. One who did not
have the heart of shame for wrong-doing would be inhuman. One who did not have the
heart which places others before oneself would be inhuman. And one who did not
have the heart which distinguishes between right and wrong would be inhuman.”
由是觀之，
無惻隱之心，非人也；
無羞惡之心，非人也；
無辭讓之心，非人也；
無是非之心，非人也。
Van Norden:
The heart of compassion
The heart of disdain
The heart of deference
The heart of approval and disapproval
II.A.6 The Sprouts of Virtue
Things people (including “sages”) have in common
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Mouths & preference for tasty foods
Ears & pleasure in listening
Eyes & standards of beauty
Concern
…an “unperturbed mind” (不動心) (2A2)
Shame
…and “floodlike qi” (浩然之氣) – which Mengzi
is especially good at “cultivating” (2A2) with
Yielding
“righteousness”; without righteousness, it
“starves” – yet, in cultivating it, one cannot
Judgment
“force” it (the foolish farmer of Song)
Desiring some things more than life
Hating some things more than death
性
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“生之謂性。”
Gaozi said,
“Life is what is meant by ‘nature’.”
Mengzi said, “Is life what is meant by ‘nature’ the same as
white is what is meant by ‘white’?
Gaozi said, “It is.”
…
Mengzi said, “Then is the nature of a dog the same as the
nature of an ox the same as the nature of a human?
“然則犬之性，猶牛之性；牛之性，猶人之性與？”(6A3)
So for Mengzi, does “life” = “nature”?
The meaning of xing (性)
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吾生於陵而安於陵，故也；
長於水而安於水，性也
(Zhuangzi’s swimmer 《達生》)
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Having been born on land I am at ease on land; that was
originally in me.
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Having grown up in water, I am at ease in water; that is
my nature.
性
“Xing is not a
superordinate and univocal
principle that inheres in all
human beings at brith.
While there is a givenness
to xing as an inherent
organizing structure that
persons in general develop
after conception, it also
suggests the dynamic
process of becoming
human” (p. 189)
feelings as moral inclinations (the “four sprouts”)
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“The heart of concern is the sprout of ren (benevolence). The heart of shame is
the sprout of yi (righteousness). The heart of yielding is the sprout of li
(propriety). The heart of judgment is the sprout of zhi (wisdom).”
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“Having these four ‘sprouts’ is like having arms and legs. If you say that you cannot
act upon them, you are discrediting yourself, just as if you say that a ruler cannot act
upon them, you are discrediting his rule. Anyone who has these four sprouts within
themselves knows how to develop them and perfect them: they are like the
initial spark of a fire, or the first waters of an open spring. If you can
perfect them, you will be able to embrace the whole world with your virtue; if you
do not perfect them, you will not even be able to serve your own parents.” (2.A.6)
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the force of these senses will burst through us like a wildfire first catching
or a spring first bubbling forth through the ground (Eno translation)
若火之始然，泉之始達
The Developmental Aspect
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concern gives rise to ren (co-humanity)
shame gives rise to yi (righteousness)
yielding gives rise to li (propriety)
judgment gives rise to zhi (wisdom)
惻隱之心 ， 仁
羞惡之心 ， 義
辭讓之心 ， 禮
是非之心 ， 智
(Discussing evil kings with Gaozi): “As for their essence, they can
become good. This is what I mean by calling their natures good.
As for their not becoming good, this is not the fault of their
potential.” (6.A.6)
Like planting barley (6A7) – but not pulling it up (2A2)
If it gets nourishment, there is nothing that will not grow 苟得其養，無物不長 (6A8)
Metaphors for 性 in Mencius
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Growing trees and animals
Ripening grain
Cultivating crops
Flowing water
“Strictly speaking, a
person is not a sort of
being, but first and
foremost a doing or
making, and only
derivatively and
retrospectively,
something done”
(ibid., p. 190)
Human nature is good – evil is “unnatural”
Every person has the natural inclination to do good, and
this natural inclination is ren (perfect co-humanity)
“What I mean by saying it is good is that there is that in our nature which is spontaneously part of us and can become
good. The fact that we can become bad is not a defect in our natural endowment.” (6.A.6. Eno translation)
“As for their essence, they can become good. This is what I mean by calling their natures good. As for their becoming not
good, this is not the fault of their potential.” (Van Norden translation)
乃若其情，則可以為善矣，乃所謂
善也。若夫為不善，非才之罪也
“To be human (人) is to be co-human (仁)”
So, why are some people evil?
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“In years of plenty, most young men are lazy; in years of poverty,
most young men are cruel” (6.A.7)
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“The trees of Ox Mountain were once beautiful. But because it
bordered on a large state, hatchets and axes besieged it. Could it
remain verdant?...” (6.A.8)
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“Those who follow their greater part [the heart] become great
humans. Those who follow their petty part [the ears and eyes]
become petty humans” (6.A.15)
從其大體[心之官] 為大人，從其小體[耳目之官]為小人
Review
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What do people have in common? Goodness?
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If so, then why are some people evil?
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Following Zhuangzi’s definition of xing (性) (human
nature), what does Mengzi mean when he says that
“human nature is good”?
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What was Gaozi’s view, and how does Mengzi’s differ?
end