Mencius\' View That Human Nature

¶ … Mencius' view that Human Nature is Good with Hsun Tzu's theory that "Human Nature is Bad?

At first view, Mencius' theory that humans are intrinsically good and Hsun Tzu's theory that 'human nature is bad' seem irrevocably opposed one to the other. However, investigation of each shows them to share commonalties.

Mencius' perspective on the goodness of human nature comes with a proviso. Whilst he does believe that humans are innately good and like a plant possesses the innate potential to grow in a certain direction towards that goodness whilst also containing within its qualities the emotional resources to grip onto that ideal, he believes that environment and sensual propensities can corrupt that goodness (Lau, 1970).

Man has four Beginnings, (ren (humanness), li (observance of rites), and yi (propriety) and, zhi (wisdom) (Lau, 1970)) and he has these four Beginnings just as he has limbs. The right education in a positive environment will foster these limbs, the wrong will destruct them. In other words, these four predispositions or ethical attributes, ren, yi, li, and zhi have to be cultivated. They are simply 'sprouts' and can easily be damaged or they can grow to flourishing plants. It is in this way that Mencius probably placed zhi, heart / mind as the counterpoint (Shun, 1997). Zhi' requires the ability to follow affect or cognition according to one's best discretion, to balance the two, and to achieve a rational equilibrium in assessing situations and formulating decisions.

It is the senses, maintained Mencius that cause the 'plant' i.e. man's innate positive faculties to wilt, and here Mencius provides the example of King Xuan of the state of Qi who, in his passions for wealth, women, and egoism (desire to demonstrate his grandeur), led him to irrational and harsh government. In this way the king who could have by nature achieved tian ming, a fate granted by the skies (or Western correlated term God) the ability to rule well since de -- his praiseworthy qualities would have deserved the respect of the people, thwarted and perverted these good qualities so that he turned into a tyrant. The senses have a strong impulsion that can destruct the plant, but to counteract that, we have the heart / mind that potentially enables the plant to flourish. The senses operate automatically; as contrast, heart/mind has the ability to pull back, to reflect, and to help man move along in a more prudent direction (Shun, 1997).

Mencius also believes that man can be deluded by erroneous ethical doctrines such as the teachings of Hsun Tzu and of the Yangists (Shun, 1997) who advocated pandering to one's nature (to the natural laws), to one's natural inclinations in a way that is similar to hedonism.

Hsun Tzu is similar to Mencius in some ways. The differences originate from the polar manner in which each interprets Confucius' definition of tian -- Heaven. Whilst tian was first regarded in a neutral way as simply determining the predestination of man, the miseries and anarchy of the middle Zhou period caused individuals of that period to perceive tian and associated Ming with a jaundiced perspective. Tian wasn't always good; sometimes it could be recklessly and inexplicably brutal. Mencius saw Tian as the source of morality and social sanction (if the king was good, Heaven enabled him to rule). Hsun Tzu, on the other hand, perceived heaven as dispassionate and unresponsive at best to human predicament and existence, He therefore advocated that man should not look to Tian for assistance or attempt to placate or please tian, but rather endeavor to craft his own fate (Watson, 2003). The intellectual conflict between Mencius and Hsun Tsu reminds one of the differences between an atheist and theist, and, indeed, tian was given associations that are reminiscent of God. It was from this premise that Mencius who perceived Tian to be benevolent affirmed that human nature was intrinsically good, whilst Hsun Tzu who saw Tian as the reverse perceived human nature to be born faulty and replete with greed, strife, and Freudian attributes that if not curbed and socialized would lead to man's ruination. He particularly dwelt on the wayward tendencies to mercenary profit, jealousy and hate. The commonality lies in the fact that both Mencius and Hsun Tzu believed that social custom and regulations would protect and guide man, but from thereon they differed. Whereas Mencius believed that heart/mind (zhi) would best serve to regulate man's conduct, Hsun Tzu wrote that a curriculum of music, laws, rituals, and prescribed etiquette would be the most ideal and effective regimen, and he strongly affirmed the merits of having a mentor. A proper teacher -- and Hsun Tzu -- described this ideal teacher - would be most capable of holding one in check (the proper teacher, one could posit, is the correlation to Mencius' zhi factor). This proper teacher develops rituals and customs to direct one's conduct, and rituals and customs are in fact essential since without appropriate activity, one is easily apt to lapse into the natural folly of one's nature. Just as governments need laws and regulations to guide them otherwise they would lapse into anarchy (since that is their natural state) ipso factor, humans need the same (since folly is their natural state too) (Watson, 2003).