Mencius believes that human nature is innately good. Mencius believes that humans have four virtues that they have been taught in order to flourish and those are compassion‚ shame‚ respect and knowing right from wrong. Mencius doesn’t ignore the fact that there are evil or bad people in this world‚ he believes some people do fail due to poor development or not being taught the virtues of what makes a good human being. On the other hand‚ Hsun-tzu takes Mencius’s ideas and strongly disagrees. To Hsun-tzu
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Wendy Swartz The Nature of Evil Hsun Tzu’s philosophy is built from the idea that human beings are by nature inherently evil‚ and the good they produce will only come through their conscious activity. Hsun Tzu believes that if man follows his nature and indulges in his natural desires‚ without transforming himself by conscious activity he is doomed to fall victim to his evil nature. "Any man who follows his nature will inevitably become involved in wrangling and strife‚ will violate the
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HSUN TZU AND MENCIUS: Their Conflicting Perspectives of Society The Warring States period in China (453-221 BCE) presented a time of great confusion and chaos among the people of China. However‚ it was also a great period for the philosophy of Confucianism‚ with the teachings of Mencius and Hsun Tzu to lead the way for their lost followers. According to Hsun Tzu and Mencius‚ human beings give birth to their children with a sense of an inherent reaction to life. Without proper teaching‚ children
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Naturally Evil Hsün Tzu says that man’s nature is naturally evil. Hsün Tzu wrote Man’s Nature is Evil in the year 300 BCE. Tzu thought that man’s nature is naturally evil and needs to be taught by a teacher to overcome this. He Mencius has not completely understood what man’s nature really is. Tzu also believes that if a man lacks something in himself that they go to look for whatever they lack in someone else. The last thing he talks about is how to differentiate between good and evil. Hsün Tzu’s belief
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‘Man’s True Nature’ Man’s basis need is to survive and thrive. This is such because he loves himself. This love for himself is makes him selfish and selfishness makes him evil. There is no one in this world that doesn’t love himself. This love for himself makes him put his needs over everything else. Putting one’s needs over other and not being considerate towards others and harming them for own advantage is evil. There was millions of ways to show how men are evil. To begin with there are numerous
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Hsun Tzu Hsun Tzu was a Confucian Chinese philosopher who lived approximately between 310 BC-219 BC. He is often portrayed as the antithesis of his contemporary philosopher Mencius. Hsun Tzu’s influence can be seen in the formation of the official state doctrine of the Han Dynasty however his influence waned in comparison to Mencius in the Dynasties that followed.1 In this exegesis essay I will be focus on two of Hsun Tzu’s philosophies; his theory on human
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of a young child‚ they are not taught to be little dick heads‚ they just are until they are guided by an adult to become better. We are evil by nature although we may become good people much like Mencius says‚ but I do not agree. I believe man’s nature is inherently bad‚ however man’s nature can be altered and wants to be altered. Hsun Tzu says man’s nature is evil‚ he states that man is very much influenced by his environment‚ to which I agree. We are going to do what we are taught‚ and what we are
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Caitlin Arnold Human Nature Mencius is an ancient philosopher of China around the fourth century B.C. He was believed to have similar view to the philosopher Confucius‚ and he had a strong view on human nature. Mencius believed that human nature was intrinsically benevolent. Mencius believed that people had four virtues that drove their thoughts and actions. Mencius is quoted to say‚ “Therefore‚ it can be suggested that without a mind of commiseration is not human‚ that a person without
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Mencius and Xunzi on Human Nature Mencius and Xunzi both follow Confucian philosophy yet have a dramatically different understanding of human nature. Additionally‚ the two philosophers make their arguments in strikingly different literary methods. Mencius believes that the “goodness of human nature is like the downward course of water” (147) in that people are naturally inclined to be good‚ and he makes this argument through conversations among friends and public figures. In contrast‚ Xunzi staunchly
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The two Confucians Mencius and Xunzi held opposing views about human nature. Mencius believed that human nature is good. Every person is born instilled with four main virtues; Righteousness‚ Ritual property‚ Wisdom and Benevolence. These virtues will only develop fully if it is nurtured and put to effect appropriately. He also claimed that those who are not virtuous have been “corrupted by the environment” . He believes that “Individual effort was needed to cultivate oneself‚ but one’s natural
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