Mengzi's Arguments On Moral Principles

In history, humans have influenced ways to abuse each other in hateful ways. Because of hate, all miserable things that happen to people relates to mob mentality. Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel states, “The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.” Throughout history, humanity has seen dignified people pursuing horrendous actions because these individuals got caught up in mob mentality.

The argument that “the greatest threat to one’s own humanity is indifference to the suffering of others” is accurate, because compassion for each other is what brings one’s humanity closer together.

Mencius believes that the essential element of both pity and compassion. Mencius states that these two competent are the beginning of humaneness.

Stephen Kendrick once said, “Almost every sinful action ever committed can be traced back to a selfish motive. It is the trait we hate in other people but justify in ourselves.” The nature of human selfishness comes in various forms, distinctly different in the eyes of an individual but with similar mindsets. To put differently, there are many definitions defining selfishness, but under the surface, everyone has similar, selfless intentions.

Fairness and equality are essential components for humanity to flourish and prosper. These attributes help to ensure that no individual will be denied opportunity based on their gender, skin color, or economic status. Additionally, the utilization of these qualities are designed to avert both disrespect and harm among people. In order for humans to create a more just society for the common good, they must understand the foundation in which an individual is considered “evil”, and to further comprehend the impact this malicious behavior can have on society. Strategies that foster the development of a just society pursuing the common good can be perceived in works by Pope Benedict, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

For instance, what exactly does Mozi mean by someone who is partial? A partial ruler can be considered in two contexts: one who sees himself as the only person on the top part of his two-caste system, and one who ranks people according to his preference and only condescends to meet the needs of those below once those who he prioritizes first have all their needs met. In the first case, the ruler identifies everyone else, including his relatives and friends, as inferior to him. He will never do anything for their sake because he is partial to himself, or in other words, selfish. On the other hand, if a ruler has a ranking of people he prioritizes, then those at the bottom of his list can still benefit from his care provided that the people he prioritizes first have all their needs met. Mozi thinks that a

With the example of the child falling into the well, Mengzi asserts that our impulse to save the child stems from human’s sprout of compassion. However, I agree with Hobbes that “[w]arre, where every man is Enemy to every man,” (Schwitzgebel) and the only reason human’s instinct to save, is because our brains are hard-wired to keep the human race living. It is evolutionary biology that people started to believe babies and small things were cute, and

Mengzi believed “healthy humans have in common a particular set of inclinations that when properly cultivated, develop into specific ethical dispositions that in turn engender particular kinds of actions.” (p. 51), but in Li Zhi’s opinion, either a wider range of texts or practices could help develop one’s heart-mind and genuine nature. The development of heart-mind was not just limited to a specific path of moral development. From above, it is clear that the analysis of the “original heart-mind” is crucial to understand Li Zhi’s preference for the distinctive expression “child-like heart-mind” (tong xin). Li Zhi chose to forgo the historical terms for the heart-mind, and he explained his philosophical view

One philosophy in ancient China is Confucianism which deals with duty and humanity. “ Desire what is good, the people will be good” (doc. 2). This quote from document 2 states that in order for the ruler to be respected and followed by the people he has to show empathy

Rather, Mengzi regards men as born with a potential property, which could lead to good moral attributes like ren, yi, li, and zhi. On the contrary, Xunzi argues that men are born with an instinct called xing, which could result in immoral attributes like affection and desire . Nevertheless, the fact that men are born with a property leading to goodness does not contradict the fact that men are born with an instinct leading to badness.

Proper order is necessary for government and families since it helps to value the self interests of individuals and affects the basis of human accomplishment. Xunzi believed in law rather than humaneness or righteousness (Yao, 71). However, he believed that the state should consider the interests of the people. Confucius believed that the

Throughout history, there have been many human beings whom have been seen as either a hero or a villain. In their childhood, these people must had obstacles that were in their way, causing each individual to either work harder or give up. People, however; must understand that each individual has a potential in achieving their goals, but if one is mistreated or deceived due to jealousy, resentment, hatred, or ambition, it can lead to many catastrophic events. People who have pride and arrogance do not want to have equals, rather they want to see their victims suffer. These people have no difficulty in achieving their goals due to the fact that their victims have too innocent a nature to suspect the nefarious motives of their enemies. In

Mangzi and Zhuangzi, both very influential Asian philosophers, have very differing opinions on how one should might respond in an adverse situation such as a child in danger or a parent dying. While Mengzi believes that human nature is good and someone in either of these situations would feel bad, Zhuangzi takes a different perspective in which he accepts life as it is and would not respond in a negative way if confronted with these situations.

Chinese philosophy is dominated by a set of so-called Confucian values. These values, inherent in Chinese thought, were pushed forward by Confucius himself during his life time in an effort to propose a better, guided way of leadership. While Confucian values stress the naturally good nature of man, they stand in direct opposition to the writings of Han Feizi, a legalist philosopher under the first emperor of China. For the Legalists, the nature of man must be stressed as evil, and combatted under that assumption. Han Feizi and Confucius take two different stances regarding man’s true nature, and in these differing stances propose varying guidelines for how a state and its leader should act. Confucianism, under the belief of limited action,

The term seems to have a more ethical meaning. Some have argued that it is better translated as ‘goodness’10 or ‘love,’11 but these terms fail to capture the ‘completeness’ of Confucius’s meaning.12