Mencius East Asian Conception of Human Nature
Mencius is one of the influential philosophers in the Chinese history. He developed the influential doctrine of Confucianism, which was centered in human nature. Mencius developed the theory of human goodness that describes humanity to be based on virtues that include righteousness, wisdom and respect for existing norms and rites. Mencius was purely an educator who developed the Confucius idea and left a legacy in the Chinese history that also influenced parts of the East Asian. His teachings on human nature are among the most influential from the ancient china. The original teachings taught by Mencius include the nature of goodness that has been widely discussed by scholars even in modern times. Mencius teachings revolved around political, economic and cultural ideas and his knowledge has born several branches of knowledge that include the modern political science, law, aesthetics among several others. This paper discusses the conception of human nature in the East Asian in accordance to the Mencius teachings, knowledge and theories (Zhengming, 2000).
Mencius teachings were among the most influential in the ancient East Asian. According to his theory on human nature, Mencius taught human are the way they are the way they are because they are created that and their deeds are inspired from heaven. According to Mencius, knowing heavens begins with understanding nature. The humans and the heavens are linked to the universe by their nature. Mencius mentioned that human are born free of evil with goodness. However, the form of goodness in the human nature is corrupted by social institutions that he called the nurture by affecting the inner qualities, which he defined as nature (Makeham, 2001).
The human nature if not influenced through bad behaviors by the surrounding social institutions, will manifest their goodness nature in their own accord. The natural goodness is compared to the down ward flow of water at birth according to the Mencius definitions. Similarly, the as the water is easily directed by changing its course, the goodness of human nature disappears with the influence of the bad behaviors in the society and the goodness nature of humanity disappears. Mencius identified the heart as a key contributor of the good moral capacity as well as the mind. However, external body organs of the human nature including the eyes and the mouth have the incline the heart and the mind from naturally goodness. Mencius compared the eyes with the taste of food in the mouth as the same case in which the eyes takes pleasure in seeing sexual attractiveness. Four concepts of that mark the beginning of human nature are described by Mencius. Mencius defines the four morals as inclinations or beginnings and usually originates in their own accord in the human nature without having to be forced. The four morals that are naturally present in the beginning of the human nature include pity/ compassion, shame/aversion, deference/ compliance and approval/ condemnation. This moral develop into other different virtues as humans grow humanness, righteousness, propriety and knowledge/wisdom. All the Mencius teaching portrays human nature as innate and develops internally in human (Yen, 2015).
The Mencius teachings on human nature has significant influenced the Chinese philosophy and continues to influence the Chinese perception on the human nature. Although the Mencius concepts are not widely known in the western world, it perhaps contributes to the diverse cultural background between the East Asia and the western world. Scholars’ believe that the human attitude of the Chinese culture to the human nature is influenced by the Mencius concepts. The concept of human nature has been a key factor in the Chinese education since the ancient Ming and the Qing dynasties. Mencius developed the concept of human nature and based them in morality and the human dignity. In addition to the defining goodness of human nature as internally developed, Mencius also defined the relationship between the human nature and the human feelings. He defined the every humans is born with the virtues of goodness despite the destiny of a person that turns him/her to be good or bad. Mencius mentioned these original virtues of human nature have the ability to make the overall human a good person without the influence of other factors like feelings. With evil feeling, the human nature goodness is corrupted creating the distinction between the good and the bad people that are present in the society (Bloom, 1994).
Mencius identified education as one of the ways through which the human nature goodness can be restored. Education can be embraced to teach humans on distinguishing the bad and the good and the importance or benefits of embracing the goodness. Education passes the knowledge and the wisdom to distinguish the bad and the good, which have an equal effect on human nature. Mencius also added that the affection as a form of human nature originates from the relationship between people and their families or to others. Therefore, relationships also have an influence on human nature. Mencius identified that people naturally have a desire of doing what is good and pursuing goodness. This demonstrates that human beings have the natural tenderness of following goodly desires even when they are surrounded by a bad environment. This is a demonstration that human nature is usually good before it is corrupted by bad feelings, evil affections and relationships. According to the Mencius, education has the power to reverse the bad influence of human nature in social development. This created the crucial role of education in the East Asian culture for cultivating good morals in the human nature. In addition, education also provided the knowledge to reinforce the original goodness of human nature. Mencius advocated that human who lost the goodness of human nature should put effort to cultivate it back through the knowledge acquired through education (Yen, 2015).
Mencius linked the natural goodness of human heart and human nature with heaven. These three items were inseparable according to Mencius. The formed the natural link between the human link and the outside world like the heavens. The concept was developed during the hard times both economically and the politically and sought to provide answers to the human social problems. Mencius provided the much needed answers on the human nature and if humans are naturally born good or evil. Mencius defined that human nature is naturally good but corrupted in accordance to human desires, feelings and affection towards evil deeds. Man therefore turned to evil at own free will from the original intended goodness and were there responsible in some way to the problems experienced in the society (Jiang, 1997). Mencius concept on human nature defined on the need for rules that provided directions for humans who have deviated from the way of natural goodness. This introduced the concept of the political and governance and the role they play in influencing human nature.
The modern form of education and governance are attributed to the ancient concepts of Mencius on human nature. Mencius though since it was difficult for the humans to self-cultivate their natural goodness with turning to the evil nature, education and governance were institutions that could play a role in reverting the human nature to goodness. Human desires of material things are attributed as one of the main factors that divert human from their good nature. Mencius also associates with the human nature as linked to freedom and human equality. This is because just and good deeds are natural and internal, the mind and the heart are also internal and human nature is inherent in the human heart and mind. Mencius argued that the human nature cannot be separated from the heart and mind. According to Mencius, if the heart and mind are good, then the human nature is also good, same case applies when the human nature has been corrupted to be evil, the heart and the mind also changes in the same way. The East Asian still regards the Mencius concept of human nature as an important factor in social development (Bloom, 1994). Mencius teachings on human nature can be compared to the modern teaching on psychology. The Chinese educators continue to integrate the doctrine on goodness of human nature as defined by Mencius. Although education and governance systems have changed in the modern times when compared to the ancient times in the Mencius times, his principles on human nature are still regarded in East Asia.
References
Makeham, J. (2001). Interpreting Mencius. New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies, 3, 20-33.
Yen, H. C. (2015). Human Nature and Learning in Ancient China. In Education as Cultivation in Chinese Culture (pp. 19-43). Springer Singapore.
Jiang, X. (1997). Mencius on human nature and courage. Journal of Chinese philosophy, 24(3), 265-289.
Zhengming, G. (2000). His life and work as an educator.
Bloom, I. (1994). Mencian arguments on human nature (Jen-Hsing).Philosophy East and West, 44(1), 19-53.