The Different Roads to Sagliness

The Different Roads to Sagliness

Throughout Chinese history there have been many different schools of thought and many more philosophical perspectives within each school. Two such philosophers are Mencius and Xunzi, both advocators of their individual takes on Confucianism. Although they both find roots in Confucius' teachings and utilize many of the same ideas and words as Confucius did, it is where they put emphasis as well as their views on human nature, or xing, that hold Mencius and Xunzi distinctly separate in Chinese philosophy. Where Mencius teaches that xing is inherently good, and contains within it the potential to sprout into goodness, Xunzi instead holds the opinion that people are born selfish and predisposed to act in evil ways when left to their own devices. These opposing views cause the two philosophers to also prescribe different methods for achieving the ultimate goal of sagliness. Although both men shared optimism about the perfectibility of humanity as well as a shared view that the family structure is essential to goodness, their reasoning and methods for achieving this perfection vary widely. By comparing these two influential Chinese philosopher's perspectives on human nature it will be shown that Mencius' theory that people tend to grow into the ability to recognize goodness is a more accurate depiction of the reality of human nature.

Both Mencius and Xunzi believed that all people were inherently alike. Mencius uses the teleological example of seeds, saying that if they are taken care of properly, they can only turn out one way, as the plant that the seeds originally came from . His claim is that the same is true with humans, and Xunzi never said anything to dispute this idea, in fact seemed to teach the same. Where the contention lies then is in whether humans are inherently good, as believed by Mencius, or inherently bad as Xunzi teaches. Mencius believed that human nature would naturally tend towards good, placing emphasis on the four sprouts of goodness he sees as inherent. These sprouts are ren, (humanity) yi, (righteousness) li, (propriety) and zhi (wisdom) and are present in all humans, and it is just a matter of cultivating them to bring them to fruition. According to Maurizio Scarpari, this idea of ren finds its roots in the love and respect found in the family unit, and "these feelings lay the foundations for a wider feeling radiating toward the external sphere, toward fellow human beings". One is not taught love for one's family, and he claims that this feeling of empathy towards our fellow human beings is innate within all people. When justifying his belief that this empathy and general goodness is a reality he uses the argument of a child seen on the brink of falling into a deep well. He points to the feeling of commiseration and anxiety for the child that manifests within people at this sight as proof that all people are born with