Mr. Feng Youlan once said: "Is human nature good or evil? Exactly, what is the essence of human nature? Jujube has always been one of the most controversial issues in China's philosophy. "
Theory of goodness-
Mencius said, "Nature is good and water is good." There is nothing wrong with people, and there is nothing wrong with water. Today, my husband's water, beating and jumping, can make it too long; If you are excited, you can make it in the mountains. Is this the nature of water? Its potential is natural. People can be bad, but their nature is still good. "
"Mencius' Tao' is good, and his words will be called Yao and Shun. Mencius on Teng Wengong.
Mencius' most powerful argument for the theory of good nature is proved by human psychological activities. Mencius believes that good nature can be verified by universal psychological activities that everyone has. Since this psychological activity is universal, good nature is based on human nature, which Mencius called "conscience" and "goodness".
"Mencius Gao Zi Shang": "Everyone has compassion; Everyone has a heart of shame and evil; Everyone has a respectful heart; Everyone has a right and wrong heart. Compassion, benevolence; Shame and nausea, righteousness also; Respect and courtesy; The heart of right and wrong is also wise. Benevolence, courtesy and wisdom are not foreign, but inherent to me. " ?
"Mencius Gongsun Chou": "Everyone has a heart that can't bear others. So everyone has a heart that can't bear others. At first glance, people nowadays are afraid of compassion. If you don't do what your parents did, you should be praised by your friends in the countryside. If you don't hate your own voice, you will naturally. " ?
Mencius devoted himself to: "Those who can do what they don't learn are also good; Everything you know, everything you can say. Childhood children love their relatives and their elders, and they all respect their brothers. "
Sympathy and shame are a kind of psychological normality of human beings. Mencius said that "everyone has it", that is to say, this psychological normality is universal, without exception. Universality is inherent in nature. No one can be an exception, beyond personal ability, so it becomes an absolute and an extreme. Therefore, Mencius said that good nature is "inherent in people" and "inherent in me". Mencius believes that this inner psychological normality of human heart is the bud of benevolence and righteousness, and the source of benevolence, courtesy and wisdom.
Since human nature is good, the next question is how to bring this goodness into play, that is, how to practice according to it.
Mencius believes that although human nature is good, everyone's actions are good and bad, and it is impossible to do good according to nature without any effort. Those who abide by goodness, obey it, get help from heaven and win people's hearts, which is their fate and success. People who don't obey the goodness can't get help from heaven, can't get people's hearts, can't get justice, and die against the sky. Some can do it, and some can't. The last key of Mencius' theory is to focus on the point of "choice". Therefore, Mencius said, "If you seek, you will get it, but if you give up, you will lose it" ("Mencius Sue"). ), emphasizing a word "beg" ...
Theory of evil nature-
Xunzi believes that people's lives are in the sky. "If there is no heaven and earth, is it a bad life?" ("Xunzi Book of Rites") Heaven and earth, "Everything has its own harmony and its own support. The vocation is established, the feat is achieved, and the shape is born. " (Xun Zi Tian Lun) Since people are born in heaven, human feelings are also born in heaven, which is the same as heaven. Human feelings that are the same as natural feelings are called "sex". So Xunzi said: "What is the nature of life", "What is the nature of sex" and "What is the nature of sex"; Love, the quality of sex is also "("Xunzi Rectification "). ?
Xunzi said: "likes and dislikes, joys and sorrows, husband is called heaven." ("On Xun Tian Zi") also said: "Sexual likes and dislikes, joys and sorrows, are called feelings." Xunzi, like Mencius, thought eating, drinking and getting angry. It is an innate feeling of human beings, which is unavoidable and owned by human beings. But Xunzi and Mencius are different in the relationship between temperament and benevolence. Mencius regards food color and benevolence and righteousness as innate human nature, in which benevolence and righteousness are average and food color is small; Benevolence is like bear's paw and food is like fish. Xunzi believes that no matter "gentleman" or "villain", human nature is limited to emotional desires such as eating and drinking, love and hate, and profit-seeking. Therefore, Xunzi said, "A man's life is also a solid villain." "beginning of life, a man with a solid nature" is called "evil nature". As for benevolence and righteousness, it is acquired by what you have learned and done the day after tomorrow. ?
Xun Zi's Honor and Disgrace: "All mortals are in one place. Hunger means food, cold means warmth, fatigue means rest, good means benefit, and evil means harm. People are born, people are waiting, and it is the common ground of Yu Jie. Eyes can distinguish white, black, beautiful and evil, ears can distinguish unvoiced sounds, mouth can distinguish sour, salty and bitter, nose can distinguish fragrant and smelly, and bones, body and skin can distinguish cold and summer diseases. People are born, people are waiting, and it is the common ground of Yu Jie. It can be Yuyao, Jiezhi, craftsman or farmer, holding paper money in the wrong custom. Tang Wu's existence led to the rule of the world, and his stubbornness led to the chaos of the world. If so, is it really possible to combine human feelings with this, and can it be combined with this? If a man knows what he can do, he is a gentleman and a villain. It is common for gentlemen and villains to like honor, shame and interests. Beginning of life, a solid villain, can't benefit without a teacher. Arrogant people are not born, and their husbands begin with change and become cultivated. Those who are exhausted are also. " ?
"Xunzi's theory of evil nature" "Today's human nature is born with good benefits and is suitable for it, so it is contrary to life." Born with evil, follow it, so thieves are born with loyalty and die without regret. It is appropriate to be born with a desire for eyes and ears and a good sense of sound, so fornication is born with courtesy and righteousness. But from the human nature, obeying people's feelings will definitely lead to competition, which is in line with committing chaos and returning to violence. "
Xunzi thought: "So, although I am a gatekeeper, I can't go;" Although he is the son of heaven, he will live forever. "Sex and lust are derived from heaven, so the most people can do about sex, affection and desire is that" although there is no end to desire, it can be as close as possible; "Although you don't want to go, you can ask for restraint" (Xun Zi Zheng Ming). This is one aspect. On the other hand, "natural creatures can't compete with things; The land can carry people, but it cannot cure people. " Heaven can't rule people, which is called "the division between heaven and man". Since there is a "division between heaven and man", some people can rule and some people can confront heaven and nature. So the final key of Xunzi's theory is around the point of "the division between heaven and man"?
Xunzi corrected his name: "The reason why people are born is natural, and sexual likes and dislikes, joys and sorrows are called feelings. However, love is the care of the soul. If you think about it, it's fake. If you think about it, you learn, and then it becomes fake. What is right is what is said, and what is just is what is said. "
"You can't learn, you can't do it, and those who are in heaven are called sex. Those who can learn and do things are called fakes. It is also the distinction between sex and falsehood. "
False, it means what humans do. Sex and love are innate, and people should not interfere, nor should they interfere. However, people's choices, thinking, learning and acting the day after tomorrow depend entirely on people and should be borne by themselves, and "heaven" should not interfere with personnel. "Pseudo (behavior)" and "consideration", "learning" and "behavior" are the last parts emphasized in Xunzi's thought. Xunzi wrote several articles of special significance, such as "Encouraging Learning" and "Cultivating Self-cultivation", and took this as the beginning of the whole book of Xunzi. ?
Xunzi believes that propriety and righteousness are all due to the deficiency of saints and gentlemen. Xunzi's Confucian effect: "What you ask for is what you get, what you do is what you do, what you accumulate is what you do." "Sex, I can't do it, but it can be changed. It's not mine, but it can be. " Pseudo (behavior) is the key to establish benevolence and dispel temperament, and it is the new basis for rebuilding etiquette, justice and rule of man after denying Mencius. "Don't smell it, don't smell it, don't see it, don't know it, don't know it. Learn to stop. " Xunzi said, "a villain can be a gentleman, but he refuses to be a gentleman;" A gentleman can be a villain and refuse to be a villain; It is not allowed to cooperate with a villain who is a gentleman. " The difference between a gentleman and a villain lies in doing and not doing. Xunzi's theory of evil nature: "the reason why saints are different from others is that they are also human;" Therefore, everything that is different from others is fake. " He who can do, stop and do is a gentleman. The villain is overwhelmed by nature, and the gentleman divides people into tomorrow, turning nature into vanity and striving for success without giving up. Sex and behavior are different and opposite, consistent and coexist. Although sex has desire, it is not so evil. Unrestricted is chaos and evil. So Xunzi said, "Sex is simple. Fake people, art and science flourish. Asexual love is false, without which sex cannot be self-beautiful. Sex is false, and then it becomes the name of a saint. " (On Xun Gigi Lai) ...
References:
/Confucianism /mxshe.htm
Humanity is the result of the day after tomorrow-
Mozi sighed at the sight of the person who dyed silk: pale, pale, yellow, yellow. When the entrant changes, its color changes; You must enter five, and then five colors. Therefore, dyeing should not be sloppy!
Dyed not only silk, but also the country. Shun dyed Bo Yang, Yu dyed Boyi, Tang dyed Yi Yin and Zhong, Tai Gong and Zhou Gong. Influenced by it, these four heavenly kings ruled the world, stood on their own feet, and gained fame and fortune. If you show human righteousness, you are called the four kings. ……
Here, we can see that Mozi is a metaphor for the success of the king, but from another angle, we can also see that people are nothing more than fools, with clear distinction between good and evil, and only care about "dyeing" ... That is to say, the environment plays a decisive role in people's behavior and acquired personality habits, which is the so-called "being near the ink is black" ...
Human nature is utilitarian. ...
Mohism also emphasizes the utility of human nature ... so all the propositions put forward by Mohism are based on the principle of "pragmatism", as is the self-interest promotion, telling people what to do to get the greatest benefit ...!
But emphasizing utilitarianism, legalism is the theme throughout. ...
Legalist Shang Yang represents a typical utilitarian position. In his view, the value of anything should be measured by its consequences or influences, that is, whether it can make Qiang Bing rich. Shang Yang believes that the sole purpose of punishment is to prevent crime. In order to make Qiang Bing rich, the state should use severe punishment, violence and fear to stop people from committing crimes.
Human nature is to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. Therefore, it is necessary to stipulate clear rewards and punishments in the form of law and the majesty of the monarch in order to enrich Qiang Bing and properly manage the country. ...
In fact, this thought takes advantage of the natural tendency of human utilitarianism. Therefore, the thoughts and measures of Legalists finally helped Qin unify the six countries, which is a powerful proof of human utility. ...
Just as Guan Zhong said: coffin makers want many people to die, not because their conscience is too bad, but because of their interests. ...