Mencius (Mencius) was the first philosopher who systematically expounded human relations and implemented benevolent policies from the perspective of good nature in the history of China thought, and was also the initiator of the dispute between good and evil of human nature in the history of China thought. There is a saying that "Mencius is good in nature, and his words must be called Yao and Shun." [1] Xunzi (Xun Kuang) put forward the "theory of evil nature" as opposed to Mencius. Mortals "eat when they are hungry, warm when they are cold, rest when they are tired, benefit when they are good, and harm when they are evil. They are people born, people who have nothing to wait for, and people who are in the same position and solution." [2] Kant said, "God's cause begins with good, and man's cause begins with evil." Hegel and Engels said that evil is "a lever to promote historical discovery". Starting from goodness is ethical absolutism, that is, ethicism; Starting from evil is ethical relativism, that is, historicism. Xun Yue in the Eastern Han Dynasty made an incisive exposition on whether sex is good or evil.
"Mencius said that human nature is good, Xun Qing said that human nature is evil, Confucius said that there is no good and evil in human nature, Yang Xiong said that human nature is good and evil, and Liu Xiangyue has a corresponding temperament, and human nature is not only good but also evil. ..... goodness, love and evil, stubbornness, asexuality and ruthlessness. Good and evil are muddy, and it is reasonable to be foolish and wise. However, speaking naturally, the theory of Hanzi's three products is similar. " [3]
We have learned that Mencius said that human nature is good at the beginning of life, and Xunzi said that inherent vice at the beginning of life meant half of human nature. People's evil and good are often mixed. Then Xun Yue advocates that "both good and evil are turbid", which has to attract our attention. Yang Xiong of the Western Han Dynasty also proposed that "human nature is also intertwined with good and evil. Those who cultivate their goodness are good people, and those who cultivate their wickedness are evil people. " [4] refers to the fact that good and evil in human nature are integrated, mixed together and difficult to separate. If we cultivate good, good will appear and evil will disappear. If we practice in the evil direction, then the good factors will not exist and become villains. Song Ru, Zhu Cheng, etc. Advocating to get rid of "human desire is selfish and justice is preserved". This Confucian school discussed the importance of the mind. However, neither practice nor nature is true.
Scholars in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period have put forward some other wonderful theories. Unfortunately, due to the emergence of Confucian tradition, these theories have not been taken seriously and become a little-known non-mainstream school. Now that we see that both the theory of "good nature" and the theory of "evil nature" are flawed, we must see if there is a better theory among these non-mainstream schools. In addition to the two theories of good nature and evil nature, the third theory was put forward by Xunzi, and his students carried forward the theory of "evil nature is not evil" Xunzi has always been regarded as the representative of China's ancient theory of evil nature, because Xunzi once said, "Human nature is evil, and good nature is also false." However, some scholars believe that Xunzi actually advocates that "the nature is not evil, and the nature is neutral." Sex is a mass of mud, and it is what it is shaped into. (Chen Xiuwu's Criticism of Human Nature-Xunzi) Gao Zi believes that there is no distinction between good and evil in sex. "Nature is neither good nor bad." Good and bad are not born, but can be learned.
Finally, I would like to discuss Shi Shuo's view of human nature during the Warring States Period. Put him last, because from all aspects, his theory should be the most correct explanation of human nature, in line with historical and social reality, and it is also the new thinking that we are looking for to unify the cultural differences between China and the West in the view of human nature. The theory of Shi Shuo is that there are good and evil in nature (hereinafter referred to as the theory of good and evil in nature). He believes that "human nature is good and evil, and it is good to raise people and raise their goodness; Malignant, raising is evil. In this way, each sex has its own yin and yang, good and evil, and raises it. " (Wang Chong: "On balance? Nature) Since people have intelligence, emotion, language and writing, they have the ability to be kind, the temptation to be rewarded, the temptation to be charitable and the need for self-realization. When physiological needs, security needs, love and belonging needs, respect needs are met, and self-realization needs to be carried forward, the essence of goodness will be more presented, and the driving force that guides people to be good is human instinct. However, people evolved from animals, and the genes of the law of the jungle, incest and survival competition still remain in the animal kingdom. The nature of many animals still exists and lurks. As long as the living conditions return to the sinister environment, the evil nature will reappear and the individual's survival instinct will lead people to evil. Therefore, human nature has both good and evil. If we cultivate good, good will grow, and if we cultivate evil, evil will grow. Hao Yixing said:
At the end of "On Evil Nature", from "numerous and weak, huge millet" to the following, it is said that the body is beautiful, and the teachers and friends will gradually fade away. However, inherent vice, the teachers and friends will be cut off and good, and its meaning is self-evident. But it can also be seen that both good and evil are biased. If it is ambiguous, good and evil should coexist. Therefore, Confucius' language is only' similar', which shows that good and evil exist; Say' live far apart' again, and you can see the difference between good and evil. Therefore, there is also the saying of' confusing saints'. " [5]
The theory of evil nature is basically the most appropriate description of human nature. Because the theory of human nature discusses the existing problems, as long as the existence of good and evil can be simply proved, the problem will be solved. Simply put, human nature is born with factors and concepts of good and evil. When a person first comes to this world, he will feel that the world is full of sunshine and love because of his kind ability, and he will repay the world with kindness. This is what people who become evil in the future call "too simple" at the beginning of their memories. At the age of 30, because he directly participated in the competition for survival and experienced the cruelty of reality, his kindness was not rewarded by kindness, but was used by people. At this time, human nature is divided, and some people can always stick to their beliefs and continue to be good. At this time, human instinct prevailed; Others abandon good into evil and participate in jungle melee, when individual instinct dominates. The former created a generation of great men, while the latter turned the evolved human beings into mortals. You see those corrupt officials or kidnappers, who have been bullying the weak and fearing the hard all their lives, are about to be punished by law.