What is the difference between humans and animals?
Mencius believed that "eat warm clothes, live in seclusion without teaching, and be close to animals." He took Shun as an example to further illustrate.
Mencius used "Ji" to describe the difference between man and beast, only one thing. Most people threw it away, but this gentleman kept it. This is the difference between a gentleman and an ordinary person.
In Mencius' mind, Shun is the most typical gentleman. He understands the normal state of things, distinguishes the truth of human relations, and acts according to the requirements of benevolence and righteousness, rather than deliberately practicing benevolence and righteousness.
Shun is not naturally good, but more sincere and sensitive than the average person.
Reason and justice please my heart and kindness please my mouth.
Saints are called saints because they first gained the "sense of justice" that we appreciate in our hearts. "Reason" refers to rationality. Whether it is truth, truth or ideal, it is inseparable from people's cognitive ability. This is about "knowledge". Secondly, "righteousness" is based on "behavior", so it is translated as righteousness.
Truth and justice really make people feel happy. Therefore, it is clear that "justice pleases my heart and justice pleases my mouth", which shows that there is no justice in my heart. Only in the natural state, when we are sincere, will we like justice.
Mencius said that people have "sincerity". The "initial heart" is the original state of the heart, a kind of ability full of keen perception, and the power to ask people to do good at any time. Mencius reminded us not to "lose our original heart" (Mencius Gao Zi), which is what modern people often say: "Don't forget your original intention", don't forget your original intention.
Confucianism is not religion, but philosophy. Philosophy needs to make a complete and fundamental reflection on life experience through rationality, and get some insights through induction.
The goodness of human nature is even better than water.
The value of Confucianism lies in that it tells us the word "sincerity". If people are not sincere, doing more good deeds is only a means, tool and use, just to achieve other purposes.
Confucianism is a "dynamic theory", and talking about human nature is expressed in a dynamic way. Humanity is a state of strength, depending on your sincerity. Sincerity can make you show sympathy for others, and naturally you can "starve yourself and drown yourself", "old me and the old man, young me and the young". The key is to "push" and spread the unbearable heart.
Zhu misinterpreted Mencius.
Mencius' "Four Beginnings" is also one of the biggest controversies in studying Confucianism. He said, "Compassion is the purpose of benevolence; The heart of shame and evil, the end of righteousness; The words of the heart are the end of the ceremony; The heart of right and wrong is also the end of wisdom. "
Benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom are "good", while sadness, shame, rebellion and right and wrong are "good", just like people have limbs. Everyone has four ends: sadness, shame, resignation and right and wrong. Only by sending them out can we realize the four kinds of goodness: benevolence, righteousness, courtesy and wisdom.
No one is born polite. Etiquette is the norm of life. Only by learning etiquette, etiquette and politeness can you be polite.
But how did Zhu understand this passage? He said that human nature has "benevolence, righteousness, courtesy and wisdom", that is, human nature has "benevolence, righteousness, courtesy and wisdom" (goodness), which is manifested in compassion, shame, resignation and right and wrong. His statement completely reversed Mencius' meaning! The position of studying the text is to respect the original code and the author.
Human nature is good.
I advocate that human nature is good, which means that as long as people are sincere, they have the power to be good from the heart, otherwise they will feel uneasy and unbearable.
As long as you are sincere, you can be an upright person even if you don't know a word. If you don't know a word, you must be as sincere as Shun. When you see good behavior and hear good words, you will feel that your heart is sincere, and you will immediately have a yearning heart. Your inner joy is "if you decide the river, you can't resist it". Work hard at once. Since people like reason and righteousness, why not practice it? Of course you can do it! Because the human heart has four good ends: compassion, shame, resignation and right and wrong.
Mencius said, "Water and faith are inseparable." The goodness of human nature is even better than water. 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; Do it on impulse. Can be made in the mountains. Is this the nature of water? Its potential is natural. People can be bad, but their nature is still good. "
This is the origin of "human nature is good". Mencius, from the state of water in nature, is bound to be downward, metaphorically speaking, "human nature is good, and if it is still water, it will be downward." There is nothing wrong with people, and there is nothing wrong with water. "So, what is the direction of the water? Or the "sex" of water? Of course, it is the "direction" of water, and the "nature" of water is dihydrogen oxygen (H20). Mencius used water to flow downwards, which is a metaphor for people doing good. So Mencius means that human nature is good, which is really incredible.
The question of good and evil of human nature is a false proposition.
Can't say that human nature is good or evil. This statement belongs to essentialism and commits the fallacy of naturalist. People have only two choices: be good or be evil. So, are good and evil outside? Good and evil is an evaluation of human behavior, and there is no internal or external distinction. Only those who affirm essentialism have such doubts, so this question cannot be established.
"Goodness" is the realization of a kind of proper relationship between me and others, so there is a problem of good and evil when people get along with each other. Robinson drifted to a desert island alone, only life and death, no good or evil, he was just one of many animals. Sincerity is a starting point, good is reassuring, and evil is uneasy. Only by practicing goodness can we bring true happiness.
Mencius always added the word "Wei" when referring to "good and evil", which means that "good" is the level of behavior, but the power to launch it comes from within.
Doing good is not what others ask me to do, but the power of self-demand comes from my heart after I am sincere. This is "human nature is good".
Why did Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties say that "human nature is good"?
To learn Confucianism, we must first put aside the views of Song and Ming scholars on Confucianism. They have the background of the times, so don't let them hinder our contact with the real Confucius and Mencius.
Why do they say "human nature is good"? Simply put, it is against Buddhism and Taoism. Buddhism says that sex is empty, and the Diamond Sutra repeatedly says that "no one, no one, no sentient beings, no life". Buddha said that nothing is nothing, and nothing is nothing. The purpose is to get rid of persistence, because sex is empty.
Confucianism believes that this statement makes sense, but it cannot accept "sexual emptiness." Because then life will become a mirage, such as dew and electricity. Scholars in the Song and Ming Dynasties quoted Mencius as saying that human nature is good and human nature is good. Up to now, just like the Monkey King's hoops, few people can get rid of this circle.