1. Theory of Good Nature
Mencius’ main philosophical thought is his theory of the goodness of human nature. “The Theory of Good Nature” is the theoretical basis for Mencius’s discussion of life and politics. In his ideological system The center is a central link.
“Everyone has a heart of compassion; a heart of shame and disgust, all have it; a heart of respect, everyone has it; and a heart of right and wrong, everyone has it. The heart of compassion is benevolence; the heart of shame and disgust is righteousness; the heart of respect, the heart of right and wrong, is wisdom. Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom are not imposed on me from outside, but are inherent in me." ("Gaozi" 1) )
"What a person can do without learning is his good ability; what he knows without worrying about it is his good knowledge." ("Exerting Heart" (Part 1))
He believes that "Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom" are things that people are born with and are not acquired from the objectively existing external world. "Theory of Good Nature" is a set of idealistic statements. However, Mencius regarded "Theory of Good Nature" as The theoretical basis for people to cultivate their moral character and practice kingly and benevolent government; it also has a certain degree of positive significance.
2. Moral Theory
"Benevolence and righteousness" is the core idea of ??Mencius's moral theory. Mencius The so-called "benevolence and righteousness" are class-based and are built on the basis of feudal hierarchical society. However, he opposes the exploitation of the common people by rulers and opposes wars between countries and between families.
Benevolence is an ancient political thought category. "Shuowen" explains the word ren: "Benevolence is also a close relationship. From the second person." With the development of society, its meaning has continued to evolve. Confucius discussed benevolence, then It is given more enrichment and development. Ren is the highest moral ideal of Confucius: Confucius uses the concept of Ren in many senses, which reflects that the theory of Confucius' theory is not complete and rigorous enough. Mencius also attaches great importance to Ren. Mencius regards Confucius The development of the thought of benevolence is particularly reflected in the fact that Mencius proposed that the four virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom would be derived from this theory, and the central point was benevolence. He also further discussed the relationship between the four virtues of benevolence, justice, etiquette, and wisdom. Secondly, on On the basis of the ethical thought of benevolence, Mencius put forward the theory of benevolent government. Mencius took benevolence as the starting point of governance, requiring rulers to "administer benevolent government to the people" ("King Hui of Liang" Part 1), and also specifically proposed the principles of benevolent government in economic, political and other aspects. Specific benevolent government measures.
3. Political and economic aspects
Mencius focused on Confucius's "benevolent learning" thought and put forward the political proposition of "benevolent government".
"Benevolence" and "righteousness" are the core of Mencius's ideals and the starting point of his political economic theory. Mencius's political theory is the royal way with benevolent government as its content, and its essence is to serve the feudal ruling class .
According to Mencius, benevolence is the "human heart". What is benevolence? According to the book "Mencius", it can be summarized as follows: First, be close to relatives. Mencius advocated that rulers should "be on the same page as the people" ", "Be happy with the people". Second, use virtue. "He who wins people for the world is called benevolence." ("Teng Wengong Shang Shang") "Respect the virtuous and enable the capable, and the heroes will reign." ("Gongsun Chou") (above) "The wise are in office, the capable are in office; their administration and punishment are clear." Third, respect for human rights. Mencius publicly promoted the slogans of "the people are the most precious" and "the king is the least", and advocated the reconciliation between the ruler and the ruler within a certain range. The relationship between the working people. Fourth, sympathy. It requires the rulers to use the method of "old people and their elders, young people and their younger people" to govern the people. It is believed that by doing so, they can gain the welcome and support of the people. , thereby achieving "invincibility in the world." Fifth, killing the unrighteous is also benevolence, and it is the greatest benevolence. Mencius demanded that all tyrants and corrupt officials who seek to harm the people be severely condemned, and strive to develop the real society To the political track of "protecting the people and becoming king".
Taking "benevolent government" as the fundamental starting point, Mencius created a set of ideal economic plans based on the "well field" model. He advocated "saving punishments, thinning Advocates such as "tax collection" and "not violating the farming season" require feudal countries to pay attention to production and develop production to make the people rich while collecting taxes, so that fiscal revenue can have sufficient sources. This kind of thinking should be affirmed As a thinker of the emerging landlord class, Mencius also proposed the theory of emphasizing agriculture without suppressing commerce, which improved the traditional thinking of "emphasis on agriculture and suppressing commerce". This economic concept was progressive at the time. Mencius's "well field system" ideal had a profound impact on Establish limits for future generations
The theory of governing the country by controlling land annexation and alleviating class conflicts has far-reaching influence and guiding significance.
4. In terms of philosophical thought and epistemology
Mencius’s views contain a certain idealism Elements of doctrine. Mencius's Tao of Heaven believes that Heaven is the highest willed being. The replacement of dynasties, the changing of kings, the rise and fall of life, wealth and poverty in the human world are all determined by Heaven's destiny. Humans must obey Heaven, " Those who follow the will of heaven will prosper, those who go against it will perish." God's will is irresistible. He stands on the opposite side of the materialist reflection theory, denying that human thoughts are a reflection of social existence, and believes that people are born with innate goodness. The germ of Mencius.
Mencius’s thoughts are complex, and his thoughts are mainly composed of materialism: the epistemological insights reflected in the book "Mencius" contain many elements of simple materialism. .
There is a saying in "Mencius": "...when Heaven is about to assign a great responsibility to this person, he must first strain his mind, strain his muscles and bones, starve his body and skin, deplete his body, and make his behavior chaotic. What he did, so he moved his heart and forbearance, and (gained) what he could not do..." ("Gaozi" Part 2) points out that many knowledge and abilities must go through difficulties, setbacks, failures, continuous lessons, and training before they can be acquired. The objective world has its own laws, which cannot be violated.
Mencius clearly saw that the development and change of all things have their own certain process. He talked about a The story is used as a metaphor: There is a man in Ning who pinches his seedlings when they are not growing. He comes back with a bright light and says to him: "I am sick today! I will help the seedlings grow!" His son came to look at him, and the seedlings looked at him. There are very few people in the world who do not help the elders of the seedlings! Those who think it is useless and abandon them are those who do not cultivate the seedlings. Those who help the elders and pull the seedlings are not useless, but also harmful. ("Gongsun Chou" Part 1)
Understanding the world is to transform the world. The most important part is to master the objective laws. Mencius used Xia Yu to control the water, and based on the law of water flowing down, it can be directed but cannot be contained, to explain how people understand the world and transform it. The world must be like this.
Mencius inherited and developed the idea that when educating, we must adopt a variety of methods that vary from person to person. In Confucius' educational method, "teaching students in accordance with their aptitude". However, Confucius's "teaching students in accordance with their aptitude" With development, it is believed that educating students must have certain standards so that students have a clear goal to strive for. The learning methods and education methods advocated by Mencius are the crystallization of ancient Chinese pedagogy and still have a certain influence on our learning and education today. Reference value.
In addition, Mencius also attached great importance to self-cultivation. In terms of the cultivation of mind, Mencius started from the fundamental idea of ??"the theory of good nature" and believed that the most important driving force for the implementation of "benevolent government" completely relied on A gentleman has a "benevolent heart". This kind of "conscience" and "good ability", "what he does is saved and what he abandons is destroyed", the most important thing is the word "nurture". Mencius regarded Zisi's "Tao of sincerity" as Based on this, the views of "devoting one's heart", "intelligence" and "knowing heaven" were put forward, thus forming a set of ideological system containing elements of subjective idealism.