The differences between the three.
(1) Mencius has always been regarded as the direct disciple of Confucius’ theory, so his thoughts inherited and developed Confucius’ theory. Confucius once made this conclusion about human nature: "Natures are similar, but habits are far apart." Confucius believed that "people are born straight," and Mencius proposed the theory of good nature on the basis of this. Mencius believed that human nature is inherently good, and believed that true human nature is not "food, sex, sex" and the like, but is no different from animals such as cattle and dogs. Mencius believed that "everyone has a heart of compassion, a heart of shame and disgust, a heart of respect, and a heart of right and wrong." The heart of compassion is benevolence, the heart of shame is righteousness, the heart of respect is propriety, the heart of right and wrong is wisdom, benevolence, justice, etiquette and wisdom are not external, but inherent in people. Therefore, Mencius believes that human nature is inherently good.
(2) Xunzi, who was slightly later than Mencius, believed that human nature is inherently evil. Human nature is born with the desires of ears and eyes. Human nature is born with lust." He also launched a fierce criticism of Mencius's idea that nature is inherently good. First of all, Xunzi believed that Mencius did not understand the difference between "nature" and "falseness". The so-called human nature is "a gift from heaven, which cannot be taken into account or acted upon". "Xing" is a natural attribute that humans are born with. Anything acquired cannot be called "Xing".
Mencius believed that the benevolence, justice, etiquette and wisdom that are “inherent in me” are not something that people are born with, but are learned through various channels in their long social life and slowly evolved. . Therefore, in Xunzi's view, these benevolence, justice, etiquette, and wisdom that "can be learned and mastered, and can be accomplished" can only be called "pseudo" and cannot be called human nature.
Secondly, Xunzi believed that Mencius' "the goodness of human nature cannot be differentiated and verified. It can be talked about while sitting down, but it cannot be established, and it cannot be implemented after spreading" is a theory with no practical value. In the era of unjust wars in the Spring and Autumn Period, when various vassal states competed for power and fought endlessly, Mencius's idle talk about the inherent goodness of human nature was feeble and inconsistent with the times. Xunzi believed that only the inherent evil of human nature could explain and solve practical problems.
The beauty of the two and three working together.
(1) ***Both emphasize the role of education.
Mencius believes that human nature is inherently good, but he does not think that since human nature is already inherently good, then there is no need for Confucian education to make people good. It is precisely because human nature is inherently good that we should and can take advantage of the situation to expand people's good deeds.
Although Mencius believes that human nature is inherently good, it is only a moral possibility. Only by educating people, constantly expanding their goodness, and carrying out moral education can people truly transform from potential goodness to true goodness. Only kindness in reality can understand human ethics.
Mencius was very optimistic about the role of education on people and society. Mencius believed that through education, "everyone can be like Yao and Shun"; and society will also have "father and son have kinship, monarch and ministers have righteousness, husband and wife are separated, elders and young are orderly, friends have trust", "old and old are as old as others, young and old are like each other" The situation of great harmony between my young and the young of others", thus achieving peace in the world.
Xunzi believed that people are inherently evil, so they need etiquette education. Otherwise, if everyone "indulges their temperament" and "is in a state of peace" and "the strong harms the weak, and the majority will destroy the few", then The world will be in chaos and perish. So since human nature is inherently evil, how can human nature accept etiquette and transform into good? Here, Xunzi is not an absolute theorist of evil nature. He does not believe that human nature is greedy, profit-loving and unchangeable like his disciple Han Fei. On the contrary, Xunzi believed that people still have the potential to be good. As active subjects, humans can fully understand and master benevolence, justice, etiquette and law. Whether human nature is ultimately good or evil depends on the interaction with acquired environment, education and personal efforts.
(2) Emphasis on environmental impact and personal efforts.
Both Mencius and Xunzi believed that the environment and personal efforts have an impact on doing good. Specifically, Mencius adhered to the "internal development theory", which paid more attention to personal inner cultivation and the subjective positive role of the individual. He required to cultivate one's nature with intention and seek for others, that is, to preserve the innocent heart and cultivate a kind nature, that is, "loving others" Not being close to others is contrary to his benevolence, not treating others well is contrary to his wisdom, being courteous but not responding to others is contrary to his teachings, and those who fail to do so are all seeking what they have done themselves.”
Xunzi holds the external theory and believes that education’s “pretending to be false” and “accumulating good” are achieved from the outside in.
Therefore, Xunzi attaches great importance to the influence of the external environment. As the saying goes: "The hemp grows in the hemp, and it is straight without support; the white sand is in nirvana, and it is black." Of course, Mencius also saw the influence of the environment on people. The so-called "Heaven is about to fall." To entrust a person with a great responsibility, he must first strain his mind, strain his muscles and bones, starve his body and skin, deplete his body, and mess up his actions. Therefore, if he is tempted to endure, he will benefit what he cannot do." He believes that the worse the environment, the worse it will be. It is possible to create great talents; Xunzi also believes that only by "accumulating good deeds and becoming virtuous" can an individual "become self-satisfied and have a holy heart." Learning must rely on one's own efforts to accumulate silicon and make it a thousand miles, and accumulate small things to become a river.
(3) A variety of learning methods.
Mencius believed that learning should pay attention to the development of people's inner abilities and focus on strengthening the training of rational thinking abilities. Therefore, Mencius emphasized that people should "further study and be content" in learning. Studying requires not only delving deeply into it, but also having your own experience and experience, and not copying what others say. Mencius has a famous saying: "It is better to have no book than to believe in the Book." He also said that learning should "not use words to harm words, not use words to harm wisdom, and use meaning to contradict wisdom, this is to gain it." In specific learning, we must also pay attention to "Yingke Gradual". Learning cannot be done by pushing the seedlings to encourage growth, but must be gradual and based on the requirements of learning and the inherent laws of human development. In addition, Mencius also required that learning must be concentrated and not half-hearted.
Xunzi has a relatively complete and systematic discussion on the learning process and thinking methods. Xunzi believes that the entire learning process should be a complete process from hearing to knowing to doing. The ultimate destination of learning is action, that is, human social practice. It is believed that only action is the highest stage and ultimate goal of learning. Regarding the relationship between hearing, seeing, knowing and doing, Xunzi discussed it this way: Not hearing is not as good as hearing it, hearing it is not as good as seeing it, seeing it is not as good as knowing it, and knowing it is not as good as doing it. Learning stops when you practice it. He also believes that people’s hearing, seeing, and knowing have their own limitations, and only through practical verification can they truly be understood.
Summary: Whether human nature is inherently good or inherently evil, many scholars at home and abroad have their own opinions. Mencius and Wang Yangming believe that nature is inherently good, Xunzi and Plato believe that nature is inherently evil, and scholars such as Marx, Cassirer, and Ye Lan believe that nature is inherently good. There are different opinions. Here we will not discuss what human nature is, but will briefly discuss the positive effects of education, the environment and people's own efforts on the development of human education in Mencius and Xunzi's theory of good nature and evil nature, so as to give a brief introduction to modern education. The development of the cause can be enlightened, with a view to how to create a better external environment, carry out more humane education, and better exert people's consciousness and initiative to better cultivate people.