Is human nature basically good—or is it intrinsically evil?
Mencius (c. 371–289 BC) is best known for defending the idea that human beings are, at heart, fundamentally good. His writings, heavily influenced by the philosopher and religious figure Confucius (551–479 BC), are among the central texts of Chinese philosophy, and they continue to resonate more than 2,000 years after his death.
Born during the Zhou dynasty in present-day eastern China, Mencius lived in an unstable era of political division known as the period of warring states. His father died when Mencius was three. His mother cared deeply about his education, and according to legend she moved to several different cities before finally finding the right teacher for her son.
The teacher she eventually picked was named Zisi, a grandson of Confucius’s, who schooled his pupil in Confucian ethics and philosophy. Like Confucius, Mencius went on to work as a government official and also wandered across China spreading his beliefs.
Mencius believed that people were born predisposed to four virtues: empathy, respect for others, a sense of right and wrong, and the ability to feel shame for their misdeeds. These four qualities, the “four beginnings,” were the “sprout” from which other virtues originated, he believed. His most eloquent opponents, Mozi (c. 470–c. 391 BC) and Yang Zhu (440–c. 360 BC), countered that people lacked any instinctive virtue and that ethics had to be learned through study and experience.
Mencius also wrote extensively about politics and elaborated on many of Confucius’s theories. Like Confucius, he believed that the personal virtue of a ruler was of paramount importance; Mencius added that if a leader lost the mandate of heaven through misrule, it was acceptable to overthrow him.
ADDITIONAL FACTS
- An ancient temple devoted to Mencius in his home province of Shandong was damaged during China’s Cultural Revolution, but repaired and reopened in 1980.
- A collection of the philosopher’s works, the Mengzi, is regarded as one of the four books that are the central texts of Confucian thinking.
- Although some of Mencius’s writings are reminiscent of those of the Greek philosopher Plato (c. 429–347 BC) and their lives overlapped, there is no evidence that either man was aware of the other’s existence.
