In order to provide a more cogent interpretation of Mencius and Xunzi’s theories of human nature, this thesis try to elaborate some basic ideas and demonstrate some misinterpretations of their theories....[ Read more ]

In order to provide a more cogent interpretation of Mencius and Xunzi’s theories of human nature, this thesis try to elaborate some basic ideas and demonstrate some misinterpretations of their theories.

Based on the traditional interpretation, most scholars have agreed that Mencius regarded human nature as intrinsically good while Xunzi recognized it as intrinsically evil. I will argue that their difference in the view of human nature is based on their different theoretical concerns and problematics of human nature, in which Mencius tried to find the essence of morality (How morality is possible?) while Xunzi tried to find the origin of morality (Where does morality come from?). This divergence eventually leads them to construct different theories of human nature.

In order to clarify those misinterpretations in the past, based on the texts, I will provide evidence to elaborate a more cogent interpretation of Mencius and Xunzi’s theories of human nature. By doing this, we will also find some critical differences between their theories of morality.