ipl-logo

Differences Between Mencius And Hsun Tzu

797 Words4 Pages

In Man’s Nature Is Good and Man’s Nature Is Evil, Mencius and Hsun Tzu argue about the true meaning of human nature. Mencius believed that humans are inherently good and Hsun Tzu believed that humans are naturally evil. Is it possible humans can be both good and evil? When it comes to whether human nature is good or evil, most people will choose one or the other. However, can’t it be both? Both Mencius and Hsun Tzu can be right, there are millions of people in the world and some are good and some are evil,“If you plant the seeds carefully at the same time and in the same place, they’ll all sprout and grow ripe by summer solstice. If they don’t grow the same it 's because of inequities in richness of soil, amounts of rainfall, or the care given them by farmers” (Mencius 81). Some may be evil but react to what they’ve done and changed to good. Others may be good but have been hurt and chose to be evil. There are even those who can be both at the same time, they are good to their loved ones and evil towards their enemies. There are many different cases and it will never really come down to one explanation.
People that are good can change due to events that happen in their lives. They are fighting with themselves on whether they want to do good or evil but in the end chose evil, “If Fernandez 2 someone’s evil, it can’t be blamed on inborn capacities. We all have a heart of conscience, a heart of reverence and a heart of right and wrong” (Mencius 80). Deep down all humans

Show More
Related

  • What Is The Lottery By Shirley Jackson Used To Illustrate The Truth About Human Nature

    1025 Words  | 5 Pages

    Over the centuries, the most challenging question to find an answer for; is about the human nature. Are people born with evil nature or good nature? However, until today, no person can find the truth about humanity. In fact, almost all people defend about the goodness in their souls and believe that they are far away from wickedness, although wars, murder and violence show strong evidence of evil in humans. In contrast, Shirley Jackson in her short story argues that evil is firmly rooted in human beings.

    Read More

  • 'Master Ming And Branagh's Frankenstein'

    358 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Man’s nature at birth is good” (). Referred to as “Master Ming”, Mencius was a fourth century Chinese scholar whose significance in the Confucian mythology is second to that of Confucian himself. In numerous ways, he contemplated the thought of the master for successive ages while synchronously inspiring Confucian’s perceptions alongside his own profound approaches. Mencius was predominantly renowned for his famous ideology of human nature, conforming to which all beings engage in innate integrity in which either can be refined through literacy and determination or brutalized through negligence and pessimistic factors. Ming genuinely views human nature as superior as they acquire an inborn aspiration towards goodness.

    Read More

  • Lord Of The Flies Argumentative Essay

    762 Words  | 4 Pages

    Humans, a funny thing they are. Are they dauntless, or careless; hardworking or greedy; good or bad? Some argue that whether a person is good or bad comes down to their experiences or walk of life, although that may very well factor into a person’s character, I don’t fully agree. By nature, humans are essentially bad. Humans are tainted, imperfect even, most of their so called ‘good decisions’, are due to fear of what would happen if they didn’t make that choice as opposed to their own will and want.

    Read More

  • Mencius And Daoism And Spontaneity

    1645 Words  | 7 Pages

    From Mencian view, human nature (xing) is inherently good. Mencius 6A/2 states that humans’ good nature is like water’s nature to flow down, which means that even if we do bad things, our nature is still good. Mencius 2A/6 and 6A/6 name the goodness we all have as the “four hearts”, the heart of compassion, shame, deference (respect in 6A/6) and judgment. The four hearts are inherently present within us like part of us, and hence natural to us, as stated in 2A/6 and 6A/6. Despite the good nature, we need to do something to have a good life.

    Read More

  • Cultural Differences Between Good And Evil

    1242 Words  | 5 Pages

    Through out history evil has been best depicted as the absence of goodness and goodness as the absence of evil. With goodness being comprehended as the direct opposite of evil. It is under speculation that maybe there can 't exist only one general meaning of good vs. evil. I trust this, in light of the fact that any one individual 's perception of good or evil is without a doubt directed by one 's social comprehension of certain qualities and ethics within their culture, i.e. the power of social conformity (Muncaster-Social Psychology Lecture, 2016). Yes, there can be cases of evil that is seen as malevolent all over the world but due to the ethnocentric component of the perception of cultural morals and values, one is unable to categorize another individual as evil or good based upon their own cultural understanding of this notion.

    Read More

  • The Lord Of The Flies: Are People Born Good Or Evil?

    898 Words  | 4 Pages

    Some people could be born with evil souls and some could be born with good souls and the reason we are always fighting with each other is because it’s evils opinion against goods opinion. Or are we all born with a nutreal soul and then decide to be either good or evil based on the type of enviroment they grew up in. The most popular opinion is that people are born evil but choose to do good things to make up for it and

    Read More

  • Good And Evil In John Knowles A Separate Peace

    672 Words  | 3 Pages

    Human Nature can be both good and evil, we can love people or pray for their failure. In A Separate Peace by John Knowles there is a lot of examples of that throughout the book. The main character, Gene certainly shows many different sides of the good and evil in humans. Gene repents human nature.

    Read More

  • Evil Is Within Everyone Lord Of The Flies Analysis

    902 Words  | 4 Pages

    Although everyone has the capacity to act good, there is also evil within everyone and it is only

    Read More

  • Human Nature Inherently Evil Analysis

    155 Words  | 1 Pages

    This shows why Hobbes believed in the monarchial form of government. Good is considered as morally righteous and evil is moral wrongdoing. I think that humans are inherently evil because they have to make an effort

    Read More

  • Are People Born Inherently Good Or Evil

    812 Words  | 4 Pages

    This is because we cannot officially define what the words “good” or “evil” really mean. The answer depends on the opinion of the person being asked. Many people believe that we can be born bad. However, there exists a significantly stronger argument that people are indeed born good. There is factual evidence that supports this claim.

    Read More

  • Human Nature In Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

    1127 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Truth About Human Nature My perspective on the goodness of humanity was completely altered after not only reading Lord of the Flies, but also from personal experiences in my own life. Recently I was shopping at DSW with my brother, a 12-year-old who made it clear that he would rather be doing anything but shoe shopping. He was complaining and insisting that we go home, but my mom was in need of a new pair of shoes for work. I was killing time browsing for shoes when my brother kicked me in the shin and hit me for no reason.

    Read More

  • Born Evil In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1000 Words  | 4 Pages

    Naturally everyone is born evil, it just takes someone to teach us how to be good. When people don 't know where to turn to, they turn against each other. This is demonstrated every time a civilization collapses, people result to violence. The reason we do not commit crime, is because of the law, accompanied with the fear of the punishment. "I was like a wild beast that had broken the toils; destroying the objects that obstructed me and ranging through the wood with a stag-like swiftness.

    Read More

  • To What Extent Can We Consider People As Good Or Evil Essay

    545 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everyone 's definition of good and evil is different. This definition can change depending on their upbringing, religion and events in their own life. This can be seen in a classroom. Everyone 's definition of good and evil will be different as they were all brought up differently. Without a clear definition of good and evil, we can not consider people as

    Read More

  • Is Man Born Evil In The Social Contract By Jean-Jacques Rousseau

    1238 Words  | 5 Pages

    Firstly, man is born evil because society shows him to be evil. An example of this is how parents must raise their child to be good. A parent never has to raise their child to do bad things. A young child might draw on the wall and believe that it is art, however the parent will stop the child and tell them that drawing on the wall is a bad thing to do.

    Read More

  • Definition Of Evil Essay

    638 Words  | 3 Pages

    Evil is a simple word that we learn at a young age and that we understand is bad. However, our youth and innocence prevents us from knowing the weight the word holds. As our understanding of evil develops, we begin to see evil all around us. Although we hold common societal definitions of evil, each person is bound to view evil slightly different from others. Someone might consider alcoholism evil, while others consider it normal: someone might believe racism is evil, while others believe it is natural.

    Read More

More about Differences Between Mencius And Hsun Tzu

Open Document