Lu Jianhua | Mencius's human world from the dimension of the nature, content, basis and value of human nature

Mencius's human world

——From the perspective of the nature, content, basis and value orientation of human nature

Lu Jianhua

Professor of the Department of Philosophy, Anhui University

Source: Henan Social Sciences, No. 5, 2021

Summary: Mencius believed that human nature is a congenital qualification of human beings, this qualification is also called "conscience", "conscience", from the essence of human nature, human nature is good; the content of human nature is objectively "virtue" and "desire", of which", "morality" includes benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, etc., "desire" includes sensory desires such as ears, eyes, noses, and mouths, but "virtue" should truly become the content of human nature; the content of human nature is "morality", in other words, the reason why benevolence and wisdom are inherent in people, the reason is that the content of human nature or "benevolence, righteousness, wisdom is rooted in the heart." (Mencius Dedication to the Heart); the content of human nature or "benevolence and righteousness and wisdom are rooted in the heart" (Mencius, dedication to the heart), because the "heart" is composed of "benevolence" or benevolence and righteousness; the "heart" is composed of benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom is given by heaven, and it is also caused by the "mighty qi"; starting from human nature, acting in accordance with nature means that starting from benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom, acting from the way of benevolence and righteousness, must be beneficial to others and society, in this sense, human nature is good; human nature is good, and some people's behavior is "evil" because people act against human nature. Banish their "hearts". This is the idea and content of Mencius's theory of human nature.

Keywords: Mencius; human nature; goodness; heart; qi

"Mencius Teng Wen Gongshang" Yun: "Mencius is good in nature, and his words must be called Yao Shun", which many scholars believe is a high generalization of Mencius's theory of human nature. "Taoist goodness" shows that Mencius took the goodness of human nature as the characteristic of his theory of human nature, and thus distinguished it from other human theories; "calling Yao Shun" is because in Mencius's view, "Yao Shun, the Sex One" (Mencius, Under the Heart"), his "good" behavior is out of nature, or that his obedience to nature is naturally "good", which can be called a model for practicing the goodness of human nature. In fact, Mencius's theory of human nature cannot be summarized by "sexual goodness", because it is only a summary of it from the dimension of the value of human nature, and does not involve the nature, content and basis of human nature in Mencius's theory of human nature.

We know that Mencius's discussion of human nature is based on the need to argue that "virtue" is inherent in human beings or the inherent need for benevolence and righteousness, and is also based on the need to reshape the Confucian doctrine of human nature or to criticize the existing Confucian doctrine of human nature. In short, the two are two and one. Regarding the confucian doctrine of human nature at the time of Mencius, it is recorded in the Mencius, which is what Mencius's disciple Gong Duzi summed up: 'Sex is not good and there is no goodness.'" Or: "Sex can be good, it can be unwholesome, it is guwen and wuxing that the people are good, and the people who are quiet and vigorous are violent." Or: "There is sexual goodness, and there is sexual impurity, so that Yao is the king and there is an image, with the blind eye as the father and there is Shun, with the son of the brother and the prince as the prince And the prince Bigan" (Mencius, "The Confession of the Son"). The common flaw of the above three Confucian doctrines of human nature is that they have not solved the problem of the intrinsic nature of morality to man from the dimension of human nature, and on the whole, they regard morality as an external existence of man. Specifically, the so-called "sexual unkindness is not unkind" explicitly negates the morality of human nature and opposes the inclusion of benevolence and righteousness as the content of human nature; those who believe that "sex can be good and can be unwholesome" do not recognize the absolute morality of human nature, so they do not list benevolence and righteousness as the only content of human nature, and the content of their so-called human nature includes "unkind" things; those who think that "sexual goodness and sexual immatity" only recognize the "sexual goodness" of some people, only affirm the morality of human nature of some people, and only list benevolence and righteousness as the content of human nature of some people. Thus denying the "sexual goodness" of another part of the human race, human nature, and the morality of the content of human nature. Because of this, Mencius's discussion of human nature, on the one hand, is different from the above three Confucian doctrines of human nature, highlighting the "goodness" of human nature, on the other hand, based on the "goodness" of human nature, he argues with the confessor, and shows his theory of human nature in the controversy with the confessor.

First, the essence of human nature: conscience and conscience

At the time of Mencius, there were at least three types of Confucian theories of human nature, namely, the above-mentioned "sexual unkindness is not unkind", "sex can be good, can be unwholesome", "sexual goodness, sexual unkindness", and these three types are not satisfactory to Mencius. At the same time, schools other than Confucianism also had their own doctrines of human nature, which mencius was not satisfied with, although Mencius did not explicitly state the specific content or characteristics of the human nature doctrines of these schools. Therefore, Mencius's discussion of human nature, starting from the essence of human nature, had to face it.

First of all, Mencius based on human nature itself, from the innate, intrinsic, and moral dimensions of human nature, put forward his own views on human nature: "Those who can learn what people do not learn, their conscience is also; those who do not care and know, their conscience is also" (Mencius, Dedication). As Mr. Xu Fuguan said, this kind of "speech, as far as the average person at that time was concerned, was a new theory and a creative theory."

From the perspective of "those who can learn what people do not learn" and "those who know what they don't care about", Mencius believes that human nature is essentially "what people do not learn and can do", "those who know without worrying", that is, what people do not need to learn and think, what people are born with. In this way, the so-called human nature refers to what man has innately and intrinsically to man, not what man has acquired artificially, in other words, it has nothing to do with man's acquired factors. In this way, the so-called human nature must have congenital and intrinsic nature.

From the perspective of "conscience" and "conscience", Mencius believed that human nature is essentially "conscience" and "conscience", that is, what is good things, good knowledge and abilities that people have. In this way, the so-called human nature refers to the moral things and moral knowledge and ability that people have, not the bad things and immoral knowledge and abilities that people have, in other words, they have nothing to do with the bad aspects of people. In this way, the so-called human nature should also be moral.

From the perspective of "those who can learn what people do not learn" and "those who know what they do not worry about" and "conscience" and "conscience", "those who can learn what people do not learn" are "good energy", and "those who know without worrying" are "conscience". That is to say, human nature is something that man has innately and is intrinsic to man, and this kind of thing is innate and intrinsic to man's knowledge and ability, and this innate, intrinsic human knowledge and ability is good knowledge and ability. So, although the so-called human nature refers to the things that man innately possesses and is intrinsic to man, it does not refer to all the things that man innately possesses and is intrinsic to man, but to some of the things in it, and moreover, this part of the things is a good thing, not a bad thing; the so-called human nature, although it refers to man's innate possession and inherent knowledge and ability of man, it does not refer to all the knowledge and ability of man innately possessed by man, but refers to some of the knowledge and ability of some of them, and moreover, This part of knowledge and ability is good knowledge and ability, not bad knowledge and ability. In this way, Mencius's so-called human nature is essentially the good knowledge and ability that man innately possesses and is intrinsic to man, rather than the good knowledge and ability acquired by acquired man, in other words, it has nothing to do with the good knowledge and ability acquired by man. In this way, Mencius's so-called human nature is not only innate and intrinsic, but also moral.

From the above, it can be seen that Mencius believed that human nature is an innate and intrinsic thing of man, and this kind of thing is the innate knowledge and ability of man. From the perspective of value, this kind of thing, this innate knowledge and ability, is a good thing, a good knowledge and ability, and therefore its value points to "goodness." Here, through the definition of "conscience" and "conscience" of human nature, Mencius established the "goodness" of human nature from the essential level of human nature, which is superior to others and unique to his theory of sexual goodness.

After clarifying the innate, intrinsic, and moral nature of human nature, Mencius criticized the existing Confucian doctrine of human nature and the doctrine of human nature of other schools other than Confucianism from the dimension of the nature of human nature. Mencius said: "The words of the world are also the same." Therefore, the people are based on profit. Those who are evil to the wise, chisel him. If the wise man Ruo Yu walks in the water, then there is no evil than wisdom. Yu Zhi's line of water is also, and he does nothing to do. If the wise do what they do, then the wise are great. The sky is high, the stars are far away, and the day of Chitose can be sat down and done" (Mencius, Leaving Lou Xia). It is to face and analyze the understanding of the nature of human nature in The existing Confucian theory of human nature and other schools of human nature outside Confucianism, and to point out that the existing Confucian theory of human nature and the doctrine of human nature of other schools other than Confucianism, that is, the reason why the human nature theory of the people under the world is wrong, is that the understanding of the nature of human nature is wrong, specifically, it is to mistake the "reason" for "sex", that is, to mistake the reasons and reasons for human behavior as the essence of human nature.

The "refore", the causes or reasons for man's actions, are complex, some are intrinsic to man, are things that man is born with; some are external to man, not what man is born with. Because "therefore" and "profit-based", taking "profit" or benefiting oneself as its fundamental and basis means that "therefore" is related to "profit" and is constrained by "profit". That is to say, the "refore", the cause or reason of man's behavior, depends on the pursuit of man's interests. From the perspective of the pursuit of interests, the discussion of "therefore" and the reason or reason for man's behavior, the "reason" and the cause or reason for man's behavior, from the perspective of the internal human being, can only be the natural desire and physiological desire of man himself, and from the perspective of his external human being, it is the external factor that restricts man, that is, the law of "other things" that man faces and must abide by, and the nature of "other things" that must be adapted. For example, yu's reason for controlling the flood and dredging the waterways and letting the water flow into the rivers and lakes is to abide by the law of the downward movement of the water flow and follow its top-down nature, which is great wisdom. As for not being able to recognize and obey the laws of "other things" and conform to the nature of "other things", acting solely on subjective will is false wisdom.

Objectively speaking, there are two kinds of "therefore" and the cause or reason for human behavior, one is intrinsic to man and the other is external to man. Based on the principle of innate nature and inner nature, which is commonly recognized by people in the world, the "reason" that people in the world mistakenly think is "sex" can only be intrinsic to people's natural desires and physical desires. In Mencius's mind, in addition to congenitality and inner nature, human nature should also have morality, and the morality of human nature is precisely the particularity of human nature, and the "sex" of human nature that distinguishes it from all natural things lies. In this way, human nature cannot be "therefore", it cannot be the commonality of man and natural things, it cannot be the natural desires and physiological desires of man and natural things, especially animals, but can only be the unique attributes of man--the things that man is born with and intrinsic to man's morality. In this way, in Mencius's view, it is possible to distinguish between man and natural things from the dimension of human nature.

Based on the position that human nature is innate in human nature and inherent in man's "conscience" and "conscience", or based on the innate, intrinsic, and moral nature of human nature, Mencius also put forward a tit-for-tat criticism of the understanding of the nature of human nature, the advocate of "sexual immatism and unhonderingness". This criticism is expressed in the form of a dialogue or debate between Mencius and the Confessor: "The Confession: 'The meaning of life is sex. Mencius said: "The meaning of life is also sex, and the meaning of white is white and?" "Yes." ''The white of the white feathers, the white of the white snow; the white of the white snow and the white of the white jade? "Yes." ''Then the nature of the dog is the nature of the cow, and the nature of the cow is the nature of the Jews. Here, the Confessor believes that "sex" is the "thing" that man and nature are born with, and as far as man's "sex" is concerned, human nature is what man is born with. This understanding of sex, the nature of human nature, sees the consistency and even the sameness of sex, the innate nature of human nature, the inner nature, and the "nature" of man and nature, highlights the commonality of the "nature" of man and nature of all things- congenitality, inner nature, and does not distinguish between man and natural things from the level of the essence of "sex", but tries to distinguish between man and natural things from the level of the content of "sex" - the content of the "nature" of man and nature is different. Mencius believed that "sex" is the unique "thing" that man and nature are born with, and as far as man's "nature" is concerned, human nature is the unique thing that man is born with, and this unique "thing" is the good thing that man is born with, that is, "conscience" and "conscience", and this "thing" is not possessed by any existence outside of man. This understanding of sex and human nature, sees the innateness and immanence of sex and human nature, and also sees the uniqueness of the "nature" of man and nature, and under the premise of acknowledging the commonality of the "nature" of man and nature, the innateness and immanence, highlights the uniqueness of human nature - morality, and tries to distinguish between man and natural things from the essential level of "sex", as for the content of the "sex" of man and nature, it is even more different. It can be seen from this that Mencius not only discussed human nature, but also tried to discuss the essence of human beings from the dimension of human nature. The so-called "reason why man is different from the beast" (Mencius, Leaving Lou Xia) refers to both human nature and the essence of man. Because of this, Mencius criticized The Confessor for not understanding the nature of human nature, thus confusing "human nature" with "cow nature" and "dog nature". Mr. Zhang Dainian said: Mencius"The so-called human nature refers specifically to the reason why people are human beings, which is actually the 'characteristics' of human beings. And the nature of any thing, that is, the thing is the one who is the thing. Therefore, Mencius talked about sex and paid the most attention to the difference between objects", which can be said to have penetrated the meaning of Mencius.

Second, the content of human nature: morality

Human nature is essentially something that man is born with morality, is man's "conscience" and "conscience", so what does this innate moral thing, this "conscience" and "good energy" mean? From this point of view, Mencius entered into the inquiry of the content of human nature.

Mencius said: "The mouth is to taste, the eyes are to color, the ears are to sound, the nose is to smell, the limbs are to Anyi, sex is also, there is fate, and a gentleman is not a sex." Benevolence to father and son, righteousness to kings and subjects, courtesy to guests and lords, knowledge to the sages, saints to the Heavenly Dao, fate, sex, and a gentleman is not a destiny" (Mencius, Under the Heart), which is a direct and clear expression of the content of human nature.

Just from the perspective of "mouth to taste, eyes to color, ears to sound, nose to smell, limbs to anoint, sex", the pursuit of human mouth, eye, ear, nose, body and other delicacies, beauty, beauty and fragrant smell, body comfort and so on is the pursuit of human nature. In this way, the content of human nature refers to man's innate desires, especially sensory or physiological desires. Based on the principle that "the mouth is to taste, the eye is to color, the ear is to sound, the nose is to smell, and the limbs are to Anyou, and the sex is also", Dai Zhen also knows: "Mencius's so-called sex, that is, the mouth to taste, the eye to color, the ear to sound, the nose to smell, and the limbs to Anyou as sex" (Mencius Zi Yi Yi Zhi Zhi In this way, human nature is not essentially "conscience" or "conscience", but only "what people do not learn and can do", "those who do not worry about and know", because man's innate desires, especially physical desires, do not belong to "knowing", nor do they belong to "can", let alone "conscience" and "conscience". In this way, human nature will essentially fall into the trap of "therefore" as "sex". And that's exactly what Mencius objected to.

Of course, Mencius would never have made such a low-level mistake. He negated the content of human nature as an innate desire of man, and severed the internal connection between human nature and man's physical desires, with "the mouth is to taste, the eye to color, the ear to sound, the nose to stink, the limbs to an amphibious one, sex to anything, and the nature of a man to a man". Mencius's reason is that human nature is man's innate and intrinsic human thing, in this sense, man's innate desire objectively belongs to the category of human nature, does not belong to the category of "life", but the realization of human nature, that is, the satisfaction of desire, is determined by "life" and has nothing to do with "sex", that is, although desire objectively belongs to "sex", the realization of desire does not belong to "sex", but belongs to "life", which means that man's innate desire has the meaning of "life", based on this, the gentleman excludes desire from the scope of "sex" , and include it in the field of "life". In this way, desire objectively belongs to "sex", subjectively does not belong to "sex", and the subjective reason why it does not belong to "sex" comes from the identification of "gentleman". Mencius's rejection of desire in human nature and its rejection are far-fetched at both the theoretical and practical levels. This is also the weakness of its theory of human nature. Why desire "sex also has a destiny", the realization of desire and desire belong to "sex" and "life", Mencius can not explain, can not justify itself. In fact, taking a step back, even if the realization of desire and desire belongs to "sex" and "life" respectively, it also happens to show the innate and intrinsic nature of desire as the composition of human nature, and the realization of desire as the acquired nature and externality of "man-made", and the reason why Mencius wants to exclude desire from the scope of "sex" is because of the moral provisions of his human nature, from the need for his theory of sexual goodness, and the need for moral treatment of the essence of human nature based on the theory of sexual goodness. In Mencius, human nature is essentially man's innate and intrinsic human thing, and it is also man's "conscience" and "conscience", and man's innate desires conform to the former but not to the latter, do not belong to "conscience" and "conscience", are not moral, and of course cannot become the content of human nature and the component of human nature.

The content and composition of human nature are not innate desires, so what should it be? Mencius believed that it should be "virtue" and "Tao": "Benevolence is also to the father and son, righteousness is to the king, etiquette is to the guest, knowledge is to the sage, and saint is to the heavenly path." This means that human nature is the benevolence between father and son, the righteousness between kings and subjects, the courtesy between guests and lords, the wisdom of the sages, and the way of the saints (the way of heaven). From this point of view, the content of human nature refers to the "virtue" ("virtue" in the broad sense includes "wisdom") and the "Tao (Heavenly Dao)" that people, especially saints and gentlemen, have acquired. In this way, human nature is essentially "conscience" and "conscience", and "conscience" and "conscience" are composed of "virtue" and "Tao". However, "virtue" as external to human existence, "Tao (Heavenly Dao)" as something above man, are acquired, man-made products, and do not belong to "those who can learn what man does not learn" and "those who know what they do not care about." That is to say, "virtue" and "Tao" conform to the morality of human nature, but they do not conform to the innate and intrinsic nature of human nature, and therefore should not become the constituents of human nature and the content of human nature.

Mencius solved this problem in the following way: "Benevolence is also to the father and son, righteousness is to the king, etiquette is to the guest, knowledge is to the sage, saint is to the heavenly way, fate is also, there is sex, and the gentleman is not destined." Mencius means that human nature is a human innate and intrinsic human thing, in this sense, benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom and virtue as acquired, man-made things, "Tao (Heavenly Dao)" as things hanging above man, objectively does not belong to the category of human nature, but belongs to the realm of "fate", but the acquisition and practice of benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, and Tao are determined by "sex" and have nothing to do with "life", that is, although "virtue" and "Tao" objectively belong to "fate", the acquisition and practice of "virtue" and "Tao" do not belong" Life", but belongs to "sex", which means that the day after tomorrow, man is "virtuous" and the "Tao" hanging above man has the meaning of "sex". Based on this, the gentleman removed "virtue" and "Tao" from the scope of "life" and included them in the realm of "sex". In this way, "virtue" and "Tao" objectively belong to "fate" and subjectively do not belong to "fate", and the subjective reason why they do not belong to "fate" comes from the identification of "gentleman". Mencius's way of incorporating "virtue" and "Tao" into human nature and incorporating human nature is also far-fetched at the theoretical and practical levels. This is also the weakness of its theory of human nature. Why "virtue" and "Tao" and "fate also have sex", "virtue" and "Tao", and the acquisition and practice of "virtue" and "Tao" are "fate" and "sex" are also inexplicable and self-explanatory. In fact, taking a step back, even if the acquisition and practice of "virtue", "Tao", and "Virtue" and "Tao" belong to "life" and "sex", it also just shows that "virtue" and "Tao" are the acquired nature and externality of people's moral pursuits and the goal of life cultivation, but the acquisition and practice of "virtue" and "Tao" have their own human roots -- not everyone can obtain and practice "virtue" and "Tao". The reason why Mencius wanted to include "virtue" and "Tao" in the scope of "sex" is also due to the need for his theory of sexual goodness and the need for moral treatment of the essence of human nature based on the theory of sexual goodness. In Mencius' view, human nature is essentially a human innate and intrinsic human thing, and it is also man's "conscience" and "conscience", and only "virtue" and "Tao" conform to "conscience" and "conscience", so "virtue" and "Tao" are arranged as the content of human nature and the components of human nature.

It can be seen from this that in Mencius's view, the content of human nature must conform to the two basic conditions in the essence of human nature: it is both innate and intrinsic to man, and it is also "conscience" and "conscience"; it is both innate, intrinsic and moral. The desires of the mouth, eyes, ears, nose, body, etc. conform to the former but not to the latter, and benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and the "Tao" conform to the latter but not to the former, which put Mencius in a difficult situation. For this reason, Mencius expelled desire from the realm of "sex" with desire " also , and "morality" and "Tao" "fate, sexuality" and "morality" pulled "virtue" and "Tao" into the realm of "sex". In order to justify this practice, Mencius raised the "gentleman" and believed that it was all decided by the gentleman. And this is where Mencius's theory of human nature is most vulnerable.

It should be noted that when discussing what the content of human nature should be, Mencius believed that it should be benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom and virtue, as well as the "Tao", that is, it should be "virtue" and "Tao", and when specifically discussing the content of human nature and the metaphysical basis of the content of human nature, Mencius also believed that the content of human nature was only the virtues of benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, and wisdom, and put the "Tao" aside. Mencius's so-called "gentleman's nature, benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom are rooted in the heart" (Mencius, Dedication to the Heart), this is the case. The reason for this is probably because the "Tao", as the Heavenly Dao or the Tao of Heaven, is in "Heaven" and not in "Man", and cannot find an internal basis from the "inside" of man as ren yi Li Zhi did. In addition, Mencius's content of benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom as human nature was obviously influenced by Zi Si. Zi Si listed benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom as the "five elements," and Mencius extracted benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom from it as the content of human nature, and internalized it. As for Mencius extracting the "four virtues" of benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom from the "five elements" of Zi Si and abandoning the "holy", it is probably because in Mencius's view, "sacred" is not something that everyone can get, let alone what everyone can innately possess.

For Mencius's above-mentioned exposition that the content of human nature is "virtue", Dai Zhen can be described as a sentence: "As far as Mencius's book is concerned, the understanding of reason and righteousness is sex, and the person who cites benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom is also based on the nature of sex, and everyone can learn from it" (Mencius Zi Yi Yi Shu Zhi

From the perspective of the structure of the word "sex", human nature includes both "heart" and "birth". Mencius's discourse on the content of human nature objectively or in fact involves both. Judging from its "mouth to taste, eyes to color, ears to sound, nose to smell, limbs to an anoint, sex", objectively identifying the content of human nature as a human physiological desire, involving "life" in "sex"; from its "benevolence to father and son, righteousness to kings and subjects, courtesy to guests, knowledge to the sages, saints to the Heavenly Dao, fate, sex, gentlemen not to fate", subjectively identify the content of human nature as "virtue" and "Tao", involving the "heart" in "sex". It is only out of the need for the theory of sexual goodness that Mencius negates the physiological desire in the content of human nature and the "life" in "the mouth is to taste, the eye is to color, the ear is to sound, the nose is to smell, the limbs are to an ann, sex is also, there is destiny, and a gentleman is not called sex". In this way, the content of human nature is left with only "virtue" and "Tao", and refers only to the "heart" in "sex".

Looking back at Mencius's definition of "conscience" and "conscience" for the essence of human nature, and the requirements for the morality of human nature, we also know that Mencius took "morality" as the content of human nature. He said, "He who is able to learn what he does not learn is also good, and he who knows what he does not care about knows, so does his conscience." The child of a child knows that he loves his relatives, and his elders, and he respects his brothers. Dear, benevolent; respectful, righteous" (Mencius, Dedication to the Heart). This means that human nature is man's "conscience" and "conscience", and "conscience" and "conscience" are manifested in the fact that people are born to know "love their relatives", go along with their development, and when they grow up, they will understand "respect their brothers"; the virtue of "loving their relatives" is "benevolence"; the virtue of "respecting their brothers" is "righteousness", so the "virtue" represented by benevolence and righteousness is the content of human nature.

In response to Mencius's use of "virtue" as the content of human nature and the prominence of benevolence in human nature, Zhizi criticized: "Sex is also a willow, righteousness is also a willow; with human nature as benevolence, it is like a willow as a pillar" (Mencius, "Mencius, Zhizi Shang"). The meaning of the accusation is that although there is an intrinsic connection between "桮桮棬" and "杞柳", this connection is manifested as "桮棬" is produced from "杞柳", but "桮桮棬" is not natural, but is the result of acquired man-made, it is caused by external factors, in the same way, although benevolence and human nature have an internal connection, this connection is manifested as benevolence and righteousness originating from human nature, but benevolence is not human nature, benevolence is not born in human nature, but is the result of acquired man. It is due to external factors. This means that benevolence and righteousness to man and to human nature are external beings, and the content of human nature is not only not benevolence, but benevolence and righteousness are also the products of repression and destruction of human nature.

Mencius replied, "Can the son conform to the nature of the willow and think that it is a scepter?" Will the thief willow and then think that the willow also? If the thief is regarded as a willow, then the thief is also regarded as benevolent and righteous. Whoever leads the world and brings misfortune to benevolence and righteousness will be the husband of the son" (Mencius, Confession of the Son). Here, regarding the relationship between "willow" and "桮桮棬" and the relationship between human nature and benevolence and righteousness by analogy, The Opinion of the Teller is clearly that "the thief of the willow and then think that it is a 桮桮桮梈", which damages human nature and then produces benevolence, mencius is clear about this, but Mencius still logically analyzes the relationship between "willow" and "桮桮梈" and another situation in which the relationship between human nature and benevolence and righteousness is compared: "The nature of the willow is considered to be a tree", which is in line with human nature and has benevolence. Even so, Mencius finally had to face up to the point of view of the confessor in his arguments, and under the dilemma of not being able to fight back against the confessor theoretically, he criticized the accuser at the political level and attacked him at the personal level by "leading the people of the world and harming the benevolent and righteous, and the man who will be the husband of the son".

In addition, because human nature objectively refers to human desires, although Mencius subjectively denied it, it always lacked objective basis. Although his views are barely self-justified, they cannot resist scrutiny, so when The Confessor and Mencius debated the question of human nature, they said: "Food color, sex also." Ren, neither, non-external; righteousness, externality, and non-internality" (Mencius, "Confession"), taking the initiative to raise the question of the content of human nature, pointing out that the content of human nature is the color of food, is the innate desire of man, hoping to debate on this, Mencius does not discuss, does not refute the view of "eating color, sex also", only discusses and refutes the view of "ren, neither, non-external; righteousness, externality, non-internality", and asks The confessor: "What is the meaning of benevolence and righteousness and righteousness?" (Mencius, On the Confession). This seems to be a recognition of the accusation that "food color, sex is also", but it is deliberately avoided.

In addition, when Mencius's disciples Gong duzi and Meng Jizi debated the issue of "righteousness within", they unconsciously used diet as an example to illustrate "righteousness": "Then diet is also outside" (Mencius Zhizi Shang)? Think of "righteousness" as if eating and appetite are intrinsic to man. This means that gongduzi also acknowledges in his heart that objective desire is human nature. This also proves from one side that Mencius had the difficulty of removing innate desires from the category of human nature.

III. The Basis of Human Nature (Part I): The Heart

The content of human nature does not depend on human nature itself, but on the choice of "gentlemen", indicating that the content of human nature is the result of man-made, but also the artificial result of "others", which is the "hard wound" of Mencius's theory of human nature, and it is also easy to be criticized by other opponents. Mencius's "benevolence of human nature" is exemplified by the criticism of the defendants. To this end, Mencius needed to argue that the content of human nature chosen by the "gentleman" seemed to be artificial, but in fact it was inherent in man. This requires Mencius to make philosophical arguments about the content of human nature, to give it innateness, to be intrinsic, and to give it a metaphysical basis.

Mencius said: "The nature of a gentleman, benevolence and righteousness and wisdom are rooted in the heart" (Mencius, "Dedication to the Heart"), that is, the content of human nature selected by the gentleman, benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom is rooted in the "heart" of man, and "heart" is not only the place where benevolence and righteousness and wisdom occur, but also the existence of benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom. In this way, the "four virtues" of benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom are innate and intrinsic to man, and their content as human nature is reasonable. However, Mencius's statement that "the nature of a gentleman is rooted in the heart" (Mencius, "Dedication to the Heart"), that is, the statement that the "four virtues" of benevolence and righteousness and wisdom are innate and intrinsic to people, also need to be demonstrated. To this end, Mencius entered the realm of the human mind and testified about this through an in-depth analysis of the composition of the "heart."

Mencius said: "The heart of compassion is shared by all; the heart of shame is shared by everyone; the heart of reverence is shared by everyone; the heart of right and wrong is shared by everyone." Compassion, benevolence; shame, righteousness; reverence, courtesy; right and wrong, wisdom. Benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom are not caused by external reinforcements, but I am inherent in it" (Mencius, Confessions). This means that everyone has a "heart", and everyone's "heart" is composed of "four hearts" such as "compassion", "shame", "respect", "right and wrong", or that everyone's "heart" has four aspects, such as "compassion", "shame", "respect", and "right and wrong", and these four aspects of "four hearts" and "heart" are composed of benevolence and righteousness, or rather, they belong to the category of benevolence and wisdom. From this we can see that the "four virtues" of benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom exist in the "heart", belong to the inherent nature of man, have nothing to do with external factors, and are therefore innate and intrinsic to the existence of man. Based on this, Mencius concluded: "Benevolence, the human heart" (Mencius, Confessions), saying that the human heart is composed of "benevolence" (benevolence in the broad sense includes benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, and virtue), so that "benevolence" is innate and intrinsic to man.

Mencius also said: "There is no compassion, non-human; no shame, non-human; no resignation, non-human; no right and wrong, non-human." The heart of compassion, the end of benevolence; the heart of shame, the end of righteousness; the heart of resignation, the end of etiquette; the heart of right and wrong, the end of wisdom. The existence of man is the four ends, just as there are four bodies" (Mencius Gongsun Ugly Shang). This is also to say that everyone has a "heart", and everyone's "heart" is composed of "four hearts" such as "compassion", "shame", "resignation", "right and wrong", or that everyone's "heart" has four aspects: "compassion", "shame", "resignation", and "right and wrong". As for the four aspects of "four hearts" and "hearts", they are composed of the "end" of benevolence and righteousness, or in other words, they belong to the category of "end" of benevolence and wisdom. From this we can see that the "four ends" of benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom exist in the "heart", which belong to the inherent nature of man, have nothing to do with external factors, and are therefore innate and intrinsic to the existence of man. Since the "four ends" of benevolence and righteousness are innate and intrinsic to the existence of man, by extension, the "four virtues" of benevolence and righteousness are innate and intrinsic to the existence of man.

It is worth noting that Mencius's words "no compassion, non-human; no shame, non-human; no resignation, non-human; no right and wrong, non-human", uses the words "heart" or "four hearts" to explain the essence of man, and identifies the essence of man as "heart" or "four hearts". This is to reinforce the core view that the "heart" inherent in man is innate and intrinsic to man by expressing the absoluteness of the "heart" of benevolence and righteousness.

In addition, the content of human nature includes "wisdom", and Mencius has another, separate proof: "The official of the heart is thinking" (Mencius Zhizi Shang). Here, "thinking" is not "thinking" in the epistemological sense, and does not refer to rational cognitive ability in the objective sense, but refers to moral cognitive ability and moral judgment. In this way, the meaning of this sentence is that the innate function of the mind, the function is "thinking", that is, "wisdom". This is also a proof of the innate and intrinsic nature of "wisdom" to man from the dimension of "mind".

From the above, it can be seen that Mencius used the moral composition of the human heart to argue the innate and intrinsic nature of benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, and wisdom to man, so as to argue that the content of human nature is "virtue", the rationality of benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom; in order to consolidate the key thesis that benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, and virtue are innate and intrinsic to man, Mencius also affirmed the importance of the human heart to man, and characterized it as the essence and basis for human beings.

It can also be seen from the above that Mencius made a double argument from the dimension of "heart" for the innate and intrinsic nature of "virtue" to man, and the method of argument is almost the same. This shows that Mencius lacked confidence in this argument, and Mencius himself realized that this theory itself was flawed or flawed. The truth is also true, why everyone has "four hearts" such as "compassion", "shame", "respect" ("resignation"), "right and wrong", etc., this needs to be confirmed. In this regard, Mencius did not argue from the general situation, nor did he argue the "four hearts" one by one, but adopted the method of exemplary argumentation, and through the detailed demonstration that everyone has a "heart of compassion", to argue that people also have a "heart of shame", a "heart of respect" ("the heart of resignation"), "the heart of right and wrong", and so on.

Let us look at Mencius's argument: "Therefore, everyone who has the heart of an intolerant person, when people today see that the widow will enter the well, they all have a heart of compassion and compassion--not so they are intercourse to the parents of the widow, not so they must be praised by the friends of the township party, and they are not evil to their voices" (Mencius Gongsun Ugly). In Mencius's view, "everyone has a heart that cannot bear people", that is, everyone has a "heart of compassion", which is born. For example, "at first glance, the widow will enter the well, and all have a heart of compassion and compassion", and the emergence of this "compassion and compassion" is "not so internal to the parents of the widow, not so to be praised by the friends of the township party, not to be evil", which has nothing to do with any external factors, which is an example.

Here, through careful analysis, it can be seen that Mencius believed that "at first sight the widow will enter the well", and people have a "heart of compassion", and the reasons for this are theoretically nothing more than internal and external causes. And external causes are theoretically nothing more than reasons with an emotional dimension - "internal intercourse to the parents of the widow", that is, friendship with the parents of the widow; the reason of the social dimension - "to be praised by the friends of the township party", that is, to win fame; the cause caused by the object - "evil voice and so on". Since the "compassion" arises not from the above causes, not by any external causes, it can only be caused by internal causes. This shows that the "heart of compassion" comes from man himself, is intrinsic to man, and is born; the "heart of compassion" exists in man's "heart" and is only presented when it is necessary to be presented.

Here, we can see that Mencius, when arguing that everyone has the "heart of compassion", "the heart of shame", "the heart of respect" (the "heart of resignation"), the "heart of right and wrong", and so on, he adopts the method of exemplary argumentation, taking the example of the "heart of compassion" of the argumentator; Mencius, when arguing that everyone has a "heart of compassion", he again adopts the method of exemplary argumentation, taking "at first sight the widow will enter the well, all have the heart of compassion" as an example, and mencius argues that "at first sight the widow will enter the well, and all have the heart of compassion" as an example; Mencius argues that "at first he sees that the widow will enter the well." When all have a heart of compassion and compassion", they also use the method of exemplary argumentation, and the external situation and external reasons such as the "compassion of the person" and "the parents who are inbred with the children", "the friends who should be praised by the township party", and "the evil voice is also", etc., are not related to external situations and external reasons.

It is worth noting that Mencius, in addition to arguing from the dimension of the heart for the innate and intrinsic nature of benevolence and righteousness to man, thus proving that the content of human nature is benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom, also tried to make a deep argument for this from the dimension of "heaven". For example, when Mencius argued from the dimension of the heart that "wisdom" is innate and intrinsic to man, he once said: "The official of the heart thinks" (Mencius Zhizi Shang), so why can the "official of the heart" "think"? Mencius attributed it to "heaven." He said, "The official of the heart thinks, thinks what he thinks, and if he does not think, he must not." This heavenly place is with me" (Mencius, 1st Son). This means that the "thought" of the "heart" is given by Heaven. The "wisdom" in the "heart" is given by heaven, and in other words or by extension, the "official of the heart" is "benevolence", then "righteousness", and "etiquette", all of which are "the place of heaven and me", and the benevolence and righteousness of the heart are all gifted by heaven. Based on this, Mencius said: "He who does his best knows his nature." If you know its nature, you know the heavens. Keep your heart and cultivate your nature, so things are also in heaven" (Mencius, "Dedication to the Heart"), believing that "heart", "sex", and "heaven" have an intrinsic logical connection, and the origin of the heart and sex is "heaven.". Qian Xun said: "The heart and sex are in man, and sex is a talent, and it belongs to heaven", which is generally the same meaning. Therefore, dedication and knowledge can know the heavens, and the intention and cultivation of nature can be done.

It can be seen from this that Mencius introduced the concept of "heart" in order to argue that benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom are inherent in man and is human nature, and also attributed all the "heart" and the function of "heart" to "heaven". It is just that Mencius's discussion of communicating "heart" and "heaven" and "heaven" as the basis for "heart" is relatively brief, not expanded, and not discussed in detail. However, in any case, Mencius's idea of starting from the "heart" and seeking from the "inside" really opened up the idea of verification of the internalization of the content of human nature, and as for Mencius's idea of the verification of the "heart" and even the composition of the "heaven" attributed to the "heaven", it really opened up the idea of ontological proof of the content of human nature. Here, Mencius merges the idea of the internalized proof of the content of human nature with the ontological proof, in which the internalized proof is ultimately attributed to the ontological proof. The internalization of human content and the ontological proof of human nature pioneered by Mencius, especially the ontological proof idea, were inherited and vigorously expounded by later Generations of Confucians.

Fourth, the basis of human nature (Part 2): Qi

In order to prove that "the nature of a gentleman is rooted in the heart" (Mencius, "Mencius" on the Heart), Mencius raised the "heart", used the "heart" to be composed of benevolence and righteousness or the "end" of benevolence and righteousness, and tried to argue from the perspective of "heaven" that the "heart" has the root cause of benevolence and righteousness. In addition, in order to prove that the "mind" is composed of the "end" of benevolence and righteousness or the "end" of benevolence and righteousness, Mencius raised the "qi" and tried to argue from the level of the composition of man and even the ontology of all natural things.

Regarding the composition of man or the material basis of man's composition, Mencius said: "Qi, the charge of the body" (Mencius Gongsun Ugly Shang), bluntly saying that "qi" is filled with man's "body", man is composed of "qi", and "qi" is the material basis of man. This is undoubtedly to say that qi "is the essence of man." Since the "body" of man includes both the "body" and the "mind", this means that the human body and mind are composed of "qi" and are derived from "qi".

Since man is composed of "qi", "qi" is the essence of man, in short, all natural things are also composed of "qi", and "qi" is also the essence of all natural things. This means that Mencius did not merely argue that the "mind" is composed of benevolence or the "end" of benevolence, righteousness, or wisdom, from the level of human composition, but in the qualitative sense, from the height of the ontology, that is, from the height of "qi".

From the perspective of Mencius's "benevolent beings, people also" (Mencius, "Under the Heart"), man is essentially a moral existence, and the difference between man and natural things, or the superiority of man over natural things, lies in the fact that man has "benevolence", while natural things do not have "benevolence". Zhu Xi's explanation: "The benevolent one, the reason why man is human" can be described as understanding mencius's intentions. That being the case, from the perspective of the dimension of the ontology, although man and all natural things are composed of "qi", the "qi" that constitutes man should be different from the "qi" that constitutes all natural things, and the "qi" that constitutes man should be superior to the "qi" that constitutes all natural things. This is the ontological basis for the superiority of man over all things in nature. Or rather, this is the ontological proof that Mencius was facing.

Since the "body" of man is composed of "body" and "heart", then, Mencius's "benevolent one, man also" (Mencius, under the heart), does it refer to "benevolent person, human 'body' also", or "benevolent person, human 'body' also", or refers to "benevolent person, human 'heart' also"? If it means "the benevolent one, the 'body' of man", then it means that the human body and mind, everything in man, are moral beings, and the "qi" that constitutes man's "body" and man's body and mind are all special "qi" that is superior to the "qi" that constitutes all natural things; if it means "the benevolent one, the 'body' of man", then it means that the "body" of man is a moral existence, and the "qi" that constitutes man's "body" is a special "qi", superior to the "qi" that constitutes all natural things, and the "qi" that constitutes man's "heart" is related to the "qi" that constitutes all natural things "Qi" is the same; if it means "the benevolent one, the 'heart' of man", then it means that the "heart" of man is a moral existence, and the "qi" that constitutes man's "heart" is a special "qi", superior to the "qi" that constitutes all things in nature, and the "qi" that constitutes the "body" of man is the same as the "qi" that constitutes all things in nature.

Judging from Mencius's "benevolence, human heart" (Mencius Zhizi Shang), Mencius's "benevolent beings, people also" (Mencius Under the Heart) should be based on "benevolence, human heart" (Mencius Zhizi Shang), the moral existence of man in essence is based on the moral existence of man's "heart"; between man's "body" and "heart", what establishes the essence of man as a human being is neither the community of "body" and "heart", nor the "body", but the "heart". This shows that "the benevolent one, the human being" (Mencius, under the heart of the heart) should refer to "the benevolent one, the 'heart' of man". In this way, Mencius believed that man is composed of "qi", in which the "qi" that constitutes the "body" of man is the "qi" that constitutes all natural things, and the "qi" that constitutes the "heart" of man is a special "qi". Of course, this particular "qi" is only the essence of the "qi" that constitutes all things in nature and the "body" of man, and does not have another "qi". That is to say, "qi" constitutes man and natural things, is the essence of man and natural things, of which the "qi" that constitutes man's "heart" is its essence.

Mencius did not directly explain what kind of "qi" is the "qi" that constitutes man's "heart" or the "qi" that is the material basis of the "heart". However, since this "qi" is the "qi" that constitutes man's "heart" or the "qi" that is the material basis of the "heart", for man himself, it must be the innate, inherent "qi" of man, or the "qi" that is innate and inherent in man, not the "qi" of the day after tomorrow and outside of man, let alone the "qi" that has nothing to do with man; it must be a special "qi", a "qi" with moral attributes, thus providing a material basis for the "benevolence" of the "heart". Judging from Mencius's exposition of the "Haoran Qi" (Mencius Gongsun Ugly Shang), this "Qi" is likely to be the "Haoran Qi".

There are three reasons for this: First, Mencius said: "I am good at nurturing my Haoran Qi" (Mencius Gongsun Ugly Shang), calling "Haoran Qi" "My Haoran Qi", saying that "Haoran Qi" is the inherent "Qi" of my nature, which shows that it is innate and intrinsic to the "Qi" of "Wu", in other words, it is the "Qi" that is innate and intrinsic to all people. Second, mencius spoke only of the "qi" inherent in the nature of "I" and did not mention any other "qi" than of any other "qi." In other words, in Mencius's view, only the "Haoran Qi" is the "Haoran Qi", which is the original existence of man. Third, the "Mighty Qi" has moral attributes: "It is qi, the greatest to the strongest, and harmless to the direct cultivation, and it is stuffed between heaven and earth." It is qi, righteousness and tao," and "is the one who is born of righteousness, and is taken from it without righteousness" (Mencius Gongsun Ugly Shang). This means that the "mighty qi" is the "qi" and "collective righteousness" that constitute man and all things in nature, and is the product of the accumulation of "righteousness" and the combination of "righteousness" by "qi", and this qi is composed of "qi" and "righteousness" from the level of composition or structure, that is, by the "qi" and "righteousness" and "Tao" in coordination. That being the case, the special qi of "Haoran Qi" is the moral "Qi" and itself has what Confucians call "virtue."

In this way, qi is the essence of man and natural things, is the material basis of man and nature of all things, and this qi combines with Taoism and righteousness to form the "Haoran Qi", which as a moral existence has the "virtue" of Confucianism and constitutes the "heart" of man, thus making the "heart" of man a moral existence, with benevolence, righteousness, wisdom and virtue. This shows that from the perspective of qi ontology and morality, the "heart" is composed of the "end" of benevolence and righteousness or benevolence, so that "the nature of a gentleman, the wisdom of benevolence and righteousness is rooted in the heart" (Mencius, Dedication to the Heart).

Here, there is a question that needs to be clarified, that is, "benevolence" is the great virtue of Confucianism, which can cover or include all the "virtues" of Confucianism, why does Mencius not say that "Haoran Qi" is "born of Ji Ren", but that it is "born of Ji Yi"? This is a problem that plagues the academic community. Some scholars may think that Confucius highlighted "benevolence" and Mencius highlighted "righteousness", so they will say that "Haoran Qi" is "born of collective righteousness". This is a superficial reason. Although Mencius often used "benevolence and righteousness" at the same time, "benevolence" preceded and "righteousness" came later, and Mencius usually used "benevolence" instead of "righteousness" when he used "virtue" to define or explain people, people's hearts, etc. This shows the core position of "benevolence" in Mencius's heart. I think that Mencius's belief that the "haoran qi" is "born of the collection of righteousness" should be related to the confession, which is out of the need to criticize the confession of "benevolence and righteousness". In Mencius's view, benevolence and righteousness are all "inside", but Zhizi said that "benevolence is inside and righteousness outside", and in order to criticize The "righteousness outside" of Zhizi, Mencius specifically said: Haoran Qi "is born of the collection of righteousness, and it is taken without righteous attack" (Mencius Gongsun Ugly Shang), pointing out that "righteousness" is born in the "set" of "qi", so it exists in the "inside" of "Haoran Qi" and exists in the "inside" of people, and it is not obtained by people from "outside". As a result, Mencius criticized The Confessor: "I therefore know that the Confession has not tasted righteousness, but has also been outside of it" (Mencius Gongsun Ugly Shang). As far as Mencius himself is concerned, in order to prevent the view that his "Haoran Qi" is "born of the collection of righteousness" from causing unnecessary misunderstandings among future generations, before that, Mencius also said that "Haoran Qi" and "righteousness and Tao", although there is a prominent meaning of "righteousness", after all, it also talks about "Tao". This "Tao", as the core category of Confucianism, is essentially "benevolence".

Fifth, the value of human nature is directed to: goodness

Human nature is the innate qualification of man, the innate thing of man and intrinsic to man, and this kind of thing is innate "knowledge" and "ability" and has morality. From the perspective of morality and value, this innate "knowledge" and "ability" are good and good, not only beneficial to oneself, but also beneficial to others and beneficial to society, so it is also called "conscience" and "conscience". In this sense, at the level of the essence of human nature, human nature is "good", and the value of human nature points to "good". Mencius said: "If it is its affection, it can be good, and it is the so-called goodness" (Mencius, "Confession"), which clearly points out that human nature is inherently good according to its essence and reality, and it is precisely because of this that people's behavior can be "good".

Usually, the value judgment of human nature from the moral dimension, judging its good and evil, is based on the content of human nature. It can be said that what kind of human nature content there is, there is what kind of human nature value orientation. Mencius directly judged the value orientation of human nature from the essential level of human nature, and pointed out that although the goodness of human nature at the essential level of human nature is its wisdom and uniqueness, it is still supported by the "goodness" at the level of human nature content, in other words, it still needs to be proved through the "goodness" of human nature content.

In Mencius's view, the content of human nature is benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, and virtue, and the so-called "conscience" and "conscience" are the moral wisdom and moral practice ability built on benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom. Since the content of human nature is benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom, and the ability to practice morality and morality, then, starting from human nature and acting in accordance with nature, is "from benevolence and righteousness, not from benevolence and righteousness" (Mencius, Leaving LouXia), that is, starting from the inner benevolence and righteousness, and naturally achieving moral behavior and results with innate "virtue", rather than taking benevolence and righteousness as an external existence, so that it can restrain its own nature and regulate its own behavior. In this way, the result must be beneficial and harmless to others and to society. It is in this sense that Mencius proved the "goodness" of human nature.

Based on the position of the goodness of human nature, the "sex is turbulent and watery" against the confessor, and the east is determined to flow east, and the west is determined to flow west. The argument that human nature is not divided into good and bad, and judas water is not divided into things" (Mencius, "Mencius, Confessions"), Mencius retorted: "The goodness of human nature is also the goodness of Judas water." Man has nothing to be good about, and water has nothing to lose. The water of the present husband, beating and leaping, can make the jaws, and the excitement can make the mountain. Is it the nature of water? The same is true of the momentum. Man can be made unwholesome, and his nature is also as good" (Mencius, Confessions).

Here, Mencius argues that the Confession uses the metaphor of the flow of water and argues the good and unwholesomeness of human nature, from the fact that water can flow east and west, that is, the uncertainty of the flow of water, and the uncertainty of human nature in the value dimension, that is, there is no distinction between good and bad, this way of argument is wrong, and the result is of course wrong. Because whether water flows eastward or westward, it is not caused by the nature of water, but by external forces, that is, it depends on man's "decision", so it is not possible to argue on the basis of this the problem of the goodness and unwholesomeness of human nature, and at most it can only be argued that the goodness and unwholesomeness of man's external behavior are subject to external factors and man-made. In contrast to the Confession, Mencius, in refuting the difference between the unkind and the unwholesomeness of the Human Nature of the Confessor and the error of its water metaphorical argumentation, also used the water metaphor to argue for the goodness of human nature. Mencius's reason is that human nature is like water, and water can flow in all directions from the surface, but, in essence, it always flows downwards, which is due to the nature of water or the nature of water, and in the same way, human nature, no matter how it manifests itself in the process of outward appearance and practice, is good from the moral level, which is the nature of man or the nature of man; the reason why water can flow upward is precisely because of the result of violating the nature of water, and the reason why man has bad behavior is precisely because of the result of violating human nature.

Sixth, the reason why people are evil: contrary to human nature

Human nature is man's "conscience" and "conscience", and its content is benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom, and human behavior points to "goodness", so human nature is good, which is Mencius's logical approach. However, why some people's behavior is evil, and how to explain the "evil" of human behavior from the standpoint of sexual goodness, is a problem that Mencius cannot avoid and must face and solve.

In Mencius's view, the "evil" of man's actions has nothing to do with human nature, let alone the result of obedience. For this reason, Mencius said: "If it is his feelings, he can be good, which is called goodness." If the husband is not good, the sin of non-talent is also" (Mencius, Confession of the Son). This means that human nature is good, and the unkind behavior of some people is not the reason for human nature itself, people's innate qualifications.

Since the "evil" of man's actions does not arise from human nature, what is the cause of the "evil" of man's actions? Mencius believed that there were two reasons: one was the external cause, and the other was the internal cause. Regarding external causes, Mencius said: "The water of the present husband, beating and leaping, can make the jaws pass; and when it is excited, it can be made in the mountains." Is it the nature of water? The same is true of the momentum. Man can be made unwholesome, and his nature is also as good" (Mencius, Confessions). This means that the nature of water is to flow downwards, and the flow of water downwards is out of the nature of water, and as for the water being higher than the forehead of man and flowing up the mountain, it is not only not out of the nature of water, but also the result of violating the nature of water, and the cause is forced by external circumstances and human factors. In short, the change in the direction of water flowing downwards is not due to the nature of water, but to the role of external factors. Similarly, human nature is inherently good, and man's good deeds are derived from human nature, and as for the "evil" of man's behavior, it is not only not due to human nature, but also the result of violating human nature, and the cause is also caused by various external factors. In short, man is inherently good, and the "evil" of his actions is not due to human nature, but external factors at work.

By the way, "If you are in the water, you can beat and jump, you can make your jaws pass; if you are excited, you can make you in the mountains", which is only temporary. Moreover, even if the water "passes over the jaw", it still falls downward after "passing the jaw"; even if the water "can be made in the mountain", "can be made in the mountain" is also the result of the falling of the water. This means that human evil is also temporary, and once it is free from the constraints of various external unfavorable factors, it will go along with it and move toward "goodness."

Regarding the internal reasons for the evil of man or the "evil" of man's deeds, Mencius said: "The heart of compassion is shared by all; the heart of shame is shared by everyone; the heart of respect is shared by everyone; the heart of right and wrong is shared by everyone." Compassion, benevolence; shame, righteousness; reverence, courtesy; right and wrong, wisdom. Benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom, not by the outside, I am also inherent, Foth's ear. Therefore, it is said: 'If you ask for it, you will gain it, and if you give it, you will lose it.' 'Or those who are multiplied and have no calculations, and those who cannot make the most of their talents are also" (Mencius, On the Confession). In this way, everyone has "four hearts" such as "the heart of compassion", "the heart of shame", "the heart of respect", "the heart of right and wrong", etc., and this "four hearts" are composed of the "four virtues" such as benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom, so benevolence and righteousness are inherent in human beings. Facing oneself, seeking inward, being aware of the contents of benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom in human nature, acting in accordance with nature, starting from benevolence and righteousness, not only showing the goodness of human nature, but also reflecting the goodness of human external behavior; unwilling to face oneself, abandoning the inward seeking, ignoring the benevolence and righteousness and wisdom in human nature, violating the nature of righteousness, violating the wisdom of benevolence and righteousness, not only covering up the goodness of human nature, but also making people's external behavior evil and not good. It can be seen from this that the "evil" of human behavior lies in the fact that people do not exhaust their "talents" and do not give play to the brilliance of the goodness of human nature.

Mencius also said of the inner causes of man's evil or the "evil" of man's deeds: "The heart of compassion is also the end of benevolence; the heart of shame, the end of righteousness; the heart of resignation, the end of etiquette; the heart of right and wrong, the end of wisdom." Man has four ends, just as he has four bodies. There are those who are four ends and claim to be unable to do so, and those who are self-thieves" (Mencius Gongsun Ugly Shang). In this way, everyone has "four hearts" such as "the heart of compassion", "the heart of shame", "the heart of resignation", "the heart of right and wrong", etc. This "four hearts" are composed of the "end" of benevolence and righteousness, so that the "end" of benevolence and righteousness is like having the "four bodies", and the "end" of benevolence and righteousness is inherent in man. This means that starting from human nature is to start from the "end" of benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom, that is, to expand and practice benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom, and to show the goodness of human nature and the goodness of people's external behavior; if someone thinks that they cannot practice benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom, and also violate benevolence and righteousness in practice, so that their external behavior is not good and "evil", it is because they hurt their own nature, are unwilling to go along with nature, and give up on themselves. It can be seen from this that the "evil" of human behavior lies in "self-thief" and in not practicing the "goodness" of human nature.

Since the content of human nature is rooted in the "heart", Mencius believed that some people "cannot fulfill their talents" and "thief themselves" and thus commit evil, which is basically "letting go of their hearts and not knowing what to ask for" (Mencius, "Confession of The Son"). This is to trace the inner causes of human evil back to the world of the mind.

Why do people "let go of their hearts and do not know what to ask for" (Mencius, Confession of The Son)? Mencius made the following explanation: "The wood of the Niushan Mountain tastes beautiful, and its outskirts are also in the big country, and the axe is cut down, can it be beautiful?" It is the rest of its day and night, the dew of the rain, not the birth of tillers, and the cattle and sheep that graze it. When people see its Maundy, they think that they have not tasted the material, and the nature of this mountain is also good? Although there are people, how can they not have a heart of benevolence and righteousness? So let go of his conscience, and he who is like an axe to Muye, and if he cuts it down, can he be beautiful? If its day and night are breathed, and its likes and dislikes are close to those of people, then what it does during the day has the potential to perish. If the syllable is repeated, its night air is not enough to exist; if the night air is not enough to exist, then its violation of the beast is not far away. When people see their beasts, and think that they have not tasted talent, is it not the love of people? Therefore, if you gain its nourishment, nothing will last long; if you lose your nourishment, you will not consume anything. Confucius said: "If you practice, you will survive, but if you give up, you will die; when you come and go, you will not know your hometown." 'But what does the heart say and?' (Mencius, On the Confession).

Here, Mencius illustrates it by analogy. Mencius meant that the nature of the mountain is to make the trees that grow on it flourish, and the reason why the trees that grow on it can flourish is that the mountain can make the trees grow, and at the same time, the trees are nourished by rain and dew. Among them, the former belongs to the internal causes and the latter belongs to the external causes. However, people went against the nature of the mountain, cut down trees, grazed cattle and sheep to eat their branches and shoots, and destroyed trees faster than the rate at which trees grew. As a result, the mountain with lush trees becomes a treeless mountain, and at the same time thinks that the mountain is originally a treeless mountain, and there are no lush trees, and then thinks that the nature of the mountain is not to grow trees. From this we can see that the loss of the nature of the mountain has nothing to do with the nature of the mountain and the nature of the mountain, but is entirely due to man-made factors, or rather, entirely due to external factors. Similarly, man originally has a "benevolent heart" or "conscience", which is given by heaven and made of qi, and this "benevolent heart" or "conscience" can grow day and night by relying on its own strength and the assistance of "Pingdan Qi" and "Night Qi", among which the former belongs to the internal cause, and the "Pingdan Qi" and "Night Qi" are like rain dew to the trees of the mountain, but are external causes. However, people's behavior violates benevolence, and the speed at which they violate benevolence exceeds the rate at which "benevolent hearts" or "consciences" grow, and the degree of their violations of benevolence exceeds the ability of "benevolent hearts" or "consciences" to repair themselves. As a result, man's "benevolent heart" or "conscience" is lost, or he is banished, and at the same time he thinks that he has no "benevolent heart" or "conscience" and therefore has no good qualities.

This shows that the most fundamental reason for man's "letting go of his conscience" or "letting go of his heart" is that man's behavior violates benevolence and righteousness, destroys and rejects the "heart of benevolence and righteousness", and thus loses the "heart of benevolence and righteousness". To be precise, it is the loss and abandonment of benevolence and righteousness in the "heart". Mencius did not ask any further questions as to why human behavior violated benevolence, resulting in the loss of the "heart of benevolence" and the fact that people were like beasts. In this way, the internal causes that lead to the evil of man or the "evil" of man's actions are ultimately reduced to external causes. It can be said from this that the causes of man's evil or the "evil" of man's behavior appear to have internal and external causes on the surface, but from a deeper level, there are only external causes.

To sum up the above, Mencius believed that human nature is a qualification that people are born with, and this qualification is also called "conscience" and "conscience", so from the essence of human nature, human nature is good; the content of human nature is objectively "virtue" and "desire", of which "virtue" includes benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, etc., and "desire" includes sensory desires such as eyes, ears, noses, and mouths, but "virtue" should truly become the content of human nature; the content of human nature is "morality", in other words, the reason why benevolence and wisdom are intrinsic to people, is that "benevolence, righteousness, wisdom is rooted in the heart" (《Kindness", "Virtue"; "Benevolence, Righteousness, and Wisdom are Rooted in the Heart" (Mencius), because the "heart" is composed of "benevolence" or benevolence and righteousness; the "heart" is composed of "benevolence" or benevolence and righteousness; the "heart" is composed of "benevolence" or benevolence and righteousness, which is given by heaven and is also caused by "haoran qi"; starting from human nature, acting in accordance with nature means that starting from benevolence and righteousness, acting from the way of benevolence and righteousness, it is necessarily beneficial to others and society, in this sense, human nature is good; human nature is good, and some people's behavior is "evil" because it acts against human nature and banishes their "heart" 。 This is the idea and content of Mencius's theory of human nature or the theory of sexual goodness. Wang Yangming, based on his position of psychology, said: "The husband's heart is the master of the body, the sex is in the heart, the good is in the sex, and Mencius's words are also good", which can be described as the general logical structure of Mencius's theory of human nature or the theory of sexual goodness, but ignores the metaphysical basis and material basis of Mencius's human nature.