The first sentence of the most famous "Three Character Classic" is "At the beginning of man, nature is good",
But in fact, this statement is controversial in traditional culture.
Is human nature good or evil? This is one of the greatest philosophical questions in human history.
In addition to China, the world has been discussing this issue for thousands of years, and it is impossible to make a conclusion.
The first sentence of the "Three Character Classic" says that "at the beginning of man, nature is good", and the unkindness of people in that society is all bad for acquired learning.
That is, the addition of the latter sentence, "Sex is similar, and habit is far away." ”
Although the natures are similar, but the acquired environment and habits are different, the personal differences are getting bigger and bigger.
This sentence is actually quoted from Confucius's "Analects": sex is close, and habit is far away.
We can also understand that Kong Shengren also believes that the nature of the beginning of man is also similar, and the nature is good.
Also holding a good view of nature is Mencius. 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 all; the heart of right and wrong is shared by everyone." "Therefore, people are advocating good character.
On the contrary, Xunzi argues that human nature is inherently evil. Xunzi said that people are born with "lustful eyes, good ears, good taste, and good heart", that is to say, human nature is born to seek profit, and all kinds of desires are very strong, but Xunzi emphasizes not evil, but hopes that people will strengthen their self-behavior restraint through the study of ethics and morality, so as to turn good, which is a very positive philosophy of life.
There is, of course, a third view.
A contemporary of Mencius, he believed that human nature was neither good nor bad.
He said that human nature is like wood, which can be made into both round and square.
Mozi also agrees with this proposition: he said that human nature is like white silk cloth, and it is black that dyes him black, and it is red that dyes him red. The so-called near Zhu is red, and near ink is black. Therefore, human nature does not care about good or evil.
The term "plasticity" in our modern education is similar to this.
Thus, whether human nature is good or evil, or neither good nor evil, has been debated philosophically for thousands of years.
So what is your opinion? Welcome to comment and share!
Finally, I would like to ask a question: the "Three Character Classic" is revered as an enlightenment reading of traditional Chinese culture, so who wrote this book?