Mencius On Human Nature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mencius On Human Nature - Essay Example To account for how some people develop bad character in life despite having been born with the disposition to do good, Mencius argued that, just as water can be manipulated and forced to flow against the low ground, it is also possible to manipulate human nature to be bad. Mencius gave the following explanation to show that human nature is naturally good.Mencius argued that human beings are born with the virtue of benevolence (heart of compassion/feeling for others), virtue of Righteousness (the feeling of disdain), the virtue of propriety (feeling of respect for others), and lastly the virtue of wisdom (the heart of right and wrong). To demonstrate what he means by claiming that human beings are born with these four virtues, Mencius gave the following example to show that every human person is born with the virtue of benevolence.In this example, Mencius argued that if people saw a child about to fall into a well, they would all, without exception, instantaneously have a feeling of s orrow and fear. Mencius concluded that this fact shows that all human beings are born with the virtue of benevolence or the ability to feel compassion for other people. Another example that can be given to show that human beings are born with some virtues is how people, all over the world, are opposed to some immoral actions.For instance, people all over the world, irrespective of their cultural, religious, political, or educational backgrounds oppose some unethical practices like corruption and murder of innocent people.