The Works of Mencius

I’m not going to lie, this reading was very confusing to me. With the help of the handout provided, Mencius is seen to believe that human nature is something good. I think what he writes is saying something like human natures intentions are good, but the reality of the actions are maybe unintentionally bad. While human nature is good, benevolence may be a result of goodness.

Mencius claims that righteousness comes internally, as opposed to externally. It is within one’s mind and self-consciousness that morality and righteousness are found. The four sprouts from what I understand are benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and knowledge. I could be wrong because my brain does not know how to read this, but these four principles are prevalent in everyone, and also help influence one’s decisions about things such as morals.

I’m going to take a break and add to this later. I’m having such a hard time with this.