You have been assigned to one of the 5 groups listed below. Your group is the group whose thought you are tracking during the course and whom you will represent for this assignment. For this assignment, you are going to engage in a quasi-debate. You will not respond to each other, but we are simulating a debate by giving you the opportunity to confront the views of thinkers belonging to a school other than your own.

Confucius / Mencius

Mozi

Xunzi

Legalists

Daoists (Laozi and Zhuangzi) (I’m in this group)

Confucianism was the dominant school of thought in ancient China except during the Qin dynasty, when all schools except the Legalists were repressed. The focus of this debate is the Confucian view of human nature as articulated by Mencius.

Students in all groups except the Confucius/Mencius group shall answer the following question from the perspective of the group to which you belong:

1. Do you agree with Confucius’s and Mencius’s view of human nature? Why or why not? Indicate which group you are representing at the beginning of your response, and answer in the first person (e.g., I, Mozi, believe that….”).
2. Students assigned to the Confucius/Mencius group shall answer the following question:
3. How do you respond to Xunzi’s critique of Mencius’s interpretation of human nature? Indicate that you are representing Mencius’s interpretation at the beginning of your response, and answer in the first person (e.g., I, Mencius, believe that….”).
4. Peer’s post:
5. Tiffany:

I, Laozi, believe that our Daoism view of human nature agrees with Confucius’s and Mencius’s view in general, that is, human nature is originally good. We both used the analogy of water to describe the state of human nature. However, I also believe that our understanding towards this view is slightly different despite the fact that we reached the same conclusion (i.e., human nature is good).

In the Book of Mencius 6A:2, Mencius said, “Man’s nature is naturally good just as water naturally flows downward. There is no man without this good nature; neither is there water that does not flow downward” (Chan 52). Using this analogy, Mencius would agree that even if water splash upward (i.e., an individual do evil), it is caused by the external environment such as poor survival conditions whereas human nature is innately good.

In contrast, in chapter 8 of Tao-te ching, I wrote, “water is good; it benefits all things and does not compete with them. It dwells in (lowly) places that all disdain” (Chan 143). In my view, the nature of human condition is not defined by good or bad. It is rather determined by Tao (the Way), which is the original nature of order. In other words, I reached the conclusion that human nature is good, not because I assert that it is originally good, but because it follows the way of life and does not contrary to the nature (just as water flows downward). With this being said, since this original nature way of human nature abides with the state of water (in which I consider as near to Tao), I had reached the same conclusion with Confucius and Mencius, that I believe human nature is good.