Mencius’ Theory

孟子的思想理论

As a philosopher, Mencius' main doctrine¹ is the Goodness of human nature. He advocated “Nourishing the moving force”，and put forth² the idea of “Heaven and man combine into one. ” Compare with Confucius, in the viewpoint of human nature, Mencius took a big step forward. Mencius declared definitely that human nature is “originally good”. Moreover, he built his entire philosophy on this tenet, and presented a series of concepts ：(1) Man possesses the innate³ knowledge of the good and “ innate ability” to do good； (2) If one “develops his mind to the utmost”，he can “serve heaven” and “fulfill⁴ his destiny”；（3)Evil is not inborn⁵ but due to man's own failures and his inability to avoid evil external influences； (4)Serious efforts must be made to recover men's original nature； (5) The end of learning is none other than to “seek for the lost mind”.

作为一个哲学家，孟子的观点是人性的善良。他主张“滋补移动力”，并提出了“天人合一的观点”。 跟孔子相比较，从人性化的角度出发，孟子进了一大步。孟子宣称人的本性绝对是“生来就好的”。此外，他在这个原则建立了他的整个理念，并提出了一系列思想：（1）人天生就具有良知的和“天赋才能”;（2）如果有一个人“激发他的心灵使其发挥到最大“，他可以”转动天堂“和”完成他的使命“;（3）邪恶不是天生的，是由于人自身的失败和他无法避免外部恶的影响;（4）认真的努力必能恢复人的原始本性;（5）终生学习无非是要寻找“缺失的心”。