An introduction to Confucianism by Xinzhong Yao

Author:Xinzhong Yao
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

GOOD AND EVIL

Based on the understanding of the Way of Heaven and its relation to the Way of Humans, Confucians come to deal with the problem of good and evil. Fundamental to their belief is that the Way of Heaven is right and violation of the Way is wrong, and that what issues from the Way is good and what obstructs the prevalence of the Way is bad. Most Confucians take the view that evil (e ) is not a metaphysical concept, because ‘what is called evil is not original evil’ (Chan, 1963a: 529). That is to say, the Confucian conception of evil does not denote a metaphysical or ontological reality. It is simply a moral concept, designating a kind of moral situation in which the moral and physical activities of a human being are conducted in a wrong way.

Good and evil are considered to be a pair of terms for the moral character of an individual. As all individuals are believed to be able to become good, a natural question that follows is whether they can be good because they already have all the potentialities within or they can become good because they are guided by the rules of propriety and by the instructions of the sage. The Confucian debate about these two options was inaugurated by Xunzi in his argument against Mengzi, and these two options lead to two different theories concerning human nature.

Believing that good is fundamental and evil is the deviation from good, Mengzi insists that human beings are born with goodness, in goodness and for goodness, and that this is as clear as the natural tendency of water to flow downwards and the natural tendency of a tree to grow upwards. As Mengzi presumes that humans are originally good, then where does evil come from? Mengzi answered this question by giving three reasons why a good nature could give way to evil. Firstly, the nature (xing) with which we are born has only provided the beginning or potentiality for us to do good, but not all individuals will develop from the beginning or can fully realise their potentiality. In other words, the evil that exists in individuals’ character is due to the non-development or non-completion of their innate nature. Secondly, the innate goodness is fragile, and being subject to erosion by external influences, needs to be preserved and cultivated. In his famous metaphor of the Bull Mountain, Mengzi explained how this could happen: the trees on the mountain were once beautiful. But being too near to the capital of a great state, they were hewn down . . . even so, nourished by the rain and dew and with the force of growth operating day and night, the stumps sent forth fresh sprouts. But soon cattle and sheep came to browse on them, and in the end the mountain became completely bare. Seeing it thus, people would now imagine that it had never been wooded. According to Mengzi, however, the nature of the mountain was beautifully wooded, and bareness was only the consequence of having being lopped and browsed on.

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