How Does Mencius Explain Human Nature?

Mencius holds that all humans have innate but incipient tendencies toward benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, and propriety. Employing an agricultural metaphor, he refers to these tendencies as “sprouts” (2A6). The sprouts are manifested in cognitive and emotional reactions characteristic of the virtues.

What did the Confucian scholar Mencius believe about human nature?

Mencius believed that humans are innately good, but need good education, good outside influences and good effort to train this goodness, otherwise people become evil. Mencius taught that leaders could and should be deposed by the common people. This idea was very different than Legalism.

What does Mencius Mengzi mean when he says that human nature is good?

When Mencius says that human nature is good, he does not mean that everything that is inborn is good. He is fully aware that human nature itself is a complex, inclusive not only of elements that are good but also of elements that are either morally neutral or have little moral value.