Title

Mencius on Evildoers: A Comparative Study of Ethics

Author

Chen Shih-chen

Genre

Article

Pages

691-724

Download

PDF

Language

Chinese

Key words

evildoer, moral order, self-decision, induced cause, imputed cause

Abstract

In this article, I explore how the Mencius explains the concept of evil as a choice between the original mind and the body. Mencius’ conception of self serves as the subjective foundation of free will and therefore justifies the freedom of human decision in ethics. The concept of freedom has always been seen as western in origin, but through the comparative analysis presented here, it becomes evident that it is implied in the notion of the human self in the Mencius. I argue that in the philosophies of St. Augustine (354-430) and I. Kant (1724-1804), the foundation of evil is involved in the concept of the human self and that free will is a precondition for evildoing because of a reversed view of moral order. According to this analysis, the concept of humans as evildoers can be explained according to the text of the Mencius as the free will to choose between the original mind as self-valuation and the human body as self-devaluation. People identified as evil in the text relinquish their inner moral compass and willfully allow their corporeal body to control their behavior.