Hsün Tzu and Jean-Paul Sartre Comparison of two Philosophers

Good and bad, two opposite terms that are used by people. ‘Good’ is known as morally excellent and ‘bad’ is known as being wicked or having an evil character. The ideas of good and bad are thought to be connected to human nature. Human nature is the characteristics, feelings, and behaviours of humankind that is shared by all humans. Because good and bad are two opposite terms and it is in human nature this has led to attempts to explain how both good and bad behaviours affect peoples’ daily life. The debate of on explanations of human’s good and bad behaviour still is ongoing nowadays. Two Chinese philosophers, Mencius (2016) and Hsun Tzu (1963) have relevant approaches to analysing this behaviour. Hsun Tzu focused on human

Hsun Tzu's philosophy is built from the idea that human beings are by nature inherently evil, and the good they produce will only come through their conscious activity. Hsun Tzu believes that if man follows his nature and indulges in his natural desires, without transforming himself by conscious activity he is doomed to fall victim to his evil nature. "Any man who follows his nature will inevitably become involved in wrangling and strife, will violate the forms and rules of society, and will end as a criminal." Despite the pessimistic tone of Hsun Tzu's message he does propose conscious activity as a solution to man's evil. This paper will examine Hsun Tzu's perspective in light of both Mencius

Selfishness is a disease of the soul that every person experiences several times throughout their life. To say that selfishness has never been experienced would be hypocrisy. To say that selfishness is a beneficial trait would be erroneous. Although as humans we lie to ourselves, there is no question that selfishness can make any person a fool. Being selfish consumes us and changes us into someone we are not. Whether it leads to getting people killed, losing love, or abolishing families, selfishness always leads to destruction.

Selfishness is the inability to be caring, show consideration for others, as well as be decent towards others. People who are selfish think very little of others, and focus more on themselves and their own needs. In Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, he shows how Chris McCandless is a selfish person, who only cares about himself. Chris demonstrates his selfishness by the way he treats his parents, such as when they try to reach out to him, but chooses to ignore them. He also thinks of only himself by the way he treats and ignores authority and the government. Chris acts selfishly in the way he treats poorly anybody who has ever showed him compassion towards him, such as him asking for the mail to be returned to the sender, showing no interest in

Lao-Tzu, a Chinese Philosopher from Henan Province China, is known today as the author of, “Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching.” He is also recognized as a, “contemporary of Confucius.” He served as a keeper of the dynastic archives.

Even though the human nature is evil, but human has the good plasticity, that’s why we need the teachers to guide us, to lead us into a good way. Like we have the nature of the fondness for profit, so we need to know how to get a profit, but not do the things illegal or hurt others’ profit; and we learn to respect the ugly thins even though we don’t like it; and we learn to control our emotions, we learn to restrain, and express in a right way. As a baby, we don’t know what is the respect and what is the courtesy and humility, after we learn, those are all the things that we developed from our nature evil, like the article said: “Now it is the nature of man that when he is hungry he will desire to rest. This is his emotional nature...And yet a man, although he is hungry, will not dare to be the first to eat if he is in the presence of his elders, because he knows that he should yield to them, and although he is weary, he will not dare to demand rest because he knows that he should relieve others of the burden of

Stephen Kendrick once said, “Almost every sinful action ever committed can be traced back to a selfish motive. It is the trait we hate in other people but justify in ourselves.” The nature of human selfishness comes in various forms, distinctly different in the eyes of an individual but with similar mindsets. To put differently, there are many definitions defining selfishness, but under the surface, everyone has similar, selfless intentions.

One innate characteristic of the Nature of Man is selfishness. For example, in the book “Night” by Eliezer Wiesel, one event that occurred that relates to the theme is when Eliezer witnesses a young man murder his own father. In this particular scenario from the book, the man murders his own father over a loaf of bread, which he obviously benefits from. This shows that humans are selfish and will even be disloyal to their own family if they see that they will benefit in a way. Another example of selfishness is from the movie “The Schindler’s List” when the great Oskar Schindler, who saved an estimated of 1200 Jews, takes advantage of the relocation of Jews into ghettos which leads him to inhabit their home and property. However, although I recognize that Oskar Schindler is an honorable person for his courageous acts during WW II, that doesn't overlook the fact

These virtuous standards directs our actions in order that nonviolent societies might be. Many individuals acquire ethical standards from their family, their peers at institutes, in religious settings, or in other public locations. While a record amount of societies obtain their logic of that which is

According to legend, nearing the end of his life, Lao Tzu set off into the desert toward what is now Tibet, sadden and disillusioned that men were so unwilling to follow the path to natural goodness. When he arrived at the final gate at the Great Wall of China, the gatekeeper convinced Lao Tzu to record his teachings and the principles of his philosophy before he left. He then composed in five thousand characters, eighty-one sayings that make up the Tao Te Ching. This ancient Chinese text is the most translated classic worldwide next to the Bible.

I didn’t truly understand it at the time, but as I grow older and mature I am beginning to understand more and more. Also, in that same conversation, my father told me about some of the people he works with and works for, and how they give back but often only in the spotlight. They will donate money when the attention is on them, or they will do charity events when the media is involved. Looking back at it, this is a very selfish idea. When do we hit that point in our life where we are so selfish that we can not help others; is it a conscious decision or are we just not aware of our actions? I have seen this same of idea of selfishness in my own experiences. I went to a very wealthy private school, with many students coming very wealthy families. Often these families would donate money to the school, but in return they expected a plaque or they expected something to be named after them, some kind of recognition. Some people will say this is not selfish because they are giving back; however, others will say this is a selfish action because they are only giving looking for a return.

Since there are no a priori values, each person has their own distinction between and definition of good and bad decisions/values. By choosing, the choice that is picked is reinforced to be of greater value; therefore, a “worse” choice, because better and worse are subjective, is unable to be picked. Additionally, Sartre states “in choosing for himself he chooses for all men” (350). This supports the concept that a person always chooses the “better” because every decision creates the ideal image of a person as they should be, and people, whether they are aware of it or not, strives to be the same ideal

Or, consider the envious individual who tries to get you to feel guilty for your hard-earned success. "You are lucky to have done so well," the envious person says. "Now you have a duty to share some of your success with others." Ce rtainly, a selfish person wants to share his success with those he genuinely cares about—his family, friends, or children (greater values). But why should he make sacrifices to individuals he does not know or care about (lesser values)?

‘Bad faith’ is one of the most remarkable ideas of Sartre’s existentialist philosophy. It is a primary element of the ontology of Being and Nothingness. For Sartre, the phenomenon of bad faith is present in most or even all human activities. Simply put, bad faith refers to our attempts to evade the fundamental truth of our nature, in terms of both facts and possibilities. Bad faith is generally characterized as a “refusal to recognize what I am”, namely, a being who is both facticity and transcendence.

Many people tend to equate ethics with their feelings. But being ethical is clearly not a matter of followings one’s feelings. Ethics, however, cannot be confined to religion nor is it the same as religion. Being ethical is not the same as following the law. The law often incorporates ethical standards to which most citizens subscribe. But laws, like feelings, can deviate from what is ethical. Finally, being ethical is not the same as doing “whatever society accepts.” In any society, most people accept standards that are ethical. But standards of behaviour in society can deviate from what is ethical. An entire society can become ethically corrupt. Nazi Germany is good example of a morally corrupt society. What then, is