Questions and Answers on Mang Tzu's Literature

In history, humans have influenced ways to abuse each other in hateful ways. Because of hate, all miserable things that happen to people relates to mob mentality. Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel states, “The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.” Throughout history, humanity has seen dignified people pursuing horrendous actions because these individuals got caught up in mob mentality.

Tzu believes that people are all born evil and that that need to be taught how to be ethical. Like fellow Confucius philosopher Mencius, Tzu believed that no one entered the world with moral principles. Tzu said that people lacked any moral direction at birth, and would become corrupt and dangerous if not taught otherwise. At the core men where selfish creatures, with envy, and hatred if left in its natural state. The only way to stop this from happening was to educate people, putting them on a path to righteousness. Humans must choose to be good, it is not an inborn instinct so we must continue to learn to be good with practice. “(Tzu) claims that all human beings experience certain desires—primarily desires for bodily satisfaction and comfort and for social honor and position—and that we cannot reduce or eliminate these desires” (Robins). The difference between a bad person and a good person is how they are educated; they are brought into this world with no idea of morality. People cannot be forced to learn, but with help from learning everyone can become a good, moral

Education now is something that is a way of life, just as eating is. However historically, education was one of the only ways to stand out in society, to be a ‘gentlemen’. Hsun Tzu and Frederick Douglas, though worlds apart, share many similarities on their view of education and what it should be like; at the same time, each text contains key elements that show how different their views can be and the reason behind it.

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

In the Analects, the virtue of humanity centers around reverence, generosity, diligence, honesty, and kindness towards others. In seeking to attain each of these virtues, the goal is to become a true junzi, a gentleman (Confucius, Analects, 2). Men are thoroughly instructed upon how to deal with other people. They are treat everyone with kindness and righteousness (Confucius, Analects, 1). Reverence is to be shown to superiors, and harmony maintained with those not on his “level”. The dignity of a gentleman's actions are what gain him respect (Confucius, Analects, 1-2). He is to “expect” no more that what one is capable of in service, but to be “pleased” by nothing less than true following of “the Way” (Confucius, Analects,

Through a veil of lies man obeys the State, the Church, the mass opinions of their peers, or any other organization that they view to be in power. This affords him a false sense of safety and protection. In his obedience, man feels strong allowing him to be controlled by the fear of being isolated or having undesirable repercussions greet him as a result of any disobedience. Throughout history it has been evident that, for the most part, the few in power have ruled over the majority. The foundation of this relationship has been “the few” equating obedience with virtue and disobedience with sin, resulting in man not only needing to obey, but wanting to obey. Man’s inability to see that he has lost his ability to disobey and stand up for what he believes and values, instead of what he has been brainwashed to believe and value, will inevitably ensure the destruction of all civilization at the hand of man. Man’s only saving grace will be his ability to realize

To live a life of this, a life of complete and utter submission, people must accept and romanticize ideals. They yield to authority and adopt ways of thinking that condemn them to lives of obedience. They lose all individuality, becoming merely carbon copies of each citizen of this community.

Xunzi believes that the essential element of the human nature is born with a fondness for profit. Xunzi also stresses that an individual is born with feelings of envy and hate, and also a sense of loyalty and good faith.

One of the biggest way that we get pressured to conform to societal norms is in

Be it the philosopher, the novelist, or the pondering youth, mankind often contemplates its own “nature” – that is, whether humans are innately bad, good, or somewhere between the two. Mencius and Han Feizi, two Chinese philosophers whose lives were separated by only nine years, ostensibly seem to take completely contradictory stances on human nature. Mencius maintains that humans are all born good, writing that “[h]umans all have hearts that are not unfeeling toward others” and that all people have “sprouts” of goodness that must be cared for and maintained through ritual lest they wither and die, resulting in a person who is no longer good. Han Feizi, on the other hand, argues that humans are innately bad and require a strict system of rewards

Mankind has the tendency to be self-conscious, greedy, and materialistic, and human history shows this to be the case in all societies. Even in China they suffer from the selfish aspects of humans. The Tao states on page 9, “Chase after money and security/and your heart will never unclench.” It is natural for people to

“From the sphere of my own experience I can bring to my recollection three persons of no every-day powers and acquirements, who had read the poems of others with more and more unallayed pleasure, and had thought more highly of their authors, as poets; who yet have confessed to me, that from no modern work had so many passages started up anew in their minds at different times, and as different occasions had awakened a meditative mood.” (2) (paragraph 31).

Humanity’s natural aggression means that civilization is “constantly threatened with disintegration” and it must make every effort to ensure these urges are curbed, in order for its continued existence. He continues in this vein, by stating that, in order for people to “forgo the satisfaction of their tendency to aggression” civilization encourages us to form into groups, however for this to work their must continue to be “outsiders,” that the aggression can be turned towards. This is in accordance with On the Genealogy of Morals, where it is the Slaves ascetic nature that forces them to also control their instincts. Likewise, both Freud and Nietzsche assert that these restrictions cause people to internalise their aggressions, turning inward.

People always wonder what makes them who they are. However, the extent to which our characters are derived from ourselves is always an argument for many philosophers. Marx, a German philosopher, and Mengzi, a representative thinker of Confucianism, present similar accounts in explaining how humans are shaped. Both Marx and Mengzi believe that our individual character is not solely shaped by ourselves but are shaped in ways by external forces. However, I will argue that, compared with Mengzi’s view of the moral attributes that inherently exist in humans themselves, Marx’s account is more systematic and compelling due to his emphasis of the effect of the interrelationship between humans themselves and the external forces of labor and social structures.

Lessons from the Sun Tzu theory of war about potential war between Vietnam and China in 21st Century