Doing What You Really Want: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mengzi
Perkins, Franklin. 2022. Doing What You Really Want: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mengzi. New York: Oxford University Press.
Introduction
The central question at the origin of Chinese
philosophy: how can we fix the problems of the world? (p.4)
1
Unlike the necessity for proving the
existence of God, heaven has alreay existed. “Since heaven or tian is an aspect
of the world itself, it made no sense to deny its existence. The question was
whether or not tian supports our values.” (p.20)
Confucians believe that nature (or tian or
dao) is the source of values and of the sacred.
Compare Mengzi to Zhuanzi, whether the taste
is universal or particular? (p.39) “Mengzi’s desire to ground human values in
nature or the divine also has a religious or spiritual dimension.” (p.49)
Mengzi cares about being at home in the world. (ibid.)
2
In this chapter, four sprouts are
introduced. “Mengzi defines human beings according to the reactions of the
heart.” (p.75) [All these four sprouts are what really you want, and they are
the origin of morality. So, Mengzi says you just do what you really want.]
3
Mengzi emphasizes the function of emotions,
“Mengzi does not deny the role of external factors but shifts from those
factors to our relationships with them.” (p.85)
4
How do we reach effortless moral action? Cultivating
feelings (extension). Virtue is grounded by the human experience of caring for others.
(p.119) “For Mengzi, we must extend the feeling we have in some cases to cases
that are more distant or obscure.” (p.120)
On heaven, the difference between Mengzi
and Mozi. (p.123)
For exemplars in morality, Olberding “takes
Confucian moral theory as derived primarily from the attempt to understand and
theorize the function and power of role models.” (p.128)
5
In the Western tradition, learning means reflection,
reason, and argument. By comparison, the love of learning (好学) centers on study --- studying
ancient classics. (p.138) “The Confucians advocate a feeling of reverence and
gratitude toward origins, first toward parents, then toward the elderly in
general, and then toward ancestors.” (p.147)
6
Ritual and music are the proper forms of
expressing emotions. They create a common framework of meaning. (p.169) They
provide a circumstance to influence emotion itself in turn. (p.171)
7
The temptations hinder Confucians from refining
the world: wealth, prestige, compromise, blaming others, hopelessness, and a
sense of having done enough.
8
“To ask about the compatibility between
Confucianism and democracy is to ask the wrong question. The question should be:
What can Confucianism contribute to the formation of a politics yet to come?” (p.211)
Confucian political philosophy is a continuum
with its ethics. It is proved by Greatest Learning (大学).