The Problem of Evil in Early Chinese Philosophy

Title: The Problem of Evil in Early Chinese Philosophy

Time: 11 Nov 2022

Site: Online

Speaker: Franklin Perkins

 

1, how should we situate the problem of evil in the context of early Chinese philosophy?

2, Mengzi's attempt to reconcile good actions with an amoral heaven (tian) through natural dispositions (xing)

3, Zhuangzi as a threat to Mengzi's account

 

 

1

The mandate of Heaven (e.g. Shangshu, Mozi)

Heaven supports good rulers and thwarts bad ones.

The problem of evil is: bad people end with good lives; bad things happen to good people.

Response: 鬼神之明(上博简), Mozi, Xunzi, Mengzi, Zhuangzi

 

2

problems for Mengzi

1, how we can be motivated to act for the good even when that will not be rewarded

- our deepest motivations are not for rewards but from the feelings of the heart

2, why we should act for the good, even when that conflicts with the order of nature (tian)

- it is what we really want - it is natural for us

3, can acting for the good still be supported in terms of going along with nature?

- problem: if the world were just, no one would have to choose between rightness and life

all three addressed through xing

 

conflicted relationship to tian in the Mengzi facing war and disorder:

· heaven does not yet want peace

·my natural feelings lead me to want peace - looks like a conflict between heaven and human

·heaven gave me those natural feelings

-really it is a conflict between heaven (as reflected in the world) and heaven (as expressed in my dispositions)

 

3 Zhuangzi's Challenge

two challenges to Mengzi's reliance on xing

·if we do not all have the same nature, then we will not all need to follow the same ethical norms - hard to say what is most satisfying for our natural emotions and desires

· how much are our reactions to things determined by our xing?

- how we react is not just natural but depends on cultivation and perspective

both challenges are raised in the Zhuangzi