In Chinese Philosophy, is human nature originally good or evil? Please justify your answer?
According to Mencius, one of the more important Confucian philosophers, human beings begin life with a heart that bears four germs of goodness. These germs are fragile, but if nurtured, they are the basis for virtue. A later Confucian scholar, Xunzi, argued strongly against Mencius’ assessment, claiming that human nature is evil, and goodness is a result of conscious activity. The Legalist school, as represented by Han Feizi, agreed generally with Xunzi, but did not consider individual virtue to be useful–they believed that behaviour should be modified strictly by the “two handles of government:” rewards and punishment. The Daoists regarded “good” as simply that which flows with the Dao–moral distinctions were discarded as irrelevant. Mozi did not comment on the matter–it is likely that the controversy had not yet arisen during his lifetime. It can be inferred from his teaching about universal love that Mozi probably assumed human beings to be essentially good, otherwise his philoso
