HKU Moodle

The Mencius (Mengzi 孟子) is a foundational text in East Asian philosophy, having an influence on East Asian thought that is comparable to Plato’s Republic or the Judeo-Christian Bible in the West. Just as most of Western philosophy builds on foundational thinkers like Plato to develop its distinctive positions, concepts, and terminology, so too does most of East Asian philosophy build on passages in the Mencius to develop its own ideas and arguments. 

The aim of this course is to develop a deep acquaintance both with the Mencius itself, and with the many later philosophical debates and positions that it inspired. Specific topics include the following: Mencius’ claim that human nature is good (xingshan 性善), the role of reflection (si 思) and extension (tui 推) in the acquisition of moral knowledge and virtue, the role of discretion (quan 權/权) in ethical decision-making, conscience or innate moral knowledge (liangzhi 良知), the importance of “getting it oneself” (zide [zhi] 自得[之]) in moral education, and benevolent government (renzheng 仁政). On each of these topics, we will look both at the Mencius itself as well as more complex and systematic interpretations in later Confucian philosophy. The later Mencians that we will study most carefully are Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130-1200), Wang Yangming 王陽明 (1472–1529), and Dai Zhen 戴震 (1724-1777).