A Remedy for Two Deficiencies in the Theory of Innate Goodness:A Reconsideration of Mencius' Theory from the Perspective of Confucian Shengsheng Ethics
The theory of innate goodness is found to have inherently two deficiencies in spite of its signifi-cant contributions made to Chinese culture.For one thing,this theory only views"talents"as the basis of innate goodness while neglects the ethical disposition as the core component;for another,it treats benevolence as the sole moral basis while overlooks the role of wisdom.These two deficiencies have influenced profoundly the development of Confucianism:the former leads to an incomplete understanding of morality ontology(which might cause a problematic understanding of morality ontology);and the latter a narrow understanding of moral basis(gives rise to debates over orthodox and heterodox interpretations).An effective approach to overcome these two deficiencies is to interpret this theory in a different way:by encompassing both growth tendency and ethical disposition;by combining benevolence and wisdom.To address this issue,Confucian Shengsheng ethics is making valuable attempts and is proving itself to be a promising direction for further development.
Menciustheory of innate goodnessConfucian Shengsheng ethicsthreefold categorization
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