Mencius Thought Study Of Conscience

Mencius’Theory of Good Nature has been a perplexing topic in the academic field for a long time. The first reason for such a problem is that no distinction is made between connotations of different levels of Mencuis’notion of Nature and Goodness. Another reason lies in the difficulty of rational orientation of these connotations under the traditional thinking patterns, leading to the mixing of human and beast, saint and mortal. Therefore, the solution to the dilemma of Mencius’Theory of Good Nature lies in the abandoning of traditional binary thinking patterns and separating Mencius’ notion of "human nature as human itself" and the basis of Goodness from the norm of it.Mencius argues for the Theory of Good Nature based on the Theory of Good Mind, and identifying the connotation of "Mind" in Mencius’notion plays a crucial role in making a breakthrough in research on the Theory of Good Nature. The dual connotations of "four senses" can be discovered with the discussion of the relationship between "four senses" and RenYiLiZhi, namely Benevolence, Rightness, Propriety, and Wisdom. On one hand,"four senses" is the source of RenYiLiZhi. And on the other,"four senses" is the realization of RenYiLiZhi. In correspondence with "mind","talent","nature" and "emotion" are all embodied with dual connotations. On one hand is the basis of human as human, i.e. the nature of being good. And on the other is the realization of human as human, i.e. the nature of RenYiLiZhi. In the same way, Goodness itself also conveys dual connotations. One is the basis of goodness, i.e. goodness of morality, and the other is the realization of goodness, i.e. the implementation of goodness. Consequently two meanings are conveyed in Menscius’ Theory of Good Nature, one being the Theory of Good Nature from the perspective of the ability of being good, the other being the Theory of Good Nature Process from the perspective of the nature of RenYiLiZhi. The Theory of Good Nature is the foundation of becoming the saint with the clarification of the distinction between human and beast, while the Theory of Good Nature Process reveals the distinction between the saint and the mortal, indicating that the saint is built up through cultivation.Conscience reveals the dual connotations of Mencius’ Theory of Good Nature. It identifies its own existence through such moral norms as moral emotion, propriety and rightness, as well as self-reflection. Conscience’s self-identity is composed of two segments, with one as the identification of the stored RenYiLiZhi, and the other as the identification of the innate moral foundation from the perspective of RenYiLiZhi.Besides discovering itself through self-identity, conscience can also be confirmed by "what is bestowed by Heaven". And the dual relationship between conscience and Heaven is manifested in "what is bestowed by Heaven" and "endeavors of apprehending Nature and Heaven". Such a dual relationship indicates the dual nature of conscience.The foundation of conscience is the perceiving of "what is bestowed by Heaven" and the clarification of the root of morality realization, i.e. the inherent ability and the inherent knowledge. These are also the ultimate criteria for the distinction of good and evil.The cultivation of conscience lies in "endeavors of apprehending Nature and Heaven", and it is through the interaction between the innate basis of conscience and human environment that the innate norm is formed.Through the analysis of the cultivation of conscience, this dissertation identifies three connotations of conscience, i.e. moral foundation, moral emotion and moral norm, as well as some characteristics, including autonomy, generality, originality, creativity, in addition to features of emotion, activeness, growth, existence, norm and reflectiveness. With all these connotations and characteristics of conscience, it is indicated that selfness is the moral life, and the notion of conscience as moral life can be applied to the explanation of the dual connotations of the Theory of Good Nature.