A Probe Into The "Source Of Goodness" In Xunzi’s Moral Philosophy

The question of the theory of human nature is a very important aspect in both the study of Western philosophy and the study of Chinese philosophy.Xunzi’s theory of the evil of nature in the pre-Qin period of China is more controversial,because in Xunzi’s philosophy of human nature,there seems to be a paradox: on the one hand,Xunzi believes that "human nature is evil",on the other hand,he believes that "people who are painted can be Yu".If human nature is evil,how can we "cheng Yu" ? It seems that the two contradictory aspects exist in Xunzi’s moral philosophy at the same time.There must be a transformable mechanism between them.Xunzi also gave the answer to the transformation in "The Evil of Nature",that is,"sage" uses "li Righteousness" and "transformation from falsehood".But under the premise of "evil nature",how did "sages" and "rituals and justice" come into being?What is the process of "transforming into falsehood" after having rituals and saints?We try to distinguish the "source of goodness" in Xunzi’s moral philosophy in the two social stages by distinguishing between "the society before rituals and justice" and "the society of rituals and justice".In the “society before the rites and righteousness”,the issue of the source of goodness is to discuss the problems arising from saints and “rituals and justice.”In the issue of the source of the goodness in the “ritual and righteous society”,it is to explore how saints use “rituals and justice” to instruct the people.Xunzi’s nature not only contains the inherent basic physiological desires,but also human’s innate rational thinking and the cognitive function of the heart,as well as the potential for goodness.And these internal factors can not only become the source of evil,but also the internal factor of the source of good.Therefore,the source of good in Xunzi’s moral philosophy has two aspects: the internal and external aspects.The external aspect is due to the saint’s "ritual and righteous" teaching.The internal aspect It is to explore the internal reasons that can be educated in human nature.In the "Pre-Ritual Society" period,the nature of the saint and the ordinary person is the same,but this is the same in quality.The nature of the saint also contains basic physiological desires,rational thinking,and the role of knowledge.However,there is a difference.It is those who have fewer basic desires and stronger rational ability and knowledge ability than ordinary people who formulate the initial "rituals and justice" are called saints.After having rites and sages,he entered the "rites and justice society".At this stage of society,the source of goodness mainly focuses on how the people can "dissolve the falsehood." The source mechanism of the good in the "ritual society" is much more complicated than that of the " PreRitual society".It not only needs to receive the influence of external "ritual and righteous" factors,but also rely on internal factors to react to it,and internal and external factors work together.It can lead to the final good deeds.These internal and external factors play an important role in the two social stages,and together constitute the multiple dynamic mechanism of "goodness" in Xunzi’s moral philosophy.