A Study Of "Evil" In Wang Yang-ming’s Thoughts

The main line of Confucian thought follows Mencius in stressing the goodness of human nature.Accordingly,some scholars criticize Confucianism for being too optimistic and naive about human nature.If this is the case,what does it mean that human nature is not evil?How come there is evil in reality? How to get rid of evil?Wang Yangming’s discussion on evil hinges on the fact that yi deviates from liangzhi.Yi is initiated by xin,and the noumenon of xin is liangzhi.Therefore,yi is originally originated from liangzhi,so yi is good originally.However,people deceive themselves,that is,they ignore liangzhi.They are affected by xi and qi,that is,they are affected by the custom and environment,and they are affected by the physical/psychic makeup with which one is born.So it is the deviation,stagnation and attachment of thought that leads it to immorality.There is selfish desires,that is,there is dynamic of material force.So evil appears.Wang Yangming points out that evil is that selfish desires clouds liangzhi.Whether one’s aspiration is to follow liangzhi or to deceive oneself and ignore liangzhi,is always the key to determine evil`s appearance fundamentally.One’s will(zhi)is lacking causes evil fundamentally.People should bear the fundamental moral responsibility for doing evil things.Liangzhi always knows good and evil.It is a kind of awareness that lies in our body.If selfish desires clouds liangzhi,liangzhi observe it at this moment.Liangzhi clarifies the goodness of human nature.Liangzhi is the sense of the unity of all things.The key to get rid of evil is to prevent yi from deviating from liangzhi,and take liangzhi as the master of life,and then to return to the sense of the unity of all things.Wang Yangming’s discussion on evil can be traced to Confucius’ thoughts of one’s faults,and Mencius’ thoughts of bad,as well as Song Confucian ’s thoughts of evil.Wang Yangming inherits Mencius’ theory of good nature and observes the existence of evil things.So the moral cultivation should be pursued by everyone.Everyone has liangzhi,so everyone has the basis of being good.Evil is that selfish desires clouds liangzhi`s the sense of the unity of all things.Evil does not have a noumenon.Evil is rootless in human nature,so evil can be removed.Wang Yangming aims to lead people get rid of evil.But it is based on an analysis of the origin of evil,and then give an effective way to eliminate evil.