I'm not sure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

I'm not sure - Essay Example Xunzi departs from the ideas of Confucius and Mencius in the view of heaven (Ivanhoe and Bryan 41). He argues that heaven is nothing more than the natural world which has no moral will and that its activities are totally different to human activities. Therefore, human-beings are responsible for their own destinies and they must not think that heaven can intervene or be in control of their own troubles. He says that heaven is responsible for how things are and not how they ought to be. People must therefore live with the effects and limitations imposed on them by heaven and earth (Ivanhoe and Bryan 39). On ritual, Xunzi perceives it as a way of bringing into existence a fully human world from people’s emotions. Rituals more often satisfy certain psychological needs and desires without considering on those of others. Sacrificial rites express the feelings of remembrance and longing for the dead. They perfect loyalty, good faith and the flourishing of ritual department and refine d demeanor. Xunzi`s theory dearly anticipates Sigmund Frend whereby the sages had a psychological purpose in creating the rituals and did not depend upon belief in the existence of ancestral spirits or their ability to respond to sacrifice (Ivanhoe and Bryan 51). Xunzi also argues that human nature is evil and that its goodness is the result of conscious activity. It is human nature that one is born with the desire for something either good or bad. As a result, indulging human emotions with human nature will lead to strife causing chaos and violence. Xunzi therefore indicates that before one attains modesty, he or she must emulate the example of a teacher and guided by the way of ritual and rightness. On the other hand Mencius argues that the nature of human beings is good after an understanding of human nature and distinction between the nature and conscious activity. He further argues that nature cannot be acquired by effort or learn it but instead given by heaven. They both recog nize that human beings have both bad emotions and good ones as well (Ivanhoe and Bryan 89). For Mencius, it is a matter of nourishment while Xunzi its transformation. As a result, education becomes more important for Xunzi than for Mencius since Xunzi view it as the only counterforce to the natural tendencies that result to competition, strife and aggression in the society. 2. Compare and contrast Mozi's, Mencius's and Xunzi's views of Heaven. Xunzi refutes the norm of the role of heaven by stating that heaven does not care about human affairs. According to him, heaven is nothing more than the natural world which has no will and correlation to human activities. He further argues that those who pray for rain are wasting their time. He points out that human beings are in charge of their own destinies and they must not wait for heaven to intervene on their troubles (Ivanhoe and Bryan 31). He concurs with Confucius that natural events like droughts affect human beings, they have no huma n meaning. Therefore people must live with the challenges imposed on them by heaven and earth. Xunzi also contrast with Mozi`s and Mencius view on non-action or non-striving action. He claims that good things are only achieved through effort. He attacks Laozi and Zhuangzi on the matter that human beings adopt the perspective of heaven and leave conventional values as result of yielding the natural flow of things. Xunzi instead gives the distinctive importance of the human nature and