Fourth–third century BCE, traditional dates uncertain
Mencius
Conventional dates such as 372–289 BCE are scholarly approximations, not a settled record.
Mencius, Meng Ke, is the most important early developer of Confucian moral psychology. The book Mencius argues that human nature contains sprouts of compassion, shame, deference, and a sense of right and wrong, which cultivation can grow and circumstances can damage. He defends a partial concern that begins with those near at hand, against Mohist impartiality. The comparison with Western virtue ethics is useful and incomplete.
Also in the atlas
- The sprouts of virtue
- Human nature
- Humane government
Reading, not a syllabus ranking
- Mencius — Dialogues and arguments on nature, righteousness, and government.
Questions for reflection
- If compassion is a sprout rather than a decision, is morality discovered in us or built by us?
Mencius is a bridge between discovered moral tendencies and the communal cultivation of a person. He is not a data point for a personality cluster.