Theory of Evil Human Nature

**Natural evilness** (traditional Chinese: 性惡論; simplified Chinese: 性恶论) is a view of human nature. It says that human nature tends to be evil, and it is easier to do evil than to do good. It was first proposed by Xunzi against Mencius' Theory of Good Human Nature.

Xunzi says that all human goodness comes from active efforts from humans.

## Xunzi

"Human Nature is Evil" is a part of a book written by Xunzi. He was arguing against Mencius about human nature. The term "xing" (性) means "human nature" and refers to the way people are born. Mencius thought that human nature was good. Xunzi disagreed and believed that human nature was evil.

Both believed in human nature and both believed it was possible to become better, but some people refused it. Mencius saw Xing as more related to an ideal state and Xunzi saw it more as a starting state.

Even though Mencius had already died when the book was written, the chapter is written like a conversation between the two philosophers. Xunzi's ideas about becoming a good person were more complex than Mencius's. He believed that people needed to change their nature, not just give up on it. Some people thought Xunzi's ideas were strange, but new discoveries suggest that it might have actually been Mencius who had unusual ideas about human nature.

The chapter is called "Human Nature is Evil," but that's not the whole story. Xunzi thought that people could improve themselves by learning good habits and manners, which he called "artifice" (偽). He believed that people needed to transform their nature to become good. This could be done by learning from a teacher and following rituals and morals.

Even though some people doubt if the chapter is real, it's an important part of Xunzi's philosophy. People still talk about it today and think about the differences between Xunzi and Mencius's ideas about human nature and how to become a better person.

### Reading

Xunzi believed that nature is inherently bad, which was the first idea about human nature to emerge in Chinese thinking. These writings are the most important ones to understand his beliefs:
1. Human Nature is Evil (性恶篇, Xìng È Piān)
1. Rectification of Names (正名篇, Zhèng Míng Piān)
1. Eliminating Obscurity (解蔽篇, Jiě Bì Piān)
1. On the Institutions of the Legendary Kings (王制篇, Wáng Zhì Piān)

### Implications of Xunzi's Theory of Evil Nature

Xunzi defines goodness and evilness based on their consequences (order or chaos), rather than based on the motives of human beings. In other words, his theory of evil human nature is a consequentialist theory, where the actual observed consequences determine whether the nature is good or evil.

In Xunzi's theory of evil nature, "Evil" is the natural nature, which happens naturally when people put in no effort. An artifice (偽) is something that can be achieved by learning and working at it. Artifice (偽) has two meanings: one is the aspect of action, that is, human behavior; the other is the aspect of result, the personality cultivated by human behavior.

He said that human nature is the natural nature or natural nature of human beings in the true sense, and it is the animal nature of human beings. For example, he believes that human nature is born to care about their own interests . Following this human nature, there is only the virtue of fighting for and giving up. will perish, not the essence of man. His theory of evil nature means that when people only obey their natural nature, bad results will be caused, while "goodness" is acquired through learning and hard work. It can be seen that Xunzi is an empiricist who sees the evil of human nature from the theory of consequence.

He said that man-made methods should be used to change the evil results. The nature of Mencius' theory of good nature takes the essential meaning, that is, the difference between human beings and animals, the inner morality of human beings, that is, the four virtues, human beings have the nature of being good, and the internal source of value. And Mencius should not object to the natural nature of man, because this is clearly observed in experience. The definition of evil nature theory is that if people follow the natural nature, it will cause evil results; while goodness is acquired through learning and hard work. The implication is that although the nature of nature is not evil, it is the source of evil effects. It can be seen from the argument given by Xunzi at the beginning of Xing Evil, although Xunzi failed to explain the root of value, but this definition is tenable, because we can correct the problem of the root of value in his theory, such as the root of value is external to man, such as religion.

Xunzi also used a lot of arguments to prove the theory of natural evil in "Xing Evil":

1. The curved wood can only be straightened after being planted;
1. Metal that has bluntness needs to be polished before it can be used.
1. "Human's natural nature" can only be "good" after "learning from culture" and "the way of etiquette".

Explaining that goodness can be done by the "false" of the future (teaching culture, etiquette) does not explain why people with "evil nature" can have "human-made goodness", nor can it explain why imitation and etiquette can be produced.

### The theory of evil nature as a problem with the theory of human nature?

Mou Zongsan, Lao Siguang and other scholars believe that Xunzi’s theory of evil nature has the following problems:

The biggest problem with Xunzi's theory of evil human nature is that it lacks a moral value foundation, and ultimately leads to the development of authoritarianism.

Xunzi only stated that the "heart" can observe reason, that is, it can distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil, but it is not the source of value. So where does the standard come from? According to Xunzi's theory of evil human nature, morality will ultimately become a tool of external value used to maintain social stability and appeal to authoritarianism. Mencius' theory of good human nature, on the other hand, states that humans are inherently good and we have an internal value foundation (the Four Beginnings).

## A Comparison Between Confucius, Mencius and Xun

According to Fu Ssu-nien, Xunzi's ideas are more aligned with Confucius than Mencius. Confucius believed that people are born with the potential to become good, but they still need to learn and cultivate themselves to reach their full potential. This is different from Mencius' belief that everything necessary for self-improvement is already within oneself.

Xunzi is a great Confucian who believed that people can become good and that the best kind of person is a saint. Some say he is as great as Confucius and Mencius. However, he only observed how people behaved empirically and didn't find where goodness comes from. This is a big problem with his idea that people have the idea of natural evilness. Some people think this happened because he was focusing on Mencius too much. But others believe that when Xunzi said "nature is evil", he meant that people can be good, but also have a tendency to be bad.

## Buddhist point of view

According to Buddhism, there is no inherent good or evil in human nature. These qualities are shaped by past karma and habits, like a candle lighting another candle. Mahayana Buddhism believes that everyone has the potential to become a Buddha, which is the basis of all beings' perfection, except for one exception: Icchantika. Master Zhiyi of the Tiantai school in the Song Dynasty proposed the idea that "Buddha nature is inherently good and is always good in its expression," implying that there is no inherent evil in Buddha nature.

## European point of view

Many western philosophers, such as Machiavelli, Schopenhauer, and Hegel, believed human nature was evil.

Traditions such as liberalism and democracy have often been advocated by people who wanted to keep human nature in check, not by people who thought human nature was good.

The German philosopher Immanuel Kant held that human beings possess a natural tendency to pursue evil, which he called the radical evil. According to Kant, this radical evil fundamentally corrupts human beings.

Schopenhauer said

## Related pages

- Original sin
- Human nature
- Theory of Good Human Nature
- Hamartiology
- Sin
- evil
- Total depravity
- Radical evil