A Man Who Commands Our Liking Is What Is Called A Good Man

Mencius is one of the representative figures of Confucianism,and is the first philosopher in the history of Chinese philosophy to put forward "goodness of nature".Although Mencius was the first philosopher to put forward the concept of "goodness of human nature",Mencius later produced different viewpoints to criticize the theory of goodness of human nature,and even contemporary scholars raised difficulties and doubts about Mencius' theory of goodness of human nature.Many scholars believe that Mencius' main way to prove "good nature" is to prove "good nature" with "good heart",that is,to prove "good nature" with "four-end heart".It is difficult to explain the source of "evil",and to question the theory of good nature as a logical loophole in the theory of good nature.The reason for this is that scholars have not deeply analyzed and understood Mencius' thought of "desire",especially the thought that " A man who commands our liking is what is called a good man ".This article holds that Mencius' theory of goodness of human nature must be interpreted in combination with the philosophical meaning of " A man who commands our liking is what is called a good man ".In the pre-Qin Confucianism,only Mencius talked freely about people's "desires"."Desire" of human beings mainly includes two types,one is the desire to be satisfied with external things,namely,physiological desire and desire for fame and fortune,and the other is the inner desire to be satisfied,namely,moral desire.Moral desire differs from physiological desire and desire for fame and fortune in value.Moral desire is the fundamental place and value of human being.Physiological desire and desire for fame and fortune need to be manifested and realized under the domination of moral desire.However,this process is always accompanied by mental judgment,that is,the value judgment of "desire" or not." A man who commands our liking is what is called a good man ",that is,"good is good,desire is also","good" needs to be realized by "desire",good is good by "life",therefore,"life" is the judgment standard of "desire".In fact,people's "desire" is expressed by "likes and dislikes".Love is born in nature,and comes from the likes and dislikes of human nature.That is,moral desire is basically for the purpose of "living".It is fundamentally "good" and "desirable".Likes and dislikes that do not come from nature fundamentally deviate from human nature,and are fundamentally not desirable.Although moral desire originated from nature is the foundation of human being,when moral desire is too strong,it will endanger the manifestation of human life meaning.Mental activities need to control moral desire and keep it within the range of "can",so as to realize the dominant role of moral desire on human being and realize the value of human being.Mencius not only pioneered the theory of “goodness of human nature”,but also pointed out the possible basis of enlightenment through “A man who commands our liking is what is called a good man”,standing upright the noumenon of Confucian enlightenment philosophy in the pre-Qin period,which has very important modern educational significance.Enlightenment should be based on human nature,develop human life with one's own life,make human life self-develop,and manifest in real life and daily ethics,realize the meaning of life.The theory of "good nature" is closely related to the cultivation of self-cultivation and morality emphasized by Confucianism.