The Distinction Between The Constancy Of Heaven And The Inconstancy Of Human Beings As The Starting Point Of Xunzi’s Ethical And Political Project

In the Tian Lun chapter,Xunzi asserts that the action of heaven is constant(chang 常)and that human action is inconstant.I argue that understanding this distinction is fundamental for understanding Xunzi’s ethical and political system.In order to persuade us to follow the Confucian way,Xunzi argues that humans can follow different courses of action and that these courses of action,once taken,constantly lead to characteristic outcomes.That humans can follow different courses,is due to human inconstancy;that these courses have characteristic outcomes is due to the constancy of the action of heaven.But to understand how Xunzi locates a source of inconstancy within human beings,which have natures that are also in some degree fixed,it is necessary to reflect carefully on Xunzi’s theory of deliberate human effort(wei 伪).This reflection on human effort as contrasted with heavenly constancies clarifies the meaning and importance of deliberate human effort in Xunzi’s theory.