September 23
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Breakout – Sec 01 in Russell, Sec 02 in Downey, Sec 03 and 04 together online
Mengzian Moral Psychology and the "Good Nature"
Mengzi’s argument that we should understand our nature to be “good” is foundational to his moral psychology, but also easy to misunderstand. In this class we’ll closely examine the key passages from Mengzi relating to human nature and moral psychology, aiming to understand how his views of psychology, morality, and cultivation fit together.
Goals
- Understand Mengzi’s position on human nature
- See how Mengzi’s position on human nature informs his moral psychology
- Develop further practice finding the key claims and arguments in ancient texts
Before Class
Read This
- Mengzi 2A (select), 6A, 7A&B (select) — read and annotate in Perusall
- After you have read and annotated the passages above, watch the video on the next tab ⟹
Watch This
- After watching the above video, re-read the Mengzi passages assigned for today (you may add more annotations if you wish).
- Finally, see “Do This” on the next tab ⟹
Do This
- Recall the three spheres of “moral psychology” presented in class last week (psychological theory, moral theory, theory of cultivation or therapy). Be prepared to discuss what these are, and how they are related, for Mengzi.
After Class
Further Resources
- N/A
