POLI 2P91 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Yang Zhu, Rational Egoism, Appeasement
30 Oct 2015
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Laozi vs confucians like mencius (372-289 bce); mozi (470-391 bce and yang zhu (440-360 bce) Confucians like mencius say: follow the way (dao) by righteousness (li) and. Benevolence in conduct mainly this means strict observance of religious rituals, and revering both parents and the emperor. Emphasis on goodness of human nature, and need to follow rituals and communal rules to keep it that way. Mozi says that confucians/mencius are partial and that impartiality is the answer. Forget the rules and rituals and enjoy yourself! (rational egoism) Realist (no one is looking out for you) Live your life the way you want to. If you rely on righteousness (moral rules) or benevolence (good will) or ritual observance, you"re already lost. We have forgotten our true nature, which is in accordance with the dao. We need to forget our knowledge and morality and rituals. The dao cannot be expressed in rational language so we must return to our pre-conscious instincts.
