Moral Education in Confucianism

Plakshi Jain compares reflection’ and learning’ as means of becoming good.

"If it receives its proper nourishment, there is nothing which will not grow.

If it loses its proper nourishment, there is nothing which will not decay away." - Mengzi (trans. James Legge)

"Blunt metal must await honing and grinding, only then does it become sharp. Since people's nature is bad, they must await teachers and proper models, only then do they become correct." - Xunzi (trans. Eric Hutton)

This article attempts to compare the views of two significant Chinese philosophers, Mengzi and Xunzi, on the importance of moral education.

Both were followers of Kongzi (551-479 BCE) better known in the West as Confucius. His 'Way' has been popularized as Confucianism for hundreds of years via the Analects, a text written by his disciples to put forth his teachings. The Way of Kongzi advocates many things for society, but for this article we will focus on the cultivation of ethics.

Kongzi believed society can be improved only when people in authority are virtuous, and he developed educational techniques to inculcate kindness and wisdom as well as knowledge.

Having said that, his statement, "If you learn without thinking about what you have learned, you will be lost. If you think without learning, however, you will fall into danger" has generated a lot of debate among Confucian scholars on how much emphasis must be given to thinking and learning respectively. This is where a comparison of the views of his disciples Mengzi and Xunzi comes in.

Growing With Mengzi, Grinding With Xunzi

Mengzi's use of the word 'grow' quoted at the start to connote the process of education, and of 'nourishment' to connote its importance, in contrast to Xunzi's words 'grinding' and 'correct', pinpoint the key difference in Mengzi's and Xunzi's philosophies of ethical cultivation.