Xunzi: Human Nature Is Bad.

In my perspective, I align more with Xunzi’s view of human nature as evil than Mencius’ view of human nature as good. While reading Human Nature Is Bad, I was intrigued by some of his statements. According to Xunzi, we are “born with feelings of hate and dislike in them… with desires of the eyes and ears, a fondness for beautiful sights and sounds… Thus, if people follow along with their inborn dispositions and obey their nature, they are sure to come to struggle and contention, turn to disrupt social divisions and order, and end up becoming violent.” (p. 248) Good human nature and bad human nature are behaviors we learn as we grow. At birth, we lack awareness of the moral aspects of life, but as we grow and start to interact with society, its influence can have either a positive or a negative impact on us. I have seen instances of kids displaying disruptive and misbehaving behavior (tantrums) when they don’t get what they want, which I think is the type of behaviour Xunzi is pointing out. In such cases, the responsibility lies with parents or guardians to correct their kids or not. Xunzi emphasizes the importance of external influences, stating, “So it is necessary to await the transforming influence of teachers and models and the guidance of ritual and yi, and only then will they come to yielding and difference, turn to proper form and order, and end up becoming controlled.” (p. 7)

This view can be extended to societal laws. Xunzi argues that the inherent evil of human nature can only be changed through guidance. “In ancient time, the sage kings saw that because people’s nature is bad, they were deviant, dangerous, and not correct, unruly, chaotic, and not well ordered. Therefore, for their sake they set up ritual and yi, and established proper models and measures.”(p. 249) he points out that in contemporary society, it is necessary to have laws. laws that serve as a means to control individuals and reduce the impact of their bad human nature.