Mencius

Where the Emperor Marcus Aurelius' text Meditations contains his philosophies on becoming the most virtuous man from the inside out, the philosopher Mencius' text focusses on being the best leader by focussing on one's external benevolent impact. Mencius is presented in a dialogue format which leads the reader to follow his structured arguments to their inevitable conclusion, in a style similar to Plato's works.  The key difference here is that while Plato (through Socrates) lectures to his peers and his students, Mencius lectures to his peers and a king.  Plato would have appreciated Mencius' philosophical influence over the ruling class.  Like the other philosopher's that we've studied, Mencius consistently builds his arguments on the shoulders of  his philosopher forefathers, specifically, he represents the ideals of Confucious, as "Ever since man came into this world, there has never been one greater than Confucious" (2.a.2).

Mencius speaks of the problems of excess, or rather of the benefits of avoiding excess (1.a.3).  He is a populist, but politically savvy enough to position his beliefs in such a way that appeals to the king:  "For the people not to have any regrets over anything left undone, whether in the support of their parents when alive, or in the mourning of them when dead, is the first step along the Kingly way" (1.a.3). Mencius chastises the king as he morally and strategically guides him.  This indicates that although the King has political authority, he concedes that Mencius is his superior.

Mencius details the concept of ch'i (qi) which seems to be akin to a neo-platonic view of the soul, and a karma bank.  It is the essence of our interconnected spirit which flourishes by taking the right, or virtuous path. He makes particular note of the fact that one cannot force one's ch'i to grow, and any attempt to do so will actually have harmful effects. (2.a.2)  He says that we are born with four basic elements of ethics  just as naturally as we are born with arms and legs: "The heart of compassion is the germ of benevolence; the heart of shame, of dutifulness; the heart of courtesy and modesty, of the observance of the rights; the heart of right and wrong, of wisdom." (2.a.6) He believes that humans are in essence born with the capacity for benevolence, but one must develop these aspects or he will cripple himself.

• Mencius argues that family, specifically the bond between father and son, is paramount (4.a.18).  He speaks to the importance of begetting heirs 4.a.26), of serving one's parents (4.a.27)
• "What is the most important thing to watch over?  One's own character." (4.a.19)
• "When the prince is benevolent, everyone else is benevolent, when the prince is dutiful, everyone else is dutiful; when the prince is correct, everyone else is correct.  Simply by rectifying the prince we can put the state on a firm basis." (4.a.20)
• "He who opens his mouth lightly does so simply because he has no responsibilities of office." (4.a.22) 

Works Cited:
Mencius. Mencius. Trans. D.C. Lau. New York: Penguin, 2004. Print.