性善论 definition

Key Takeaway: Mencius's doctrine that human nature is inherently good.

Mencius's doctrine that human nature is inherently good. People are born with the Four Seeds of virtue (ren, yi, li, zhi), which must be cultivated to flourish. Mencius argued people are born with four innate seeds of virtue: compassion (ren), shame (yi), deference (li), and discernment (zhi). This became the orthodox Confucian position on human nature.

As Confucius taught in the Analects and as the Confucian tradition of virtue and self-cultivation holds, Mencius's doctrine that human nature is inherently good.

— Oriens