Viewing Xunzi’s theory of evil human nature from the perspective of ‘sociality’(群)

Abstract

The Chapter ‘Human Nature is Evil’ (Xing E 性惡)Footnote1 is a crucial text in the Xunzi that centrally addresses the theory of human nature. Unlike Mencius’s concept of ‘nature’ (xing 性), Xunzi’s discussion of ‘nature’ primarily encompasses three levels: animal instincts, cognitive faculties, and the social attribute of ‘sociality’ (qun 群), none of which includes innate moral attributes. Xunzi’s argument that human nature is evil is a value judgment grounded in the human social attribute (‘sociality’) and made possible by the cognitive capacity of the ‘heart-mind’ (xin 心). Therefore, xing e actually refers to the contradiction within human nature between its animalistic and social components. This contradiction must be apprehended through the cognitive function of the heart-mind and resolved through the social practical activity of ‘deliberate effort’ (wei 偽).