This dissertation tries to compare and contrast contemporary reviews and reflections on Mencius Studies, to call for the practical meaning of his “Virtues Cultivation,” and to implement the understanding and interpretations into everyday life.
It is developed based on the following three issues:
1. It asks whether Mencius theory of Human Nature has the Metaphysical connotations. What is the uniqueness of the Mencius Metaphysics, which can be differentiated from the Western Metaphysics?
2. It asks also whether Mencius Theory of Human Nature is a philosophy of “Subjectivity” or an approach to Heideggerian Existence Philosophy.
3. Then, it asks whether Mencius Virtues Cultivation is a kind of “Normative Ethics” or “Virtue Ethics.” Are there other possible interpretations of it?
In this dissertation, I try to review the achievements of Contemporary Mencius interpretations and go a step further for a different view. Instead of taking it in the sense of Western theories of “Essentialism” or “Subjectivity,” I re-examine Mencius texts and explore the contexts of “how people cultivate virtues.” In this sense, Mencius idea of “nature” is not a given idea, but a process of learning and practicing from role models in past dynasties. It covers one’s whole life and features the dynamic and ever-transforming process. In conclusion, this dissertation reads Mencius Theory of Human Nature—Mencius Virtues Cultivation—a life philosophy of self-realization, which gives weight to practice, cultivation and enlightenment.