The Moral MindMetaphor and Meaning in Early China.ppt

孟子曰：「子能順杞柳之性而以為桮棬乎？將戕賊杞柳而後以為桮棬也？如將戕賊杞柳而以為桮棬，則亦將戕賊人以為仁義與？率天下之人而禍仁義者，必子之言夫！」 Mencius replied, “Can you follow (shun 順; lit. flow with) the nature of the willow in making your cups and bowls? Or is it in fact the case that you will have to mutilate (qiang’zei 戕賊) the willow before you can make it into cups and bowls? If you have to mutilate the willow to make it into cups and bowls, must you then also mutilate people to make them moral? Misleading the people of the world into bringing disaster upon [or considering to be disastrous] morality—surely this describes the effects of your teaching!” Mencius 6:A:1 Mencius’s response Craft Production Water Living Thing Blend: Mohist Moral Education Raw material (no shape or direction) Artisan (determines shape) Tool Carving (changes shape) Cups, Bowls (no resemblance to raw material) Living thing (has natural telos) Mutilator (Person) (harms living thing) Weapon (cuts, harms) Process of Mutilation (deforms) Living thing mutilated (does not resemble natural self) Has natural direction (flows down) [6:B:2] Going against flow difficult, leads to disaster [cf. 6:B:11] Human nature has natural telos Mohist Educator as Mutilator (harms human nature) Tool-Doctrine as Weapon (cuts, harms) Mohist Education as Mutilation (deforms human nature, leads to disaster) Mohist “moral person” as cripple (no longer resembles natural self) Mencius 6:A:1 Mencius’s response Blending jujitsu strategy #1 re-frame by introducing new spaces i.e., change the metaphor Blending jujitsu strategy #1 re-frame by introducing new spaces i.e., change the metaphor most common strategy 告子曰：「性，猶湍水也，決諸東方則東流，決諸西方則西流。人性之無分於善不善也，猶水之無分於東西也。」 Gaozi said, “Human nature is like a whirlpool. Cut a channel to the east and it will flow east; cut a channel to the west and will flow west. The lack of a tendency toward good or bad in human nature is just like water’s lack of a preference for east or west.” Mencius 6:A:2 Gaozi’s initial blend Irrigation Mana