Thought and Contents Sample Clauses

Thought and Contents. The “Xìng zì xxxx xxx”—and likewise the “Xìng qíng lùn”—weave the discussion of human nature and the phenomenological world around two basic assumptions.55 First, the “Xìng zì xxxx xxx” states on the initial strip of the text that the common feature of men is to have a ‘nature’. The text calls this the “xìng 性” of man. Second, the bamboo-strip text defends that this nature is universal. The “Xìng zì xxxx xxx” puts this as follows: “Generally speaking, even though man has a nature, mind [nevertheless] has no settled intentions.”56 “Within the four seas, the nature [of man] is uniform, [and yet] in the application of his mind, every man differs.”57 For the author(s) of the text it is no secret from where human beings receive their nature: “Nature originates from decree; decree [in turn] X3 descends from Heaven”.58 The “Xìng zì xxxx xxx” sees no need to justify its belief that man receives his nature from Heaven. The assumption that human kind shares a universal nature, which the individual received from Heaven, is not the target of analysis.59 The “Xìng zì xxxx xxx” connects to a larger discourse, in which the above stated ideas are not contested, but enjoy unanimous consent. 55 Unless explicitly stated otherwise, the designation “Xìng zì xxxx xxx” throughout the discussion below (5.3) implies of both texts, the Guōdiàn One “Xìng zì xxxx xxx” and also the Shànghǎi “Xìng qíng lùn”. 56 凡人雖有性，心無奠志 (strip x1/1-1/9). 57 四海之內其性一也 其用心各異 (strip x9/6-19). 58 性自命出 命 X3自天降 (strips x2/20-x3/3). 59 In this respect, the “Xìng zì xxxx xxx” differs fundamentally from most Greek philosophy, in which the assumptions stated, as a rule, reflect the results of the preceding analysis, whereas the “Xìng zì xxxx xxx” provides an otherwise not justified assumption to be the starting point for a subsequent analysis. In the initial supposition of the text, the “Xìng zì xxxx xxx” traces an inconsistency between human nature on the one side, and human conduct on the other. Whereas human kind shares the same (heavenly endowed) overall disposition, the actual development of individuals turns out to be dissimilar nonetheless. More specifically, different people arrive at different degrees of moral cultivation—despite their common initial position. This obviously is a problem, if not a contradiction. This contradiction is the pivotal concern of the text. If the primary supposition as stated on the first strips of the text is true and human kind indeed shares a common nature, then, the impli...