"In the beginning, human nature is inherently evil" is Xunzi's thought. Xunzi's theory of evil nature is unique among the hundreds of pre-Qin schools of thought on human nature. The significance of his thoughts to future generations today is worthy of our consideration. The theory of human nature is evil and emphasizes the necessity of moral education.
Xunzi believed that human nature is limited to emotions and desires such as food and sex, joy and anger, likes and dislikes, and desires for profit, regardless of whether it is a "gentleman" or a villain. Therefore Xunzi said: "Human life is also a small person." "Human life is also a small person" is called "evil nature". As for benevolence and righteousness, it is acquired through what we learn, practice and do. Extended information
Social impact:
1. The theory of evil nature is naturally less popular than the theory of good nature. In its original meaning, the evil of human nature refers to the survival instinct that human beings, as a kind of creature, originally possess. If a living thing wants to survive, it must seek life. Since we must seek life, there is no need to deny it or avoid it. Xunzi's approach just didn't avoid it.
2. From this point of view, Xunzi points directly to human nature, which is more "based on human feelings" than Mencius' multi-party debate. Mencius' theory started with the theory of the goodness of nature, but ended with the denigration of Yang Mo. Xunzi is notorious for his evil nature, but he has more rationality. The theory of sexual evil does not necessarily have a bad impact on society.
Baidu Encyclopedia - Nature is inherently evil