Critique On Mencius’S View On The Heart/Mind And Nd Psychopathy

Introduction

In this essay, I will attempt to argue that Mencius’s view on the heart/mind as naturally good is false. I will demonstrate my argument by first explaining Mencius’s heart/mind. I will proceed to show that Mencius’s belief that the heart/mind is naturally good may not hold for every human being, specifically in the case of psychopaths. In the fourth section, I will present a possible object to my argument and my response before concluding the paper.

Mencius’s heart/mind

Mencius believed that humans are born with the capacity to be good. We have, at birth, a natural tendency for goodness, like the natural tendency of water to flow downward (). He believes that in everyone there is an organ, Xin (the heart/mind), that carries with it four inborn seeds for moral behaviour: the heart of compassion, the heart of shame, the heart of respect, and the heart of right and wrong. These seeds are not instilled into us by others or the environment, but were within us from the beginning.

In fact, Mencius maintained that we have the seeds in us just as we have our four limbs, and we do not have to work to obtain them. When these seeds mature, they turn into four major ethical ideals: benevolence (ren), moral dutifulness or propriety (yi), ritual (li), and wisdom (zhi). Moreover, Mencius claimed that goodness is not only our natural tendency, morality is naturally preferred to than other inclinations. There is a pleasure obtained from acting morally. Nonetheless, although we possess these inborn seeds, it takes great effort on our part for the seeds within us to mature.

Psychopaths

Mencius does not claim that there are no evil or bad people in this world. According to Mencius, all human beings are born with the capacities and potential that can be cultivated into goodness, but many people fail at this because of their bad environment, situation, or decisions. “If pursue, then obtain it; if put aside, then lose it. ” If one were to grow up in a negative environment, such as being neglected by their parents, their innate nature might end up losing its ability to sprout. Yet, this optimistic claim that human beings are born with the natural potential for goodness seems to fail to account for every human being. In specificity, it fails explain the thoughts and behaviours of psychopaths. Psychopathy is a disorder characterised by a variety of negative tendencies such as pathological lying, manipulativeness, a grandiose sense of self-worth, a lack of empathy and a lack of remorse or guilt. In Mencius’s example, if we were to see a child falling into a well, our natural or first response is a surge of alarm. However, what about people who do not feel that natural sense of compassion?

A study by Dr Kent Kiehl showed that psychopaths have reduced connections between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain responsible for emotions such as empathy and guilt, and the amygdala, which is related to the feeling of fear and anxiety (University of Wisconsin-Madison). A psychopath might see a child falling into a well and yet feel nothing; no surge of alarm for the child’s safety. Could it then be said that not all human beings possess the naturally good Xin that Mencius believed?

Objection

One objection to my argument could be that the environment plays a role in the genesis of psychopathic conditions. Psychopaths are ‘born, not made’ is oversimplified view of the disorder. Physical abuse and neglectful parenting may contribute to risk for psychopathy as well. In addition, although psychopaths may not possess the capacity for empathy, they may learn, cognitively, how to behave in a morally appropriate way. Thus, even though a psychopath might see a child falling into a well and not feel a surge of alarm for the child, they might still choose to save the child. However, although psychopaths may know what is morally right and wrong, and they may choose to act in morally right ways, are their moral compass learnt or innate? If we were to remove all environmental factors, what remains might still be a person with a brain that does not identify and feel natural empathy and compassion for others.

Conclusion

Does the brain fully represent the heart/mind? Could it be that the heat/mind is hibernating in psychopaths, which causes them to act immorally? Until we are able to fully understand the minds of a psychopath, we will not know if the possess the natural potential and inclinations to prefer morally right ways. As for now, it appears that Mencius’s view that every human possesses the Xin that is naturally good, does not, in fact, apply to every human.