This thinker directly attacked a prior philosopher for claiming that "mankind is surely not to be helped by a single hair," and he believed that human faculties resided in a combined organ called the "heart-and-mind."
This thinker directly attacked a prior philosopher for claiming that "mankind is surely not to be helped by a single hair," and he believed that human faculties resided in a combined organ called the "heart-and-mind." He wrote that a main task of philosophy is to analyze "giveaway actions," his term for spontaneous, minor incidents in which the correct moral choice is made. He said that such actions occurs because humans are naturally possessed of "sprouts" of morality, leading to his four virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom. This namesake of the fourth sishu was a student of either Zisi or the disciples of Zisi, providing a connection to the family of his tradition's founder. For 10 points, identify this fourth century BCE writer who achieved great popularity during the Tang Dynasty's Neoconfucian revival for his human nature-based interpretation of Confucius.
This thinker directly attacked a prior philosopher for claiming that "mankind is surely not to be helped by a single hair," and he believed that human faculties resided in a combined organ called the "heart-and-mind."
{Mencius} [or {Mengzi}; or {Mengtzu}; or {Meng Ko}]