"Heaven is always there, not for survival, not for death." Which thinker in a hundred schools is the point of view?

Xunzi, as one of the representatives of Confucianism, has many sharp views, some of which are quite realistic. At the same time, because his views are quite different from those of Confucius and Mencius, Xunzi was controversial in later generations, and even was not recognized by Confucian followers who advocated Confucius and Mencius for a while, which is another story.

let's talk about differences here. Where are the differences?

In addition to Mencius' obvious view that human nature is good and Xunzi's view that human nature is evil, both Mencius' and Confucius' views affirm that "the will of heaven controls people's destiny" to varying degrees, while Xunzi's remarks have a little meaning of affirming the will of heaven, but he scoffs at giving up subjective efforts and waiting for natural "gifts".

in Xunzi's eyes, "Heaven is always there, not for Yao's survival, not for Jie's death", and there is a law of development from day to day, and there is a law of development from person to person. People can change their destiny through subjective efforts and passively wait for the so-called "natural gift" without making any efforts. This is the thinking that does not conform to the nature of all things.

that is to say, Xunzi pointed out that "there is a constant heaven", criticized the traditional views of "the monarch is endowed by heaven" and "the people are determined by heaven", and established his materialistic view of nature.

In Xunzi's materialistic view of nature, there are indeed many advanced views. For example, he advocated that people should take the initiative to understand the laws of nature and apply them, which was a great vision admired by Yan Xiaoer at that time. 1. Confucius and Mencius' "Life and death have a life, wealth is in the sky"

As for destiny, Confucius once talked with his student Zi Xia about wealth and dignity. He pointed out that "life and death have a life, wealth is in the sky", indicating that wealth and poverty are determined by "heaven", while life and death, fortune and misfortune are determined by fate.

In order to prove his theory of good nature, Mencius once pointed out that people should give full play to their subjective initiative, conduct self-reflection, then improve themselves and return to the "virtuous" essence.

There is nothing wrong with Mencius' point of view at first glance, but later Mencius went on to say that people can objectively understand their own behavior, rationally reflect on their mistakes, and then further improve. People's ability of rational introspection is endowed by "heaven". He pointed out that "it's fate, obey it", indicating that people's subjective efforts, including rational self-review, self-correction, etc., are all aimed at keeping themselves from violating their destiny and then getting a "proper" destination.

That is to say, around a circle, the "subjective effort" in Mencius' view and the ability of people to have subjective efforts are also endowed by "heaven", and Mencius' so-called "subjective effort" finally returns to the "perfection" of destiny.

From this, we can see that Confucius and Mencius' views on the "destiny" are full of idealism. 2. Xunzi's view of nature criticizes the "idealism" of Confucius and Mencius' thoughts on the destiny.

In Xunzi's thoughts, he obviously does not recognize the so-called "destiny", and he emphasizes that people should make subjective efforts, which is quite elegant.

Xunzi observed the nature, and found that the nature has its laws of development, and human society has its laws of development. People should pay attention to distinguish the difference between natural phenomena and changes in the world, and they should not be linked by "mystery". After all, both of them have their own laws of development. To some extent, it is not who absolutely controls or controls who. Here, Xunzi proposed that we should be "clear about the distinction between heaven and man".

In order to make his point more convincing, Xunzi further pointed out that "if the weather is not bad for people, the cold will stop in winter, and if the land is not bad for people, the distance will also stop." This is what Xunzi said, the weather will not abolish winter because people are afraid of the cold, and the land will not shrink because people can't overcome the long journey.

Xunzi's metaphor is very vivid. He highlights the fact that "Heaven is merciless", and uses it to criticize Confucius and Mencius' "Life and death are life, wealth is in heaven".

Then he pointedly pointed out that the good or ill fortune in the world has nothing to do with the prosperity or chaos of social development, and it depends on the people who maintain their own small families, or the big people who maintain the "world family". Whether "everyone" and "small family" are clear or not is related to whether people in this "family" can take reasonable measures. This kind of measure can be the "survival way" of a small family, and it can also be the law of governing the country by a family in the world.

From this, we can clearly feel that Xunzi's natural view of "heaven" tends to think that the fate of the world is mainly due to people's subjective behavior, and it is also mainly due to this. People's subjective efforts are the main factors that determine personal destiny. 3. It's better to use

skillfully to wait for it. Xunzi's "Heaven is always there, not for Yao's survival, not for Jie's death" is actually more to clarify his view of "controlling heaven and using it". He pointed out sharply that instead of imagining heaven (nature) as a mystery that can balance the existence of all things, it is better to try to grasp its laws and use it according to them.

that is to say, Xunzi advocated that people should take the initiative to "attack", explore and grasp, and finally prescribe the right medicine and manage instead of passively waiting for "gifts".

in Yan Xiaoer's view, Xunzi's view of refusing to "wait for success" and emphasizing active action and "clever exercise" is also of great enlightenment to today's people. You can experience it.

note: this article is the original and exclusive publication of Yan Xiaoer's philosophical writings, and any infringement such as handling and plagiarism will be investigated if found. The pictures in the article are from the Internet, and some of the materials are from the Internet. They are invaded and deleted (within two weeks). Please like the collection.