A Comparative Interpretation of Mencius's Thought on the "Internality of Benevolence and Righteousness" and Kant's Moral Autonomy

Abstract

Mou Zongsan once said: "All of Kant's moral philosophy cannot exceed the wisdom of Mencius, and Mencius's wisdom will surely enable Kant's philosophy to make further progress from a high level." [1] The reason for this statement is that although Kant dedicated himself to solving the problem of moral autonomy and made efforts to ensure the consistency of virtue and happiness, his moral philosophy ultimately did not escape the mold of "two foundations" and religion. Although he grounded morality in reason, this conceptual understanding of morality in essence remains a heteronomous tendency. This understanding of morality is actually a kind of legalism; it cannot highlight human subjectivity and precisely plunges people into nihilism. From Mencius's perspective, Kant's moral autonomy ultimately also becomes a heteronomous morality of "acting according to benevolence and righteousness" rather than "practicing benevolence and righteousness" spontaneously.