Virtue Ethics and the Chinese Confucian Tradition

Wang Yangming’s concept of “pure knowing” is best described as:

• A rational process of moral deliberation and choice

• An innate, spontaneous moral intuition

• A set of Confucian rituals learned through practice

• A Buddhist meditation technique

According to Ivanhoe, Wang’s metaphor of the “mirror” represents:

• The need to reflect on past mistakes

• The mind’s natural clarity, obscured by selfish desires

• The importance of studying historical sages

• A Buddhist insight about the illusion of material reality

What does Wang mean by the “unity of knowing and acting”?

• Moral knowledge requires years of study before action

• Actions are more important than intentions.

• Moral rules must be memorized first.

• Truly knowing the good is to act on it without hesitation.

How does Wang’s view of moral self-cultivation differ from Mengzi’s?

• Wang rejects all forms of cultivation.

• Wang advocates gradual farming-like nurture.

• Wang emphasizes “discovery” of innate knowledge.

• Wang prioritizes ritual over intuition.

Mengzi’s claim that human nature is "good" means:

• Humans are born perfectly virtuous.

• Humans possess innate moral sensibilities ("sprouts") that can develop into virtue.

• All human actions are morally correct.

• Goodness is learned solely through education.

Mengzi’s agricultural metaphors (e.g., barley growth) emphasize:

• Moral development is natural but requires cultivation.

• Virtue is entirely determined by environment.

• Humans have no innate moral tendencies.

• Only farmers can become virtuous.

Aristotle’s eudaimonia (flourishing) and Mengzi’s "sprout" analogy both emphasize:

• Sudden mystical enlightenment

• Gradual development of innate potential through practice

• Rejecting emotions in moral reasoning

• Divine revelation as the source of virtue

Aristotle, Mengzi, and Wang Yangming all agree that:

• Virtues are only fully developed in a few select sages

• Metaphysics is irrelevant to ethics

• Human nature has innate moral potential

• Virtue is a means to political power