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WorksheetsVirtue Ethics and the Chinese Confucian Tradition
Total questions: 8
Worksheet time: 4mins
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
