Mencius believes that people naturally have morals and that even without prior knowledge, people will choose to do the good thing because they have instinctive morals.
Xun Zi believes that people will naturally do whatever is best for them, which will probably be bad for others. He believed that people need to be taught to behave well, otherwise they wouldn't do so.
As much as I want to believe that Mencius is right in an ideal world, Xun Zi's views are more realistic. Without telling children the difference between good and bad, they would never know the difference, and would do whatever would get them a reward, or would benefit them, like stealing candy, or cheating on a test. Xun Zi's method of education for morals is sound because often little children that don't know any better seem to be stubborn on what they want and what they do not want. This view is based upon experience and Mencius's idea is either ahead of our time or not realistic.
Xun Zi believes that people will naturally do whatever is best for them, which will probably be bad for others. He believed that people need to be taught to behave well, otherwise they wouldn't do so.
As much as I want to believe that Mencius is right in an ideal world, Xun Zi's views are more realistic. Without telling children the difference between good and bad, they would never know the difference, and would do whatever would get them a reward, or would benefit them, like stealing candy, or cheating on a test. Xun Zi's method of education for morals is sound because often little children that don't know any better seem to be stubborn on what they want and what they do not want. This view is based upon experience and Mencius's idea is either ahead of our time or not realistic.
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