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Bu Ren 不忍 (Cannot Bear to Harm) in the Mencius
- Philosophy East and West
- University of Hawai'i Press
- Volume 69, Number 4, October 2019
- pp. 1098-1119
- 10.1353/pew.2019.0087
- Article
- Additional Information
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Abstract:
This article analyzes the psychological conditions of bu ren 不忍 in Menicus' thought. I identify four necessary psychological conditions of one who experiences bu ren: (1) she adopts an unmediated perspective, (2) she adopts an involved stance, (3) she identifi es the victim as a particular, and (4) she does not want the victim to be harmed. The proposed interpretation highlights the relation-regarding nature of bu ren and suggests that, for Mencius, we naturally see ourselves as involved in the circumstances of harm that others are in.