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Mencius and Hutcheson on Empathy-based Benevolence
- Philosophy East and West
- University of Hawai'i Press
- Volume 72, Number 1, January 2022
- pp. 57-78
- 10.1353/pew.2022.0002
- Article
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Abstract:
The purpose of this article is to clarify that, although Mencius and Hutcheson are interpreted as "moral sentimentalists," benevolence may not be rooted purely in feelings and sentiments. On my reading, Mencian-Hutchesonian thought experiments invite us to use our rational capacity and engage in cognitively elaborated forms of empathy, which refer to complex processes that require simulation, perspective taking, and initiation on behalf of the agent herself.