Between and beyond Consequentialism and Deontology: Reflections on Mencius’ Moral Philosophy

Abstract

Mencius’s account of the yi-li (righteousness-benefit) distinction is important in his moral philosophy, and is often compared with consequentialism or deontology in Western moral philosophy. After showing the problems with a naïve deontological reading and a sophisticated consequentialist reading of Mencius, I will argue that both a really sophisticated consequentialist reading and a non-Kantian deontological reading are more defensible. But they couldn’t address the inequality hidden in Mencius’s moral philosophy, making a Nietzschean reading possible. However, Mencius embraced compassion as a key virtue, which Nietzsche would reject. Mencius’s moral philosophy is doubly bifurcated and different from consequentialism, deontology, and also Nietzsche’s philosophy.

Augustine and Confucian Virtues: Mencius and Augustine on the Proper Motivations for Moral Conduct

“…3 For a recent, sophisticated analysis of Mencius's ethics in this vein, see Bai (2022). Interestingly, it is precisely through this comparison that Bai appreciates what is unique about Mencius: "The conclusion, then, is that Mencius is a very sophisticated consequentialist with regard to some aspects of morality, a non-Kantian deontologist with regard to certain other aspects of morality, and a Nietzschean with a strain that Nietzsche would resent.…”