Mencius · Philosophy

The Four Virtues and the Cultivated Self

How the four sprouts grow into the four cardinal virtues - <em>ren</em> (benevolence), <em>yi</em> (righteousness), <em>li</em> (propriety), and <em>zhi</em> (wisdom) - and how the moral self is built not by importing virtue from outside but by &lsquo;extending&rsquo; the feelings we already have.

What you'll be able to recall

You learned that Mencius&rsquo;s four cardinal virtues (ren, yi, li, zhi) are the mature growth of the four sprouts, that they are &lsquo;not infused into us from without,&rsquo; and that we cultivate them by extending our existing feelings from the near to the far. Explain the four virtues and the method of extension…

Leads to Aristotle.

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