Xunzi (Xun Kuang) · Philosophy
Xunzi’s theory of <em>li</em> (ritual): the elaborate forms of ceremony, manners, music, and social role are not empty convention but the deliberate <em>artifice</em> (<em>wei</em>) by which the sages reshape a bad nature into virtue - practice repeated until the forced becomes second nature.
You learned that for Xunzi ritual ( li ) is the sages’ deliberate artifice ( wei ) for transforming a bad nature: it apportions desire, refines the emotions, and, through repeated practice, turns the crooked self straight. Explain how ritual transforms nature, and why Xunzi thought it more powerful than law alon…
Leads to Aristotle.
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