The Confucian Mengzi and His Context

In this lecture, Professor Van Norden introduces Mengzi (Mencius), who is considered the "Second Sage" of Confucianism, second in importance only to Kongzi (Confucius) himself. (Originally delivered on 14 June 2021 to Prof Nicholas Tampio's class at Fordham University.)

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Following Lecture in this Series: "The Greatest Daoist Philosopher: Zhuangzi"    • The Greatest Daoist Philosopher: Zhua...  

0:16 Introducing Mengzi
2:49 The Warring States Period
5:50 Searching for the "Way"
8:27 From the "Hundred Schools" to Confucianism and Daoism
13:05 Who was Kongzi (Confucius)?
18:37 Mozi: The First Major Critic of Confucianism
23:31 Mozi, "Heaven," and the Quest for Impersonal Ethics
28:56 Mozi and Impartiality
30:28 Yang Zhu, Egoism, and "Human Nature"
37:24 "Robber Zhi Dialogue"
39:52 Mengzi and His Philosophy
42:53 A Brief Video to Illustrate Mengzi's Philosophy
44:35 Mengzi's Child-at-the-Well Thought Experiment
45:29 The Sprout Metaphor
47:21 Summary: Mengzi vs. Yang Zhu
49:57 Mengzi Debates the Mohist Yi Zhi
52:41 Mengzi Argues against Consequentialism
56:06 Suggestions to Learn More