Human Nature and Moral Sprouts: Mencius on the Pollyanna Problem

Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 99 (1):140-162 (2016)
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Abstract

This article responds to a common criticism of Aristotelian naturalism known as the Pollyanna Problem, the objection that Aristotelian naturalism, when combined with recent empirical research, generates morally unacceptable conclusions. In developing a reply to this objection, I draw upon the conception of human nature developed by the ancient Chinese philosopher Mencius, and build up an account of ethical naturalism that provides a satisfying response to the Pollyanna Problem while also preserving what is most attractive about Aristotelian naturalism.

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Richard Kim
Loyola University, Chicago

Citations of this work

Aristotelian Naturalism vs. Mutants, Aliens and the Great Red Dragon.Scott Woodcock - 2018 - American Philosophical Quarterly 55 (4):313-328.
Function, Fitness, Flourishing.Paul Bloomfield - 2023 - In Paul Bloomfield & David Copp (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Moral Realism. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 264-292.
Mengzian Sensitivity to Social Roles.Gina Lebkuecher - 2024 - Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 23 (2):191-222.

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