Mencius on Moral Dilemmas: 捨生取義 孟子

My Favorite Mencian Teaching of All Times

What makes a good person decide differently than a shallow person? A philosopher named Mencius thought a lot about how we make choices when we have a moral dilemma. He said that our choices show what kind of person we are.

When I was younger, I learned from Mencius how wise people make decisions. He gave a clear example of choosing between two things we like.

How do enlightened individuals reason through their dilemmas? Mencius offers us a glimpse into his internal reasoning. Image from Shutterstock

Mencius once said, "I like the fish and the bear paws. If I had to pick one, I would give up the fish for the bear paws."

孟子曰:「魚，我所欲也，熊掌，亦我所欲也 ; 二者不 可得兼，舍魚而取熊掌者也。

Then, he goes on to say:

"Just like I want to live and do the right thing. If I had to choose, I would do what's right, even if it meant I might lose my life."

生亦我所欲也，義亦我所欲也 ; 二者不可得兼，舍生而取義者也。

Here, 'doing what's right' refers to moral integrity. Sticking to values like fairness and kindness is important, even if we might not get what we want.

"I care about my life, but there is something I care about even more. Because of this, I won't do anything unjust to save my life."

生亦我所欲，所 欲有甚於生者，故不為苟得也;

When Mencius talks about caring about something more than his life, he means he cherishes values like justice and integrity.

"I don't want to die, but I know there is something worse than dying that I can't stand. Because of this, I won't do anything unjust to escape death."

死亦我所惡，所惡有甚於死者， 故患有所不辟也。

Here, "something worse than death" refers to moral corruption. Being morally corrupt is worse than dying. Then he asks some interesting questions:

"If people care about their safety more than doing what's right, won't they make bad choices to protect themselves?"

如使人之所欲莫甚於生，則凡可以得生者，何不用也 ?

"If people are more afraid of dying than they are of being morally corrupt, won't they make bad choices to escape it?"

使人之所惡莫甚於死者，則凡可以辟患者，何不為也 ?

"Some people will never do anything unjust to protect their lives."

由是則生而有不用也，由是則可以辟患而有不為也，

From this perspective, everyone, good or bad, knows that being morally upright is more important than living, and being morally corrupt is worse than dying. The difference is that good people still listen to their consciences (which anyone can develop).

是故 所欲有甚於生者，所惡有甚於死者。非獨賢者有是心也，人皆有之，賢者能勿喪耳。

In other words, to make wiser choices, we must be honest about what we want and hate. For example, if we care more about making peace with our conscience than always being right, we might stop trying to win every argument. This way, we can keep to our cherished values even if things aren't perfect.

Here is the video of the translation.