Zhu Xi’s Moral Psychology

Abstract

In this essay I discuss Zhu Xi’s 朱熹 (1130–1200) views on the psychological makeup of human beings and the relation of this psychological makeup to the ethical life. I consider his views on the human psychological makeup, the sources of ethical failure, the self-cultivation process, and what it is to be fully ethical. Confucian thinkers do not draw a sharp distinction between what we would describe as the psychological and physical aspects of the person, and thus to speak of the psychological is already to frame our discussion in a way that goes beyond the way they would themselves present their views. Still, using the term is a convenient way of highlighting the focus of our discussion, which will be centered on the way Zhu Xi views the heart/mind (xin 心) in relation to the ethical. Before moving on to the main discussion, I will introduce a key concept and a related distinction in his thinking that will come up repeatedly in the paper. Although the focus of the paper is the psychological aspect of Zhu Xi’s thinking, it will be difficult to avoid frequent references to his views on li 理 (pattern) and on the distinction between li 理 and qi 氣 (material force).