The Limits of Empathy: A Mengzian Perspective

This article suggests how Mengzian ideas of the way (dao), rightness (yi) and rites (li), as related to the presupposition that human nature is moral, respond to rigid notions of "truth" and "law," which tolerate a banalization of evil. It further suggests that the Mengzian attitude is both rooted in human empathy and draws clear limits to it. This is demonstrated by responding to arguments raised by the protagonist Max Aue in Jonathan Little's book 'The Kindly Ones'.