ABSTRACT
Mou Zongsan believes that Mencius’ doctrine of “benevolence and righteousness are found within” best reflects the Confucian advocation of autonomous morality. He not only affirms autonomous morality but also approves autonomous morality at the high level of Confucian orthodoxy, regarding it as essential for the establishment of Confucian orthodoxy: “Benevolence and righteousness are found within” is not easy to comprehend. Autonomous morality as the fundamental feature of Confucianism has brought about some external criticism, but it is widely recognized by Confucian scholars, it exerted a profound influence, and it is known as “the most groundbreaking interpretation of Confucianism in contemporary Chinese thought”. The internality of benevolence and righteousness is interpreted as how human beings actively and freely regulate themselves with morality. Based on this insight, Mou Zongsan introduced the distinctions between “fact” and “value,” and between knowledge and morality, to explain the stages of Mencius and Gaozi’s debate on internal benevolence and external righteousness.
