Confucius said that in order to become a morally benevolent person, one must rely upon his or her own benevolence and behave justly; if a person wants to be benevolent, the spirit of benevolence will naturally manifests itself inside the person. Likewise, when one should be compassionate toward others, a sense of compassion will manifest itself. Benevolence can reveal itself in anyone, regardless of one’s status in society.

In ethics, Mencius was the first to propose an idea of innate goodness in human nature. Mencius believes that all humans possess a natural goodness, and that there are at least four aspects of goodness, including benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and fidelity, which manifest in a compassionate mind, a self-effacing wit, the ability to feel shame and aversion, and the ability to distinguish right from wrong. These four aspects are innate qualities that exist inside of every person. It is also these four aspects that distinguish humans from beasts, and it is this critical difference that makes human beings so distinct. In other words, if humans do not express these four qualities, they would be no different from other animals. Mencius therefore put forth this doctrine of humans’ innate goodness to illustrate the basic difference between humans and beasts, and to emphasize and remind us of the value and meaning of human existence.

Mencius also proposed the “Distinguishing between righteousness and personal benefit,” which means that, to be fully human, one should live for one’s responsibility towards mankind and not merely for one’s own advantage. A righteous person should follow “the Way” and not simply follow the whims of self-advantage or go against moral teachings. The concept of “following-one’s-given-path” does not refer to an exterior coercive power that directs one to follow a certain course of action; instead, it is one’s internal moral conscience that naturally establishes moral guidelines. For example, one knows not to be aggressively disobedient toward one’s father, or to be compassionate and not too severe toward one’s son, to show respect and reverence for one’s brother, and to be sincere and honest towards others. These types of behavior stem from one’s moral conscience; they are not carried out to satisfy ulterior motives; nor are they attempts at following instructions or imitating other people’s actions. Mencius said that if a person sees a three-year-old child suddenly falling into a well, he or she would without question feel panic and compassion, and make haste to save the child. The person’s desire to save the child is not simply to stop the child from crying, nor is it with the aim to receive praise from one’s parents or obtain fame. The desire to save the child comes entirely from an internal benevolence, an unconditional, self-aware, instinctive type of behavior. Mencius said that true moral behavior comes from an internal moral conscience, not merely a superficial desire to conform to moral standards of behavior.

Therefore, Confucian ethics stresses whether a person’s intention is pure, and does not apply moral judgments simply based on the result of the action. However, this does not mean that Confucians do not care about the final outcome of an action. It means, rather, that they emphasize the motive of an individual. To evaluate whether an action is satisfactory and fulfilling, not only are subjective intentions and endeavors considered, the objective conditions of the action are also important. Thus, Confucians do not use external results to determine whether an action is morally appropriate.