Mencius leaps right over the dichotomy of mind and heart: \u201call people have a mind and heart which cannot bear to see the suffering of others,\u201d that is, misericordia.<\/i>\u00a0 Mencius thought with his heart and felt with his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll people have the mind\/heart that cannot bear to see the suffering of others, my meaning is this:\u00a0 When people see a child falling into a well, they feel distress, not to gain friendship with the parents, nor to seek the praise of neighbors, nor because they dislike the reputation of in humanity if they did not rescue the child. A person without misericordia is not a person; a person without the feeling of shame is not a person; a person without the feeling of deference is not a person; and a person without a feeling of right and wrong is not a person.\u00a0 The feeling of misericordia is the beginning of humanity; the feeling of shame is the beginning of righteousness; the feeling of deference is the beginning of propriety; and the feeling of right and wrong is the beginning of wisdom.\u00a0 People have these four beginnings, feelings, just as they have four limbs. Having these four beginnings, but saying they cannot develop them is to destroy the people.\u00a0 If anyone with these four beginnings, feelings, in them knows how to give them extension and development, the result will be like fire beginning to burn or a spring beginning to shoot forth. When developed, they will be sufficient to protect all the people.\u00a0 If they are not developed, they will not be sufficient to serve even one\u2019s parents.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n The Book of Mencius,\u00a0 2A:6 The four beginnings are innate moral qualities that bridge the dichotomy of head and heart. For Mencius, they are the core of humanity and the center of education.\u00a0 Analogously, these four beginnings help us understand that our educational mission is essentially religious, but specifically intellectual.\u00a0 Our educational<\/i> mission should neglect no significant dimension of human possibility and experience.<\/p>\n The one thing necessary here is not to draw an unnecessary dichotomy.\u00a0 Our merciful minds and hearts, fully engaged in education, seek to understand and encompass the full breadth of human experience. Our Sister of Mercy, Catherine McAuley, challenges us as educators to see higher education as a work of mercy, as an activity of a compassionate mind and heart, as misericordia<\/i>.<\/p>\n Daniel Sheridan<\/strong> is Professor of Theology at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine and former Director of the Online Theology Program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mencius leaps right over the dichotomy of mind and heart: \u201call people have a mind and heart which cannot bear to see the suffering of others,\u201d that is, misericordia.\u00a0 Mencius thought with his heart and felt with his head. \u201cAll … Continue reading
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