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Question
Blank slate vs fixed nature?
Answer
Blank slate (Locke): the mind starts empty and experience writes it. Fixed nature (Aristotle): we're born with a set shape.
Question
Does reason set humans apart?
Answer
Traditionally yes — but animals plan and machines out-calculate us, so maybe it's a bundle of traits, not one thing.
Question
Mencius on human nature?
Answer
Basically good: we're born with moral 'sprouts' like compassion (the child at the well) that society should grow.
Question
Xunzi on human nature?
Answer
Basically bad: crude and self-seeking; goodness is trained in, like straightening warped wood.
Question
Mencius vs Xunzi in one line?
Answer
Mencius: born good. Xunzi: born bad and needs cultivation. Both agree there IS a fixed nature.
Question
The synthesis of the topic?
Answer
Both extremes fail: we're born with tendencies, and nurture largely decides which of them grow.
Question
What does Paper 1 Section A ask?
Answer
Use a stimulus + your own knowledge to explore a philosophical issue about being human [25].
Question
What lifts a Section A answer to the top band?
Answer
Exploring and weighing several views on the stimulus and reaching a reasoned conclusion — not describing.
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Topic 1.5 hub
Human nature
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