Here’s what I have in mind regarding Xunzi on capacities and cultivation. In the “Human Nature is Detestable” (xing e性惡) chapter, Xunzi argues that anyone could (ke可) become a sage like the sage-ruler Yu. But not everyone has the possessed ability (neng能) to be a sage. As ...
For convenience, let’s call that the “moral-training” reading of Mencius. The thing that strikes me as problematic here is that if this is indeed Mencius’s view, then there’s really no difference between it and Xunzi’s views of the matter. Or, perhaps I should say instead, either...