Xunzi on Heaven, Ritual, and the Way

Abstract

In this article, I analyze the textual evidence and arguments in support of two fundamentally diffierent ways of interpreting Xunzi's conception of Heaven (tian) and its relationship to his conceptions of ritual (li) and the Way (dao). Aft er contrasting the general features of impersonal versus theistic interpretations of Xunzi's conception of Heaven, and of what I term human-centered versus Heaven-centered interpretations of his conceptions of ritual and the Way, I next consider the views of two leading proponents of a theistic and Heaven-centered interpretation of Xunzi, Edward Machle, and Paul Goldin. I argue that the textual evidence and arguments that Machle and Goldin use to support their respective interpretations of Xunzi's philosophy are inadequate, and that the weight of textual evidence best supports an impersonal and human-centered interpretation of his views on these matters.