Yuehua Chen: Mercy in the Human Nature: Answers from Ambrose, Augustine, and Mencius

To see whether Mercy is unique in some culture or is universal, the multi-cultural examination is also a key to deepen our understanding. As a Christian, Ambrose from a practical perspective advocated the Christian’s duty of mercy that by imitating God it graces their souls and makes them complete, and is possible to grant them beatitude; Augustine offered a more theoretical exploration that mercy is ultimately originated from God, and Christians should seek God’s mercy and show their own mercy for their salvation. However, as a Confucian, from the standpoint of Chinese traditional culture, Mencius identified mercy as an essential part of human nature, but he emphased on the political and social dimension. Since they have had strong influences on mercy in their cultures, they together may also help us today to achieve an overlapping consensus of the nature, originality and social effects of Mercy.