Gao Zi I · Passage 11 / 20 · 孟子 6A.11
Mencius 6A.11: learning is nothing other than seeking
Mencius defines learning as seeking back the heart that has gone astray. The difficulty is not manufacturing goodness, but recovering and preserving it.
孟子曰：「仁，人心也。義，人路也。舍其路而弗由，放其心而不知求。哀哉！人有雞犬放，則知求之；有放心，而不知求。學問之道無他，求其放心而已矣。」
Mencius said, 'Benevolence is man's mind, and righteousness is man's path. How lamentable is it to neglect the path and not pursue it, to lose this mind and not know to seek it again! When men's fowls and dogs are lost, they know to seek for them again, but they lose their mind, and do not know to seek for it. The great end of learning is nothing else but to seek for the lost mind.'
Priority note
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Central question
Why does Mencius say that learning is simply the work of seeking the lost heart?
Direct answer
Because if moral capacity is already present, then education does not mainly import something alien. It recalls, steadies, and preserves a heart that has wandered away.
First principle
When education is only accumulation and not recovery of the heart, knowledge grows while the person fragments.
Why it matters
This passage aligns strongly with search intent around the meaning of learning, recovering the self, and Mencius's moral psychology.
Further reading
What this passage is doing
This is passage 11 of 20 in Gao Zi I. The cleanest entry point is "Benevolence is man's mind, and righteousness is man's…". In context, it works as part of Mencius's argument about human goodness, desire, and the debates with Gaozi and can be read alongside Flood-like qi.
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Related principles
Citation note
Do not mistake 'lost heart' for relaxation or mood. Mencius means a heart that has gone astray and must be found again.