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Full Idea
When close attendants say a man deserves death, do not listen; when all the councillors say so, do not listen; when everyone says so, have the case investigated. If he is guilty, put him to death; he was put to death by the whole country.
Gist of Idea
Only put someone to death if the whole population believes it is deserved
Source
Mengzi (Mencius) (The Mengzi (Mencius) [c.332 BCE], 1.B.7)
Book Ref
Mencius: 'Mencius', ed/tr. Lau,D.C. [Penguin 1970], p.67
A Reaction
The jury system is a gesture in this direction. Compare Idea 95. In Mencius's time, no doubt, everyone believed that capital punishment was sometimes right. Nowadays, when many people (e.g. me) reject it, the procedure won't work.
Related Idea
Idea 95 If everyone believes it, it is true [Aristotle]
| 23398 | Human nature is naturally compassionate and good (as a 'sprout'), but people may not be good [Mengzi (Mencius), by Norden] |
| 8235 | Should a coward who ran fifty paces from a battle laugh at another who ran a hundred? [Mengzi (Mencius)] |
| 8237 | Extend the treatment of the old and young in your family to the rest of society [Mengzi (Mencius)] |
| 8238 | Seeking peace through war is like looking for fish up a tree [Mengzi (Mencius)] |
| 8236 | Avoid the animals you are going to eat, as it is hard once you have got to know them [Mengzi (Mencius)] |
| 8240 | A true king shares his pleasure with the people [Mengzi (Mencius)] |
| 8239 | If the King likes music then there is hope for the state [Mengzi (Mencius)] |
| 8241 | Only put someone to death if the whole population believes it is deserved [Mengzi (Mencius)] |
| 23399 | Each correct feeling relies on an underlying virtue [Mengzi (Mencius)] |
| 23400 | Righteousness is extending the unthinkable, to reveal what must be done [Mengzi (Mencius)] |