Mencius advocated liangzhi 良知( the goodness in conscience ) and liangneng 良能 ( the inborn ability to be good) among pre-Qin philosophers. He believed in the subjective wills of human beings. Neng 能 ( ability) and buneng 不能 ( inability) are two important philosophical concepts in Mencius’ thought. The notion of neng reflects his conviction of human subjectivity, while that of buneng gives his insights into the prerequisites for existence and other objective laws, as well as the limitations of human beings. Actually, the underlying logic of buneng is related to what limits our abil-ity. Mencius gave his explanations for the conflicts between neng and buneng, and the political claims behind the two concepts are what he truly cared about. He urged the rulers to govern their countries with benevolent policies and to safeguard people’s basic livelihood. Mencius’ thought shows his strong criticism of the social reality and profound benevolence towards the common people.%先秦诸子中，孟子力倡“良知良能”以推崇人的主观意志，因而“能”与“不能”是孟子思想中的重要哲学概念。“能”展现了孟子对人的主体性的体认，对人的主观能性的把握和坚信；而“不能”，则表现了孟子对事物存在的条件性以及客观规律的认知，对人之有限性的冷静觉察，其隐含的逻辑是指向限制人之所“能”的。对此“能”与“不能”之间的紧张与矛盾，孟子有所致思，但他更为着意的是以“能”来要求统治者亟行仁政，以“不能”来为“治于人者”疾呼“恒产”，要求落实人民基本的生存权利。孟子这一诉求蕴含了强烈的现实批判精神，也折射了一位大儒浓郁的仁爱情怀。
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