至善与伪善:朱子诚意论探微

The Ultimate Good and Hypocrisy:The Exploration on Zhu Xi’s Theory of Cheng-yi

诚意是儒家修养论的重要组成部分。朱子以诚意为自修之首,认为诚意以至善为根本目标,具体指向善知与善行的合一,能够有效减少伪善问题。他从好恶出发肯定人的向善性,从本体、境界、人性等层面强调诚意的至善目标,从工夫层面肯定诚意在知行意义上的关键作用,从现实层面承认伪善的不可避免性,进而明晰了诚意的具体工夫路径,如格物致知、定志、慎独以及自新新民(忠恕),并指出诚意的至善倾向以及意诚达到的知行合一状态对解决伪善问题的意义。朱子诚意论体现了其性善论倾向以及美好的社会愿景,在解决伪善问题上具有重要现实意义。

The theory of cheng-yi(making one’s thoughts sincere)is an important part of the Confucian cultivation theory.Zhu Xi put cheng-yi at the first place in his theory of self-cultivation,and believed that zhi-shan(the ultimate good)is the fundamental goal of cheng-yi and cheng-yi points to the unity of the good knowing and doing,which can effectively reduce the problem of hypocrisy.He started from hao-wu(like and hate)to affirm that people are towards to be good,and emphasized the ultimate good goal of cheng-yi from the aspect of ontology,realm,and human nature,and affirmed the key role of cheng-yi in knowing and doing from the aspect of effort,admited the inevitability of hypocrisy from the aspect of reality,then specified the concrete approach of cheng-yi(the thoughts had already been sincere),such as ge-wu-zhi-zhi(studying things to acquire knowledge),ding-zhi(being determined),shen-du(being cautious when one is alone)and the zi-xin-xin-min or zhong-shu(making oneself to be good and then extending oneself to others),and pointed out that the good tendency of cheng-yi and the state of unity which yi-cheng reach can solve the problem of hypocrisy.Zhu Xi’s theory of cheng-yi reflects the good tendency of human nature and the vision of a ideal society,which has important practical significance in solving the problem of hypocrisy.