“性未善”:董仲舒教化思想的逻辑起点

Human Nature is Not Good or Evil: the Starting Point of Dong Zhong-shu’ Cultivation Theory

人性未善,待教而为善,这是董仲舒思考教化何以可能的逻辑起点。在他看来,"未善"的人性是个"质朴的东西",它包含着潜在的"善质"和"恶质"。教化在潜在的"善质"和"恶质"向现实之善恶的转化过程中起着重要作用,它一方面使潜在的善质转变为现实之善,另一方面抑制潜在的恶质转变为现实之恶。而这个"未善"的人性对应的是广大的"中民之性",教化好这一部分人,对于大一统王朝的长治久安具有重要意义。

The starting point of the Dong Zhong-shu’ cultivation theory system is that human beings nature must not be good in nature,but it can be taught to be good.In his opinion,the not good human nature is uncultivated with its latent good and evil quality.Such latent one will be cultivated into the real one,by turning the latent virtue into the real one and the prevent-ing the latert evil from being the real one.And the mass in not good nature occupies the average,so to cultivate these people is very important to the lasting political stability.