“遇人便道性善”:孟子“性善说”献疑

An Inquiry into Mencius'Theory of “Good Human Nature”

孟子人性论的基本观点为"人性善"或"性善",业已成为"国民常识"。在这一常识的背后,隐伏着深度的误读。孟子从个体生命体验和形式逻辑层面反复证明的一个观点为人性有善端,仁义礼智"四端"源自天,存诸人性为"立命",人性之善是与善恶相对之善,善不是绝对之善。但是,孟子从未否定"性"有恶端。研究孟子人性学说,在方法论上应当遵循"以孟释孟"原则,在文本释读与思想诠释上,应当区别"善端"与善、"君子所性"与"性"两对概念。在"君子所性"层面,孟子刻意强调君子与禽兽的"几希"之别,君子在应然意义上当自觉以"四端"为性,而不可以"食色"为性;但在"性"或"人性"层面,孟子并没有完全否定"性"有恶端,"大体"与"小体"同在于人性。尽管君子在工夫论层面不将"味"、"色"、"声"、"臭"称之为性,但芸芸众生之"性"还是蕴含"味"、"色"、"声"、"臭"。秦汉以降,历代学人之所以对孟子人性学说理解不一,大多在于未厘清"善端"与善、"君子所性"与"性"两对概念的区别。

About the viewpoint of human nature,Mencius maintained that it is good.There conceals deep misunderstanding under this'national common sense'.Although Mencius claimed repeatedly that human nature has the good principle from the levels of individual life experience and formal logic,he never denied that human nature has an evil principle as well.According to Mencius'ideas,the'four principles'of benevolence,righteousness,propriety,and wisdom originate from heaven,and establish the whereabouts of life when settling down in human nature.The'goodness'of human nature is opposite to'evil',but not the absolute one.We should follow the principle of'interpreting Mencius in his own way'while studying his theory of human nature.The nature of ordinary people contain'taste','color','sound',and'smell',though men of noble character do not regard them as nature in the sense of self-cultivation.Scholars had disagreed in their understanding Mencius'theory of human nature since the Qin and Han Dynasties,mostly because they did not distinguish the two pairs of concepts of'good principle'and goodness,as well as'nature of man of noble character'and'human nature'.