试说《老子》之“道”及其中含蕴的历史观

Dao in Laozi and Its Philosophy of History

关于《老子》的道,应从矛盾中来分析其思维理路的历史展现亦即其历史性。"道"有不可"道"之常道与可"道"之非常道之分,"名"亦有不可"名"之常名与可"名"之非常名之别。正负之间恰好形成矛盾。黑格尔说《老子》之道以"无"或"虚空"为最高本质。若果真如此,那么老子的哲学就真的像他所说"停在初级的阶段"了。《老子》全书重在说"道",而"道"的丰富、发展与致用必须从抽象进入具体;而进入具体之路,首先是由道而理,进而是象与数。要专就人类社会历史进行讨论,那么,"道"从抽象进入具体的途径之第一步,就是由"道"而"德"。"道"经由"德"而在人类社会中显示了具体功能与作用。"德"正如同其来源"道"那样,其自身中也包含了内在的矛盾。综观《老子》由"道"而"德"而"仁"而"义"而"礼"的论证,可以看出那就是一个矛盾在以上诸层次上不断展开、演进的过程,这也就是人类历史文化的进程。每个后一阶段皆为前一阶段矛盾的必然结果。因此,这样的展开演进的过程就不能不具有其必然性。《老子》从"道"与"德"的内在矛盾看到了一种历史发展的必然性或不可避免性,这在古代中国以及古代世界哲学史上都是一次意义重大的突破。

With the examination of its inner coherence,Dao in Laozi can be comprehended in terms of the contradictions in its historical development.Dao can be a constant Dao that cannot be told of,or a non-constant Dao that can be told of.By the same token,a name can be a constant name that cannot be named or a non-constant name that can be named.The positive and the negative turn to be two sides of the same contradictory entity.Hegel said,in his Lectures on the History of Philosophy,that Dao in Laozi takes nihility and voidness as its supreme essence.If so,Laozi's philosophy would still be on its most preliminary stage.Being mostly dealt with in Laozi,the concept of Dao,as to its meaningfulness,development and usefulness,is to be approached to in the way from the abstract to the concrete.The first way from the abstract to the concrete is that from Dao to Li( logic),and then to the images and the numbers.If we turn our eye to the social history of human beings,then the first step from the abstract to the concrete will be the development from Dao to De( virtue).Through De,Dao gives its concrete functions and usefulnesses in the social world.De has the same inner contradictions as Dao does.As we can see that the logical development in Laozi from Dao to De,to Ren( benevolence) and Yi( righteousness) and to Li( propriety) is an evolutionary development from one contradiction to another,and this is exactly the development of human history and culture.Each following stage will be an inevitable consequence of its predecessor.Therefore,the development is of necessity and inevitability.It is a great breakthrough in the ancient history of both Chinese and Western philosophies,that Laozi found,from his treatment of the inner contractions in Dao and De,the necessity and inevitability of historical development.