荀子幸福观析论

Hsun Tzu View On Happiness

作为战国末年先秦儒家思想的集大成者,荀子对幸福问题有了更深刻的认识。一方面,他在孔、孟之后看到了社会幸福与个人幸福之间的关系,认为只有国家昌盛个人才有可能得到幸福;另一方面,他看到了祸福的相互转化和德福悖论,他主张修养德行来促进幸福,但他亦勇于正视社会现实中个人主观努力与实际结果的差距。他认为致福的路径:一是加强自身修养;二是审时度势,保持一颗平常心,不汲汲于物质幸福,而更多地去追求精神快乐。因此,荀子的幸福思想是对先秦儒家既有幸福理论的改造。

As a master of Confucian thought of the late Warring States,Hsun Tzu has a more profound understanding on the problem of the well-being.On the one hand,after Confucius he saw the relationship between social well-being and personal well-being,and only the country＇s prosperity possible cause the individuals to be happy;the other hand,he saw the mutual transformation of fortune and curse and a sharp paradox between morality and happiness.He advocated moral self-cultivation to promote well-being,but he has the courage to face the social reality of subjective efforts and actual results of the gap.He believes that the path to happiness：first is to strengthen self-cultivation;Second is to study and weigh the situation and to maintain a sense of balance,not deep in material well-being,but more to the pursuit of spiritual happiness.Therefore,Hsun Tzu thought happiness is the transformation of the existing Confucian happiness theory.