“差等之爱”与“博爱”

"Love with Difference" and " Love without Difference"

由于孟子对墨子"兼爱"的批评,人们通常认为儒家是讲"爱有差等"的,而既谓"爱有差等"即不是"博爱"。然如果儒家不讲博爱,则"泛爱众"之义为虚设,"博爱之谓仁"为无稽。本文鉴别出了"差等之爱"的二重内涵,提出了全新诠释,且认为在"恕"的意义上,"差等之爱"即是"仁"的不同实践境界,是通达于"博爱"的根本途径。"差等之爱"的最终境界,即是无限宏大的博爱境界。

It is usually considered that the love advocated by Confucianism is the love with difference since Mencius once criticized seriously Mo zi's idea of love without difference.So the universal love is unknown to Confucianism as the love with difference is contradictory to the love without difference or universal love.However,if Confucianism does not advocate universal love,the saying 'to love people universally'(汎爱众) in the Analects would be meaningless,and the interpretation that 'the universal love is called jen'(博爱之谓仁) would be in vain.Based on an original understanding of Confucian texts,this article identifies the connotations of love with difference in two dimensions,and argues that the love with difference is,in fact,the different states realized by individual's practice to his/her inner humanity or jen in daily life.The final extent of love with difference can reach is the unlimited state of universal love to family,people,and the objects in the natural world.