儒道之“信”探微

An Explorative Study on “Xin” (信) in Confucianism and Taoism

春秋初"信"为祝史职守之"道"。春秋末老子、孔子共同开启中国哲学"信"范畴的历史篇章。"信"范畴在道家有一个从"无为之信"到"逍遥之信"的演变,在儒家则有一个从"仁信"到"诚信"的演变。老子"无为之信"作为一种言说道德,以"言由乎道"或"言法自然"为本质特征;庄子将老子政治哲学的"无为之信"发展为处世哲学的"逍遥之信"。但两者均以"守中""不辩"为共性特征。孔子之"信"属于"仁"范畴,为"仁爱之信",其以"言必信"为体、"言不必信"为用,具有"信"的经常性与权变性辩证统一的特点,更以其立基于"智"的特点,与排斥"智"的道家老庄之"信"形成根本区别,又别于以"诚"为"天之道"的孟子之"信"和继承并发展了孟子"诚道"思想的荀子之"信"。孟子之"信"属于"诚"范畴,为"诚意之信",是"仁""义""礼""智"的共同根据。荀子之"信"作为具体表现"诚"的"信",与"忠"处在同一层次,具有"诚意之信"与"实言之信"双重意义。虽然和孔子一样以"信"作为言说道德,但荀子更以"诚意之信"作为手工职业道德,是其区别于孔孟之"信"的一大思想特色。

In the beginning of the Spring and Autumn Period, ＂xin＂ simply refers to the service principle of both ritual and histo- rian officials. It is Confucius and Laozi who started a new age for ＂xin＂ in the philosophical sense. As a matter of fact, the per- spective of ＂xin＂ in Daoism had a gradual evolution from ＂non-action＂ to ＂carefreeness＂, while in Confucianism, it developed from ＂benevolence＂ to ＂honesty＂. As a speech moral from the perspective of political philosophy, La0zi＇s ＂xin of non-action＂ is inherently featured by ＂speech subject to Duo＂ or ＂speech following nature＂, from which zhuang Tzu developed into ＂xin of carefreeness＂ for philosophy of life. However, both of them share the common characteristics of ＂keeping the center＂ and ＂neutrality＂. On the other hand, ＂xin＂ of Confucius, or ＂xin of benevolence＂, falls into the category of ＂benevolence＂, in which ＂truthful to speech＂ is the body while ＂incoherence to speech＂ is its employment. Both of them share the feature of dia- lectical unity with usualness and continencv of ＂xin＂.