荀子的性恶说:性之恶及其克服

Xunzi's Evil Nature Theory:the Evil of Human Nature and It's Inconveniences

本文旨在探讨荀子充满争议的"性恶说"。与众多批评者不同,作者志在为荀子辩护。全文包含几个论点:(一)探讨从孔孟到荀子的"人性"论的发展;(二)聚焦两种"恶":荀子将神话思维中的"恶"转变为理性思维中的"恶",因此恶魔、坏精灵等外在之恶被转化为通过人的努力可以加以克服的内在之恶;(三)"恶"的叙事:这些叙事再现人类生活情境中的"恶",充满真实的人性,从中导向荀子法哲学的建构;(四)为评估人类教化的潜能与局限,荀子提出圣人与元恶两大极端,涉及"化性"的可能与限制。作为一个务实的思想家,荀子重视人性的黑暗面。整体而言,荀子的"性恶说"包含"性说"与"恶说",具有深刻的创意与启发,在儒家思想史上形成一个突破。

This paper attempts to deal with Xunzi＇ s controversial argument for the thesis that ＂human nature is bad.＂ As a de- fense, this paper concerns： （1） to survey the transformation of the concept ofxing （性） from Confucius and Mencius to Xunzi; （2） to investigate the relationship between the evil in mythical thinking and the evil in rational thinking; （3） to explore the narratives of the evil which represent basic human conditions; （4） to reevaluate the potential and limits of human cultivation. As a realistic thinker, Xunzi puts more emphasis on the dark side of human nature. His theory thus contains the notion ofxing （性） on the one hand and the notion of e （惡） on the other hand. In a nutshell, Xunzi＇ s theory of human nature is significantly productive and forms an intellectual breakthrough in the history of Confucianism.