“道”是无情却有情——老庄情感哲学初探

“Tao” Seems Merciless but Affectionate—— Studies on Lao-Zhuang Emotional Philosophy

情感是老庄哲学中的重要主题。一方面,老庄倡导"无情说",老子讲"圣人不仁",反对以私情去干涉百姓的生活,而应任自然;庄子提出了"人故无情",主张人应当超越外物的限制,不以俗世的是非之情、情欲来损害人的精神。另一方面,老庄又主张"真情说",老子主张慈爱,珍爱生命,反对战争;庄子提出了"性命之情",主张常因自然而不益生,强调真情,反对矫饰。"无情说"和"真情说"相辅相成,构成老庄情感哲学的主体,并对后世特别是魏晋、明清时期的哲学思想、文学理论产生重要影响。时至今日,老庄情感哲学对现代人的情感体验、心理健康也具有重要的意义。

Emotion is a significant theme in Lao-Zhuang philosophy. On the one hand, Lao-Zhuang advocated "Merciless Theory", just like "Sage without benevolence" put by Lao Tzu, who was opposed to interfering with the common people’s life with personal feelings and proposed to let it go free. Chuang Tzu proposed that "Mortal without affection", arguing that man should go beyond the limits of something outside and shouldn’t damage the human spirits by his worldly feelings of right and wrong as well as his erotic desire.On the other hand, Lao-Zhuang claimed "Theory of true feelings". Lao Tzu stood for benevolence, cherishing one’s life and objecting to warfare, Zhuang Tzu put forward "The true state of anima", which means that one should live with nature. He stressed the true feelings and opposed something unreasonable. Both "Merciless Theory" and "Theory of true feelings" complement each other, which constitutes the main part of Lao-Zhuang’s emotional philosophy. It is of great significance to the philosophical thoughts and the literature theories for the late generations especially the Wei-Jin period as well as the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Up to present, Lao-Zhuang emotional philosophy still has a great significance to the emotional experience and the mental health of modern people.