“心”何以是“良”——孟子以“良”界定“心”的意义追寻

Why Is Xin Being Liang:The Discussing on the Meaning of Liang to Define Xin by Mencius

孟子以"心"言"性",以"良"界定"心",这是孟子在心性论上两个层次的创造。前一层意义已被熟知,而后一层意义还有待掘发。在孟子以前,"良"并无规定心性之意义,是孟子首次将它运用到心性论场合,用以界定由"性"而显之"心"的情状。这种界定和"良"的原有语义有一定关联,但孟子又在此基础上进行了创造性使用。首先,"良"的良善义指明此"心"的"善"的属性;其次,它的首等义(与其本义有关)乃强调此"心"是头等、至大之"心";再次,"良"的确实义对此"心"在每一人的真实性进行强调和确认。在孟子的多重规定中,"良心"的范畴远比"善心"小。针对"心"的相关表现("知""能""贵"),孟子使用了同样的规定,原因在于此四者皆以"仁义"为实质。因而,孟子在根本上是对"仁义"之"性"作出"良"的肯定,意味着此"性"不仅是善,而且是诸善之首,此等"首善""确实"存在于"心"。由此来看,孟子的人性论不仅是"性善论",更是一种"性良论"。

Mencius discussed Xing through the concept of Xin and used the term of Liang to define Xin.There were two levels of creation he had made on the theory of Xin-Xing.The former meaning had been known,and the later meaning needed to be explored.Before Mencius,Liang as an ordinary word contained multiple meanings,such as good,first class,indeed,and so on.Creatively,Mencius used it on the theory of Xin-Xing,to define the concept of Xin and its related concepts(Zhi;Neng;Gui).The reason why the same definition was used is because these four contain the essence of Ren-Yi by all.On this basis,Mencius compacted the meanings of Liang,to make a triple definition of Xin.First of all,the meaning of good was used to explain the good attribute of Xin containing Ren-Yi.Secondly,the meaning of first class was used to emphasize that Xin containing Ren-Yi was the most important one,and Ren-Yi was the"supreme good".Based on this,the view considering Xin as Da-ti should be adjusted,and the reason why Ren-Yi had always been the main virtue could be found.Thirdly,Mencius believeed that Xin contains Ren-Yi congenitally,and in this case the term of Liang confirmed that Xin and its essence(Xing of Ren-Yi)were reality in everybody undoubtedly.Therefore,it could be concluded that Mencius’s theory of human nature was not only a theory of good nature but also a theory of Liang nature.