人伦与位育:潘光旦先生的社会学思想及其儒学基础

Ethics and “Adaption”:Pan Guangdan’s Sociological Thoughts and Its Confucian Source

本文通过对潘光旦先生文集的梳理和研究,指出其社会学思想体系以研究自然与社会关系的“天人之际”为基础,以研究政治和教育问题的时政文章为应用,其核心内容是研究个人与社会关系的“人伦之际”的社会学。潘先生的社会学思想的特点有三:一是强调社会的“自然”基础,即“位”的重要性。二是强调“人化的社会学”,即社会学的理论、方法、应用的核心都应该是“人”,因而强调了“育”的重要性。二者合二为一而为“位育”,表现为个人与社会关系的均衡与协调。三是其核心的人伦与位育思想基础是中国的传统儒学,其社会学思想可以视为传统儒学系统而完整的社会学表达。

Professor Pan Guangdan was an important sociologist in the period of the Republic of China. By reviewing most of Pan's sociological papers and books, this paper points out that his sociological thoughts and some important concepts were founded on the basis of the Confucian thoughts system. Pan translated the keyword in the scientific theory of evolution,"adaption", as "wei-yu",an old term from the Confucian classic "the Doctrine of the Mean". In the Confucian classics, the term means the state of equi-librium and harmony in which all things would be nourished and flourish. This were the basic theory and methodology of Pan' s sociological thoughts. Following Professor Pan' s efforts, Chinese sociologists might be able to find out a way of the localization of sociology in the future.