责任心是美德吗?——美德伦理学视域下重思孔孟荀的主张

Is Conscientiousness a Virtue?——Reconsidering Confucius,Mencius and Xunzi’s Proposition from the Perspective of Virtue Ethics

“责任心”和“美德”都是先秦儒学的重要概念,但二者之间存在微妙而本质的差别.“责任心”意味着一个人有意识地确保自己履行职责.孔子、孟子和荀子都讨论了“责任心”的问题,尽管他们并没有使用一个统一的概念来概括它.细读 论语 孟子 荀子 三种文本可以发现,他们也都认识到了责任心的两面性:一方面,责任心具有重要的正面意义,能够帮助道德学习者提升道德境界;但另一方面,“责任心”也隐藏着深层的问题,因为它缺乏可靠性、灵活性以及(在某些情况下)发自美德的礼节,因而也会阻碍一个人变得更有道德.从责任心出发还是从美德出发是有着本质区别的.孔子所谓的“从心所欲不逾矩”,意味着最高的德性无须强迫自己尽责,而是发自内心的行动.

“Conscientiousness” and “virtue” are both important concepts of pre-Qin Confucianism, but there are subtle and essential differences between them. “Conscientiousness” means that one makes a conscious effort to ensure that he performs his duties. Confucius, Mencius and Xunzi all discussed the issue of “conscientiousness,” although they did not use a unified concept to summarize it. Close reading of the analects of Confucius, Mencius and Xunzi shows that they all recognize the two sides of responsibility. On one hand, Conscientiousness is of great positive significance and can help moral learners improve their morality. On the other hand, “conscientiousness” hides deeper problems, because it lacks the reliability, flexibility, and (in many cases) style that come with virtue, and thus prevents one from becoming more ethical. There is an essential difference between doing something from the point of conscientiousness or from the point of virtue. Confucius said, “at seventy, I could follow my heart’s desires without overstepping the bounds of propriety,” this means that the highest virtue does not force one to do one’s duty, but acts from the heart.