通情以达理——《大学》“格物致知”本义及其理论价值

The Manifestation of Rationality Depends on the Interaction of Emotions:The Original Meaning of "Ge-wu,Zhi-zhi" in The Great Learning and Its Theoretical Value

"格物致知"是中国学术思想史上的重要理论问题,自古异解纷呈。异解越多,便意味着臆说越多。导致臆说的主要原因有二:其一,混淆了解经与借题发挥的界限;其二,不能准确把握《大学》的思想逻辑以及依此确定"格物致知"的解释范围与方向。《大学》之要义,在于以修身为本而明明德于天下。故"纲"虽曰"三",其实皆括于"明明德"一语;"目"虽曰"八",其实皆以修身为本。"八目"之间,呈现为以修身为原点的涡旋式结构。修身之要义,在于好恶之情的顺应、调适与沟通。循此逻辑可知,作为修身工夫的格物致知,与"情理"密切相关,由前后两个环节构成。"致知"之"知"即情理之知",格物致知"就是通情以达理的物(人)我感通之道。通过通情以达理,《大学》有效地实现了情与理的统一。大义明,方能训诂通,对于古今纷纭之说亦可明其得失。情理之所以为情理,就在于有情斯有理,无情必无理;理从情出,情通理得。《大学》的"格物致知"之所以具有永恒的理论价值,就在于它呈现了人类道德生活的这一基本逻辑。

"Ge-wu,Zhi-zhi" in The Great Learning,an important theoretical issue in the history of Chinese academic thoughts,has witnessed various interpretations and opinions from time immemorial. So far,this has led to many assumptions for two reasons:First,they confuse the boundary between interpreting it and starting a drawn-out talk by using it as a pretext;second,they fail to fix the scope and direction for the explanation of it by grasping the ideological logic of The Great Learning. The essence of The Great Learning is to push forward virtues throughout the world based on self-cultivation. Therefore,the three principles were in fact contained in "pushing forward virtues";similarly,the eight items were actually based on self-cultivation. The essence of self-cultivation is the adaptation,adjustment and communication between likes and dislikes. According to this logic, "Ge-wu,Zhi-zhi," a practice of self-cultivation,is closely related with "emotional rationality," and consists of two linking parts;it indicates generating such natural feelings as likes and dislikes in response to things or people,thus integrating feelings and rationality. We can understand the scholium and know right and wrong out of ancient and modern ideas only by understanding the cardinal principles of the classics. Emotional rationality implies that rationality derives from emotions,and that a full exchange of emotions results in rationality. "Ge-wu,Zhi-zhi" is of eternal theoretical value just because it presents this basic logic of humans’ moral life.