性命论刍议

A Preliminary Exposition of the Theory of Life

本文是对性命论哲学体系的一个初步引言。西方哲学的基本传统是存在论,而中国哲学的基本传统是性命论。第一哲学问题应该是“性命”,即使在存在论传统中,“性命”也是其实质的核心问题,“存在”只是西方哲学的一个假定。在存在与性命的张力中,西方哲学为人类文明作出了巨大贡献,也带来了难以化解的问题。性命论有三个基本特点:第一,性命论出自性命的原初体验,而非对存在的好奇与追问,是所有人的共同问题,而非仅对哲学家有意义;第二,性命论并不假定一个永恒不变的“存在”或“性命体”,因而产生出与存在论形而上学截然不同的思想体系,我们可以借助海德格尔“存在”与“存在者”的关系理解“生生”与“性命体”的关系,却可避免其问题;第三,性命论与现代主体哲学一样,由自我出发,却不会将自己困在自我当中,而是以亲亲、仁民、爱物的次序推展,构成不同于存在论的宇宙体系。由性命论出发思考一些根本的哲学问题,或可解决现代社会的诸多困境。

As a preliminary exposition to a systematic philosophy of life,this article recognizes that the basic tradition of Western philosophy is ontology,while the basic tradition of Chinese philosophy is the theory of life.However,the first philosophical problem should be life,and even the ontological tradition itself takes life as its core issue,given that“being”is only a hypothesis of Western philosophy.In the tension between being and life,Western philosophy has made great contributions to human civilization,but it has also brought problems that are difficult to resolve.Thus turning to the philosophy of life,this paper argues that there are three basic characteristics to its theory:first,the theory of life comes from the original experience of life,rather than from curiosity and the questioning of being.Second,the theory of life does not assume it to be either eternal or an eternal entity,so its philosophy is quite different from Western ontology or metaphysics.We can understand the relationship between“life”and“continuous life and growth”with the help of Heidegger's distinction between“Being”and“beings”.Third,the theory of life,like modern subjective philosophy,starts from the ego,but is not limited to the ego;instead,it unfolds in the order of kinship,benevolence,and love,forming a universal system different from ontology.Starting from the theory of life allows us to rethink some of the fundamental philosophical problems and dilemmas facing modern society.