此心光明,则诸恶潜消——知行合一视角下的阳明“恶”论疏义与展开

When the Mind Is Bright and Clear,All Evils Evaporate:Wang Yangming’s Views on Evil from the Angle of the Unity of Knowing and Acting

阳明学说以"心即理""致良知"为核心论题,强调知行合一,具有鲜明的实践性格。但是,它也必须面对从心所生发出来的恶以及去恶的问题。阳明所言之恶,不能归咎于外在的"习"或"物"的浸染干扰,而是源于人心私意私欲的遮蔽。是心之所发之意偏离良知,即私意遮隔本心,呈现为"躯壳起念"或"分别善恶"。其根源则在于将知行二分,导致心之发用背离良知本体。就其本质而言,恶作为一种状态,并不具有本体论意义,仅具有现象学意义。恶由意念所起,在知行合一的框架中,阳明主张致良知即去恶,通过立志克己以"诚其意",以使人无蔽于私意私欲。纵观阳明的全部生命历程,存在着由强调"意之所在"的存理去欲到重视"明觉感应"良知心体本身的彰显的去恶路径的转变,但"有""无"之间即体即用的关系是一以贯之的。去恶之依据不在外物,而在于人心本身。此心光明,则诸恶自然复返,是阳明对善之价值的肯认与坚持。

When Wang Yangming discussed his core doctrines of"the mind as principle"and"extending intuitive knowledge,"he had to clear up the problem that evils may arise from the mind,as well as how to get rid of them.In Wang’s theory,evil is a deviation from intuitive knowledge due to selfish will,manifesting itself as being"motivated by personal interest"or"distinguishing human emotions as good and evil,"and its original source is the separation of knowing and acting.In essence,evil,as a state,is of only phenomenal and not ontological significance.In his philosophical framework of the unity of knowing and acting,Wang held that to extend intuitive knowledge is to remove evils;that is,one is able to get free from the obscurity caused by the selfish will and desires by making up one’s mind,restraining oneself,and making one’s will sincere.Wang’s entire life shows that he had shifted his way of removing evil from preserving principle and getting rid of desires,which emphasizes"where the will dwells,"to manifesting intuitive knowledge as the substance of the mind with"intelligent response."Nonetheless,he consistently defended the substance-function relationship between"being"and"non-being"in his doctrines.The basis of removing evil does not lie in external things,but in the human mind itself.His proposition that when this mind is bright and clear,all evils will naturally disappear indicates his affirmation of and adherence to the value of goodness.