殊途而同归:孟荀不同成善之路

Reaching the Same Goal by Different Routes:Mencius and Xunzi Different Ways to Be Goodness

关于“善何以可能”的问题,孟子从人人皆有“不忍之心”切入,将心与道德之性相等同,采取了“以心善言性善”的方式进行论述;荀子则将心从消极的人性中剥离开,以“性恶”支撑圣王礼治教化之正当性,而在回答“善何以可能”时,视“心”为价值根源,走向了“伪而成善”的思想理路。孟荀虽对人性的理解迥异,然都视“心”为内在价值根源,可谓殊途而同归。

Regarding the question of"how good is possible",Mencius approached the"intolerance"of everyone,equating the mind with the morality,and adopted the"heart-speaking and good"approach;Xunzi separated the xin from the negative human nature,and supported the legitimacy of the saint king’s rituals with"evil nature".When answering"how is good is possible",he regarded the"heart"as the source of value and moved towards"wei".Although Mencius and Xunzi understanding of human nature is quite different,they all regard the"heart"as the source of inner value,which can be said to achieve the same goal by different paths.