王阳明“良知之学”辨原

The Analysis of the Original Intention of Wang Yangming's"Study of Conscience"

明代学者王阳明创立的“良知之学”,远源于孟子的良知与性善之说,近源于宋代陆九渊的心学。他以良知为本性之善,求至善之用即是亲民,主体切实知善即是知行合一;由良知推己及人,视国如家,则天下可治。其知行不仅在于主观意念之内完成,而必然又与社会现实政治相关联。他的事功卓著,有助于封建社会统治政权的维护,却与其所提倡的良知、亲民、性善之说相背离,使其具有统治思想意识性质的知行,在政治事功中得以合一。我们对于其“良知之学”及事功有必要做出重新评价。

Scholar Wang Yangming in the Ming Dynasty founded his "Study of Conscience", which originated back from Mencius’ theory of conscience and theory of good nature, and more recently from the Song scholar Lu Jiuyuan’s Theory of Mind-Nature. He took conscience as the goodness of nature, and thought that seeking for the use of the highest goodness is intimacy to the commons;the practical knowledge of goodness of the subject is the unity of knowledge and action;from realizing one’s own conscience to trying to comprehend others, and treating the state as a whole family, then the world can be governed. In Wang Yangming’s viewpoint, one’s knowledge and action can not only be accomplished within the subjective mind, but also be inevitably linked to social and political realities. His philosophy brought remarkable contributions to the maintenance of the ruling regime in feudal society, but were against his advocacy of conscience, intimacy to the commons and good nature. This made his practice of the theory of knowledge and action be of a ruling ideological nature, and be united in his political deeds. It is necessary to re-evaluate Wang Yangming’s ’study of conscience’ and his achievements.