中国古代“道理”观念的嬗变

The Evolution of the Idea of “Tao Li” in Ancient China

“道”和“理”作为中国传统哲学领域内的两大范畴,皆是对事物自我规定性与运动规律在不同程度上的抽象概括。由这两者所共同构成的“道理”观念不仅是我国古代哲学思想史的基本精神,也是指导当代中国人思考和行动的最高原则之一。通过对相关史料的梳理和诠释,本文发现我国古代的“道理”观念自春秋战国至明清依次经历了“正式提出”“内容范畴的确立”“关系范畴的阐发”“本体化发展”“世俗化发展”及“人情化发展”六个主要阶段。对“道理”观念的发掘与研究,一方面有助于人们在逻辑上更好地把握我国的传统哲学,另一方面能够对我国当代社会和国家治理起到启示作用。

As two key Chinese traditional philosophical categories, “Tao” and “Li” are abstract summarization of the self-definition and laws of movement to varying degrees. The idea of “Tao Li” formed by the two is not only the basic spirit of the history of ancient Chinese philosophy, but also one of the highest principles of the modern Chinese way of thinking and action. Through the arrangement and interpretation of relevant historical materials, this paper finds that the idea of “Tao Li” in ancient China has experienced six major stages successively from the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period to the Ming and Qing Dynasties: “Formal Proposal”, “Establishment of the Content Category”, “Elucidation of Relation Category”, “Ontological Development”, “Secularized Development” and “Humanized Development”. The study of “Tao Li” helps to better grasp China’s traditional philosophy logically on one hand, and enlightens China’s contemporary society and national governance on the other.