早期儒学友爱观念的创造性生成及其当代转化

The Creationary Becoming and Contemporary Transformation of the Idea of Friendship in Early Confucianism

友爱观念是早期儒家哲学的有机构成部分。这一重要观念的创造性生成,始于孔子儒学对西周时期一种基本的宗法性政治伦理即“友”或“朋友”伦理的创造性革新和转化。接续这一努力,孟、荀儒学尽管在各自思想起点、论证逻辑和理论重心等方面有所分殊,但都坚定不移地继承并发扬了这种新型友爱观念的核心精神与主要意蕴,并最终将其确立为一种优良的伦理政治社会秩序不可或缺的重要成分。早期儒学友爱观念还引发了先秦时代庄子学派、墨家学派、法家学派等思想流派的争鸣或挑战。诸家争鸣或挑战,一方面从不同侧面生动地映衬了早期儒学友爱观念所凝聚的独特思想品质与趋向,另一方面也揭示了它的一些内在疑难和困境。立足于当代语境充分评估、回应这些争鸣与挑战,既有助于激发早期儒学友爱观念进一步自我转化的深刻潜能,也有助于开拓它的未来发展方向。譬如,要充分认识友爱关系中纯真情感的相对独立性和重要性,尊重并容纳不同个体的差异性和多样性,重新审视和调整友爱伦理与家庭伦理的互动关系,恰当定位政治活动中个体性友爱起作用的方式等。

The idea of friendship was an organic part of early Confucian philosophy. This important philosophical tradition began with Confucius’ s creative innovation and transformation of the ethic of “friend”(you or pengyou), which was a basic patriarchal political ethic in the Western Zhou(1046-771 BCE) dynasty. Later, although Mencius(c. 372-289 BCE) and Xuncius(c. 313-238 BCE) had some difference in the starting point of thought, argumentative logic and theoretical emphasis, they were determined to inherit and carry forward the central spirit and main implication of this new conception of friendship, which was eventually established as an indispensable, important component of a good ethical-political social order. The idea of friendship in early Confucianism also triggered contention or challenge from the Zhuangzi school, Mohist school, Legalist school and other schools of thought in the pre-Qin(before 221 BCE) period. These instances of contention or challenge, from different sides, further vividly reflected the unique ideological disposition and trend condensed in the early Confucian concept of friendship on the one hand and revealed some intrinsic knots and dilemmas on the other. Fully evaluating and responding to these contention and challenge based on the contemporary context will help to not only stimulate the profound potential for further self-transformation of the early Confucian concept of friendship, but also open up its future development direction.For instance, we should adequately recognize the relative independence and importance of the real emotion in friendship, respect and accommodate otherness and diversity of different individuals, reexamine and adjust the interaction between friendship ethic and family ethic, appropriately orientate the way by which individual friendship functions in political activities.