“亲亲相隐”:儒家前沿伦理议题的再审视

“Kinship Concealment”:A Reexamination of Frontier Ethical Issues in Confucianism

“亲亲相隐”是传统儒家的一个中心议题,“亲隐”本质上是在强调血缘亲属关系超越了国家正义秩序的地位。在儒家的社会伦理中,血缘亲属关系是人类生命延续绵延的基础,而此关系以外的其它社会关系又是人类生存发展的必需条件,二者在价值判断顺序上的先后性确定了现实行为的优先性,矛盾也由此产生,表现为现实中的血缘亲属关系与国家正义秩序之间的张力冲突。现代广泛应用的“亲属回避制”则是消解此种矛盾的有效机制。因此,“亲亲相隐”具有本体论与现实制度的双重合法性,它同儒家生命伦理原则是相互统一的。

“Kinship concealment”is a central issue in traditional Confucianism,and“relatives in hiding”es-sentially emphasizes that blood kinship transcends the state's order of justice.In Confucian social ethics,blood kinship is the basis for the continuity of human life,while social relations other than this one are neces-sary for the survival and development of human beings.The priority of the two in the order of value judgment determines the priority of the real behavior,and the contradiction will arise,manifested in the reality of the ten-sion between the kinship relationship and the order of justice of the state.The modern and widely-used“kin avoidance system”is an effective mechanism for resolving such conflicts.Therefore,“kinship concealment”has the dual legitimacy of ontology and actual system,and it can be harmonized with the Confucian bioethical principles.