法治理念的文化基础

On the Cultural Basis of the Idea of the Rule of Law

法治 ,源于人的感性生命的需要。传统中国儒家否定了人的感性生命的合理性 ,因此法治无由产生。随着改革开放以后商品经济的发展 ,传统中国的人治社会逐渐转变到了现代法治社会。由于法治在现代社会己受到相当重视和强调 ,本文对比中西方文化的不同 ,强调法治何以在西方能够落实而在传统中国却不能的原因。本文认为 :法治的落实 ,必须以人的智性心的开发为前提和基础 ,这是传统西方的经验。传统中国 ,以道德涵摄一切 ,因此智性心开发不出 ,法治无由产生。

The rule of law deprived from the demand of human living of sensibility. The Confucianism of traditional China negated the human living of sensibility, so the rule of law could not come into being. This paper probes into the fact that the rule of law could be realized in the traditional western society but not in traditional China. It is considered that the realizing of the rule of law must be based on the development of human intellectuality, which was the accepted experience in the western society but could not found in traditional China morality.