摘要
张横渠的"民胞物与"说与王阳明的"万物一体之仁"说皆本于孟子的"万物皆备于我""仁民爱物"诸说,因而在表述形式和义理内涵上颇为相似.二说的不同之处在于,横渠从宇宙生成演化的终极本体(太虚、天)上寻找敉平人与他者及万物的界限而达至"一体"的依据,并未径直诉诸"理"这一次一级范畴的统一性;阳明则在心与物原无内外之别、心即理的基础上,阐发此心与万物在一气贯通和意义互构两个方面上的原本一体.缘此,尽管两人皆有躬行孝悌、无我无欲等共同的工夫主张,但横渠并不以格物穷理为其工夫论之首出者;阳明则首重致良知,格物致知便是致此良知天理于事事物物而使之皆得其理,这种直从良知流出的横向工夫理路也与横渠之说有所不同.
Abstract
The Neo-Confucian theories of Zhang Zai's"People are my siblings born of the same parents and all things are my kinds"and Wang Yangming's"Benevolence that permeates in the unified whole"are based on ideas from Mencius,whose"Encompassing self-readiness"and"Universal charity towards all beings"represent original articulations that Zhang and Wang developed.Therefore,their expressions and theoretical connotations are quite close to each other.However,there are some important differences between Zhang Zai and Wang Yangming.Zhang's theory stresses the ultimate entity or the originating Void(太虚),whose evolution entails the subsequent split between the subject and object,the self and the other,or the mind and body,and he sees such ontological stratum as the common source of all beings.In view of this common source,any bifurcations between subject and object,etc.,is secondary and contingent,which can and should be overcome.Apparently,unlike Wang,whose starting point is the extension of the conscious ethical subject or"realizing innate moral knowledge",Zhang sees the originating Void,with the mediation of matters in flux,as the primordial form that partakes in all beings.In his system,the concept of principle is secondary to the category of the originating Void,which is the initial form of existence that constitutes the material elements of all things in the world.Man must allow himself to be open to this whole and strive to become part of it.The sublimated experience of becoming one with this whole is crucial,because only from such a position can the moral and the natural resume their identity and homogenization.From Wang's point of view,the ethical subject has the central role in the first place.In other words,the conscience is from the outset essential,which is neither secondary nor a product of splitting.He also recognizes that Heaven is identical with the moral self from the very beginning,but he counts on the ethical subject to deliberate this truth,so to say.Although both of them emphasize the importance of actual practices of morality such as filial piety and detachment of the obsessive self,we find that these differences between the two philosophers are fundamental.Zhang does not seek to deliberate over praxis proper to moral maxims in all cases as the key to the unfolding of moral praxis,whereas Wang embraces such deliberation.In conclusion,Zhang holds that the originating Void gives rise to all connections from which the universal harmony derives,and man in this harmony becomes a moral subject naturally.Wang,on the contrary,points out the importance of the ethical subject in searching for immanent causes proper to moral maxims and applies them to daily praxis.For Wang,the extension of conscience is the most important aspect of his practical methodology system."gewu zhizhi格物致知"is to apply conscience to all things,so that they can all obtain their inherent principles.This horizontally practical approach that starts directly from conscience also shows a marked contrast with Zhang's perspective.
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