「孝」與「法」在維護公、私領域之秩序上孰輕孰重,一直是爭辯中的議題。孔孟在「父子相隱」、「舜父殺人」和「三年之喪」三則文字中對「孝」的推崇,更將論戰推向高峰。批評者認為法重於孝,孔孟乃徇情枉法、以私害公。維護方認為親情至上,故孝的位階高於法。正反雙方壁壘分明、相互訐難。本文則於當前論者以「二分法」爭辯孝和法之外,從析論「人倫之私」與「人欲之私」起始,以孔孟思想中「天性」、「人倫」、「人欲」、「惻隱」、「本心」,及諸如「犯意」和「犯行」等概念立論,重新檢視荀子、司馬光、蘇轍、蘇軾、朱熹等東亞各儒者和近代學者之論,並進一步以孔孟孝悌倫理思想之立論,論證孔孟並不「以私害公」。
Importance of filial piety and law to maintain order in public and private fields has been the issue debated. Praise of Confucius and Mencius for filial piety in three pieces "Mutual concealing crimes between father and son," "Shun's father murder," and "Three years of mourning" resulted in the peak of the debate. The critique argued that law was more important than filial piety. Confucius and Mencius favored private affection and neglected the laws. They allowed private to destruct public. Those who supported Confucius and Mencius stated that family love was the priority and filial piety was superior to law. Two sides were sharply opposed and criticized each other. This study beyond the contemporary debate of filial piety and law by "dichotomy," starts from the analysis on "private of human ethic" and "private of human desire" and sets the arguments to review statements of Confucian scholars in East Asia and contemporary scholars such as Xun Kuang, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Su Shi, and Zhu Xi by "human nature," "human ethics," "human desire," "sympathy," "original intention," "criminal intention," and "criminal offense" in thoughts of Confucius and Mencius and further demonstrate that Confucius and Mencius do not "destruct public by private" by the arguments of their thought of filial piety and ethics.