「天之所與我者」：孟子之「自然法」思想

「自然法」（Natural Law）不是具體的法律條文，而是一種「規範」（nomos），是倫理道德、風俗習慣、政治制度等一切秩序的上位法則。過去較少以「規範」角度探究孟子思想，因此本文以墨子作為參照態樣，分三層次把握孟子自然法思想之特色：第一，就自然法法源而言：孟子認為包括人在內的萬事萬物，其本質均稟承「天」的「內在規定性」，類似但不完全等同西方法理學之「事物本質說」（Natur der Sache）。相較於墨子將「人」退居於「天」之下，孟子則將「人」舉升至「天」的至尊地位。第二，就自然法的屬性而言：相較於墨子「以義說仁」，孟子「攝義歸仁」，乃屬自律自然法。第三，就自然法於政治層面的實踐而言：不同於墨子的「尚同」主張，孟子以自然法內在人心，故人對政權之正當性有高度的判斷自由，因而導出「抵抗權」的概念。最後，本文將孟子既「超越」又「內在」的自然法特質，置於西方自然法發展的脈絡下，凸顯其時代意義在於：以「天」證立道德價值，避免了「休謨（Hume）法則」「實然」（sein）與「應然」（sollen）難以等同的困境。以人內心對天道的契悟，肯定「良心抵抗」（conscientious disobedience）之合法性，避免了西方教會獨佔上帝解釋權的專斷。但又以「天」的客觀法則，避免「民意」淪為「民粹」。

關鍵字

孟子；自然法（Natural Law）；天人關係

並列摘要

"Natural Law" is not a specific legal provision but a "norm"; it is the upper law of all orders, such as ethics, customs, and political systems. In the past, Mencius' thought has seldom been explored from a "normative" perspective. Therefore, this article uses Mozi as a reference to discuss the characteristics of Mencius's natural law thought in three aspects: First, as far as the source of natural law is concerned: Mencius believed that the essence of everything, including human beings, inherits the "inherent characterization" of "heaven," which is similar to but not identical with the "theory of Natur der Sache " in Western jurisprudence. Compared with Mozi, who placed "man" under "heaven," Mencius raised "man" to the supreme position of "heaven." Second, regarding the attributes of natural law: Compared with Mozi's "explaining Ren with Yi," Mencius' "returning Yi to Ren" is a self-disciplined natural law. Third, regarding the practice of natural law at the political aspect: Unlike Mozi's "upholding the same" proposition, Mencius used natural law to imbue people's hearts. Hence, people have a high degree of freedom to judge the legitimacy of the regime, thus deriving a natural law similar to the Western concept of the "right to resist." Finally, this article puts Mencius's "transcendent" and "inner" natural law characteristics in the context of the development of Western natural law, highlighting its significance of the times: using "heaven" to prove moral value and avoiding Hume's Law Difficulties That "sein" and "sollen" difficult to Equal. The legitimacy of "conscientious disobedience" is affirmed based on the understanding of the way of heaven in the human heart, and the arbitrariness of the Western church's exclusive right to interpret God is avoided. However, the objective law of "heaven" is used to prevent "public opinion" from becoming "populist."