儒家倫理學的開展與挑戰－從儒家如何談論個人與社會說起

儒家哲學有濃郁的人文主義關懷，本於對人性與天道的理解建構其學說要旨。有人以為儒家不重視「個人」（或「個體」）及其權利，似乎只強調人的角色及其角色所帶來的義務與責任。或有人以為儒家雖然也主張人是社會人（在社會中的人）或群體人（在群體中的人），但人的個體性似乎隱而不彰。如何面對二十一世紀的全球化和新思潮的挑戰，開出新局？如何依據經典，正確理解並詮釋儒家哲學和儒家倫理？即是本文嘗試努力的目標。本文提出儒家的個人與社會觀，指出「仁者人也」、「仁者愛人」兩層意思概括構成「仁」的豐富內涵，即儒家的「仁學」或哲學人學，正是作為儒家倫理學的基礎。又以「嫂溺」和「乍見孺子將入於井」的故事來說明儒家倫理思考到底有沒有考慮個人？或是只考慮角色？經分析指出，如果將儒家倫理僅詮釋為角色倫理或關係倫理，既不符合事實，也遮蔽了人的主體性和個體性，阻礙儒家哲學作為一整全架構的系統哲學，更不利於儒家哲學全面性的發展。

關鍵字

儒家；個人；社會；位格；仁學；儒家倫理

並列摘要

With strong humanist concerns, Confucian philosophy is constructed on the understanding about human nature and the way of heaven. Some assume that Confucianism value one's role in the society along with the duty and responsibility of the role more than individuals and their rights. And some assume that Confucianism advocates one's role as a member of the society or the collective rather than his or her individuality. What is the development for Confucianism in the 21st century in face of the challenges brought by globalization and new trends? And how do we, based on the classics, understand and interpret correctly Confucian philosophy and Confucian ethics? This article is intended to answer these two questions. Here we point out the Confucian views about individuals and society: the immanence of Confucian ＂doctrine of benevolence (jen)＂-＂Benevolence is the characteristic element of humanity＂ and ＂The benevolent man loves others＂-is the foundation of Confucian ethics. Then, telling the stories ＂rescuing the sister-in-law＂ and seeing a child about to fall into a well,＂ this article illustrates whether Confucian ethics is concerned with individuals or only their roles. It is pointed out after analysis that interpreting Confucian ethics as nothing but role ethics or relation ethics not only is contradictory to the truth but also shelters one's subjectivity and individuality and hinders the development of Confucian philosophy as a comprehensive system of philosophy and its wholesome evolution.