生命之感通與利他主義：儒釋道三教之超越利己與利他之區分

當代西方倫理學主流以理性和理性原則為主，但在行動上則以為出自個人之行為必定依個人利己為出發點，因而對利他主義常加以懷疑和否決。本文基於人之同情共感在人與人和人與物之間的表現，申論人類在自然競爭的發展中，實已具有不容懷疑的生命相感通的關係，利他行動是自然而真實的事實。本文更藉儒釋道三家的義理，分析同情共感在人類生命中的表現和意義。三教的義理都依生命的感通為一體的洞見，見出生命本有之超出人我、人物區分的根源，發展出超乎利己與利他的義理，建立利他主義的依據。儒家以仁心之感通建立人與天地萬物為一體之義；道家以人與天地萬物並生且合而為一，申論人之自然與他者生命之相通；佛家以性空無我，打破我執法執之無明而行菩薩道，實為純粹利他的報施。本文論證生命之同情共感是道德的根源，由此而發出無條件的救助他者的義務，而道德行為之表現為攝物歸心，主客合一的實踐，正是同情共感的本義。本文申論人之生命之有限性正通過生命之感通本具超乎利己與利他的區分而得到團結和救贖，最後並對西方當代倫理學之不能脫為己主義與化約主義之預設作出幾點批判的考察。

關鍵字

利他主義；同情共感；儒家；道家；佛家

並列摘要

Contemporary western ethics is basically rationalistic and principle orientated. While action is taken as self-regarding as it comes from the agent's decision to act and must be in accordance with the agent's self and very often egoistic interest. Altruism is deeply in doubt and often refuted out of hand as an illusion or a distorted egoistic action. Based upon the phenomenon of empathy between people and between human being and other sentient beings I argue that Homo sapiens in its long natural selection have expressed an inborn compassionate relation between lives and hence altruistic action is a fact. This paper presents the three important philosophies of Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism to show the meaning and significance of empathy in human life. These three philosophies converge in the insight of seeing that life is in itself a root that transcends the division of me against him or her, man against other living things and is the ground of altruism. Confucianism employs the notion of ren (仁), empathy with compassion, as the building block of the unity or oneness of human being with all things in the Universe. Daoism regards human being as originally born and united with all things on Earth, and hence naturally inter-related with all other things. Buddhism sees that nothing is permanent and each one is without any abiding self and suffers in the endless cycle of ignorance. Bodhisattvas' practice of giving help is purely an altruistic act. This paper shows that life’s empathy towards the sufferings of the others is the source of morality and there comes our unconditional duty towards the helping of others. Moral act is basically an act of absolving the division of matter and mind, the elimination of subject-object dichotomy is the basic meaning and function of empathy. I argue that the compassionate empathy of human life transcends the opposition of egoistic and altruistic division and human being is born with a sense of unity with all life so that its finitude is absolved and expanded. Lastly, I make a number of critical observations on the illegitimate presuppositions of egoism and reductionism in western ethics discourses.