利己與利他之矛盾與統合

倫理學上有關「利己主義」與「利他主義」的論辯，將「利己」與「利他」視作不相容的命題（A 或-A），這顯然是依循傳統邏輯的「矛盾律」與「排中律」──人不可能「利己」而又「利他」；人不是主張「利己主義」，就是主張「利他主義」。然而「利己」與「利他」，並非不能相容的A 與-A，依佛家的「四句義」加以解析：1. 有些行為既不利己，也不利他。2. 有些行為雖能利己，但不利他。3. 有些行為雖不利他，但能利己。4. 有些行為既能利他，又能利己。其次，即便能證明「利己」心理的存在，吾人亦難據此推論：「人們應該滿足利己心理。」亦即：「實然」的現狀並不足以證明「應然」，反之，「應然」經常是超越「實然」的一種實現目標。而「己」或「他」，只是相對穩定的個體覺知，所產生的彼此區隔，一旦如實正觀「緣起」，即能洞燭「我相」與「他相」虛幻不實，而成為證悟「無我」的聖者。

關鍵字

心理利己主義；心理利他主義；倫理利己主義；倫理利他主義；四句義

並列摘要

The argument in ethics relating to ＂egoism＂ and ＂altruism＂ is that selfishness and selflessness are incompatible, ＂either-or＂ possibilities. This clearly follows upon the traditional logic of ＂the law of contradiction＂ and ＂the excluded middle＂ -- individuals cannot be selfish while being selfless; if someone is not taking the position of egoism, they are taking the position altruism. However, according to the logic of Buddhism, it is actually not impossible for self-oriented and other-oriented actions to be compatible: 1. Certain actions are not beneficial to oneself, nor are they beneficial to others 2. Certain actions are beneficial to oneself, but not beneficial to others 3. Certain actions are not beneficial to others, but are beneficial to oneself 4. Certain actions are beneficial to oneself and beneficial to others Further, even though we can confirm the possibility of self-beneficial states of mind, it is difficult for us to move from that confirmation to say that everyone should develop a self-beneficial state of mind. That is, the descriptive scenario is not sufficient to justify a prescriptive order. On the other hand, prescriptivism sets a goal that often goes beyond what descriptivism can accomplish. ＂Self＂ and ＂other＂ just refer to the relatively stable condition of individual observers. If one is able to correctly observe things as they are, that is, as ＂dependently originated,＂ the apparent separation between self and other will be revealed to be illusory, unreal. One can then become a realized person who has awakened to ＂no-self.＂ Thus, ＂helping oneself＂ and ＂helping others＂ are not contradictory at a fundamental level, to the extent that the two can be mutually accomplished, and reconciled. The Buddha contemplated the actual state of things through dependent origination, and for the benefit of others created a bridge from selfishness to selflessness.