「論語」「天生德於予」辨析

Abstract

自古以來，對孔子「天生德於予」的這一句話，時有一些不盡相同的理解。究竟這所謂之「德」，是指內在的本質，還是指外在的行為？而與「性」的關係又如何？再者，這「天生德於予」這句話，與《中庸》「天命之謂性」之間，是否有著關聯？諸如此類之疑問，始終沒有切確之答案。本文即針對這些問題，試著先探析《論語》中「德」與「性」的關係，然後從孔子之仁知（智）觀與《中庸》之誠明說切入，作進一層探討，得出初步結論，以為「天生德於予」的「德」，該等同於「性」，而這句話應是《中庸》「天命之謂性」之所本，從而為《中庸》思想源自於孔子之說法，提供另一有力證明。

Since ancient times there have been several interpretations of Confucius’ “Heaven produced the virtue that is in me*.” Does this “virtue (der2)” mean our human inner “nature (xing4)” or outer behavior? What is the relationship between this (der2) and “na- ture” in the Doctrine of the Mean (zhong1-yong1)? Moreover, what are the correlations (if any) between “Heaven produced the virtue that is in me” and “What heaven has conferred is called nature**?” The present paper focuses on these still undecided issues. First, 1 analyze the necessary features of “virtue” and “nature” in the Analects. Then, I further explore the meaning of these terms in the light of the Confucian view of “wisdom(zhi4) " and “humaneness (ren2),” and the theory of “sincerity(cheng2) and intelligence (ming2)” in the Doctrine of the Mean. Finally, I conclude that human “nature(xing4)” is the same as “virtue (der2),” since “Heaven produced the virtue that is in me.” This strongly sug- gests the Confucian (ru2chia1) origin of the notion that “What hea- ven has conferred is called nature” in the Doctrine of the Mean.