荀子思想中的化性起偽與道德動機——兼覆林宏星教授

Abstract

Xunzi’s thought has long been criticized for failing to address two interrelated problems. First, Xunzi seems to be unable to explain the origin of moral norms, for if people’s nature is bad, how can they recognize and give rise to moral norms? Second, Xunzi seems to be unable to explain the question of moral motivation, for how can people of a bad nature be motivated to act morally for morality’s sake? Xunzi scholars tend to agree that moral norms are not constructed overnight, but are rather the results of generations of cultural contrivances. However they tend to disagree over the question of moral motivation. This paper attempts to answer the question of moral motivation through a further articulation of the relationship between nature and artifice. This paper suggests that moral motivation is derived from participation in moral activities and moral practice, while the latter are constructed through an accumulative process of thought and deliberation, activities and customs. Such an accumulative process, in its turn, represents a self-interpretation of human beings and the good life by a cultural tradition.