Wang Yangming's Conscience The Thought and Influence of a Philosopher of History
In recent years, Wang Yangming's thinking is very hot"Knowledge and action are one"Four words are full of streets and alleys, tea shops and tea kitchens. The topic we are going to talk about today mainly involves the essence of Wang Yangming's theory: conscience.
Zhu Xi: Yes"Knowing things"The understanding is extroverted, and Lu Jiuyuan is right"The heart is the universe"is introverted. The contrast between Wang Yangming and Zhu Xi's views is obvious. But from a deeper level, Wang Yangming and Lu Jiuyuan's views are also very different. What Wang Yangming wants to admit is"OK"The unity of the inside, that is, the unity of the inside and outside, and not only"There is nothing outside the heart"(Therefore, the doctrines of Lu Jiuyuan and Wang Yangming are called together.)"Lu Wang Xinxue"inappropriate).
Qian Mu said:"The value of Yangming's thought lies in the fact that he solved what Song Confucianism left behind in a completely new way. The unity of mind and matter, knowledge and action eliminates the one-sidedness of Zhuzi outward and Luzi inward. "
Since the unity of knowledge and action is needed, how can we achieve the unity of knowledge and action?
Start with the little things in life.
It's almost noon and I have to cook, but I'm playing a game, what should I do? I went with my heart and continued to play the game. I know I have to cook, but I'm addicted to the game, it's obviously not right, what should I do?
Zhu Xi's example is simple: to learn from things, that is, to delve into the principles of things to gain knowledge. This is, of course, very orthodox thinking, very much in line with the mainstream.
As far as Zhu Xi is concerned,"I'm addicted to games and don't cook"The problem is something that needs to be studied. Why don't I cook, because I'm addicted to games, why am I addicted to games, because games are fun, because I'm greedy for fun, etc.
Wang Yangming is the opposite.
He said that this Wang Yangming is a wise man: he doesn't know it, he just doesn't know it.
Wang Yangming thinks"Know"with"OK"is one, and when we make the wrong choice, we should start with"Know"to find the reason. If I'm not choosing the right behavior (cooking), it's because I haven't reached the right one"Know"。
How can it be adequate"Know"This? Wang Yangming undoubtedly pointed out the direction, that is"To the conscience"。Wang Yangming believes that at the beginning of a person's nature, nature is inherently good (which coincides with Taoist thought), but later in life it will become dirty or lost. However, as long as you can recognize the goodness in your heart and use it as a guide for your actions, you will be able to do good and not evil.
Wang Yangming thinks that I am addicted to games because the game is my **. I need to"Self-cultivation"to quit gaming addiction.
Feng Youlan has this sentence in "A Brief History of Chinese Philosophy": Knowledge comes from intuition.
There is such a little story: One of Wang Shouren's ** once caught a thief in the middle of the night and told him"Conscience"。The thief smiled disapprovingly and asked"Excuse me, my conscience is in **? "It was very hot that day, and Wang Shouren's ** asked the thief to take off his coat first, and then the *** thief did it. When he asked him to take off his pants again, the thief hesitated and said:"I'm afraid that's not right. "Wang Shouren's ** then said to the thief:"This is your conscience. "
If there is one core of Wang Yangming's teaching, it is"To the conscience"。He mentioned these three words several times in his later years.
In fact, Wang Yangming's thinking is not complicated, but it is not easy to do, and a clear conscience is a big problem. In today's materialistic and impetuous society, it is even more difficult.
Of course, Mr. Yang Ming is an example of his own ideas.
So much so that later people were impressed by Mr. Yangming.
Huang Zongxi said: Wang Yangming can be described as"Zhenting Qiwei, row house folding fan", since Confucius and Mencius, not so deep.
This evaluation pushed Mr. Yang Ming to the hometown of Confucius and Mencius.
Zeng Guofan also said that Wang Yangming's work of correcting the old body and establishing a new style is no worse than Yu Qiuyu.
He even bypassed Confucius and Mencius directly, comparing their achievements in water control with those of Dayu.