儒家伦理中的“礼”与“神明”

“Ritual” and “the Divine” in Confucian Ethics

摘要: 本文以荀子伦理思想为核心系统阐释儒家伦理中“礼”与“神明”的内涵及二者内在关联。在“礼”的维度层面剖析其起源于人性之欲与社会秩序的矛盾，具有明确社会秩序与利益界限、支持合理欲望满足、教化提升人性的核心功能。在“神明”维度，梳理先秦“神明”从宗教性向哲学性的转化，并论证“礼”是通达“神明”的实践道路、“神明”为“礼”提供形上依据，二者在丧祭之礼中深度融合。同时，阐释“心”作为修身枢纽的认知、抉择与主宰功能，以及“虚壹而静”的修身方法对实现“神明”境界的作用。最后指出荀子伦理思想对当代个体道德培育、社会治理及生态伦理建设的借鉴价值，强调其对儒家“修身、齐家、治国、平天下”伦理理想的传承与发展。

Abstract: Taking Xunzi’s ethical thought as the core, this paper systematically expounds the connotations of “ritual” and “the divine” in Confucian ethics as well as their inherent connection. From the perspective of “ritual”, it analyzes that ritual originates from the contradiction between human desires and social order, and it has three core functions: defining social hierarchies and interest boundaries, supporting the satisfaction of rational desires, and cultivating and elevating human nature. From the perspective of “the divine”, it sorts out the transformation of the concept of “the divine” from religious to philosophical implications in the Pre-Qin period, and demonstrates that “ritual” serves as the practical path to reach the divine realm, while “the divine” provides a metaphysical basis for ritual. The two are deeply integrated in the funeral and sacrificial rituals. Meanwhile, the paper explains the cognitive, decision-making and dominant functions of the “mind” as the core of self-cultivation, and the role of the self-cultivation method of “emptiness, unity and stillness” in achieving the divine state. Finally, it points out the reference value of Xunzi’s ethical thought for contemporary individual moral cultivation, social governance and ecological ethics construction, and emphasizes its inheritance and development of the Confucian ethical ideal of “cultivating oneself, regulating the family, governing the state and pacifying the world”.