論人性向善論――一個分析哲學的觀點

On the Theory that Human Nature as Tending toward Goodness: From the Perspective of Analytic Philosophy

本文旨在對傅佩榮先生的「人性向善論」作出全面的批判考察。全文依五部分展開討論。第一部分交代本文的寫作背景和基本觀點。第二部分梳理「人性向善論」的關鍵概念和主要論旨，並分析傅先生所採取的論證策略。第三部分引介當代學者對人性向善論的批評，並對這些批評進行檢討。而在第四部分，筆者將從分析哲學的角度對人性向善論進行全面的批判考察，指出此理論在「概念使用」、「論證建構」、「理論後果」三方面都必須面臨難以克服的困難。第五部分對全文論點作一總結。本文的結論是：人性向善論的詮釋進路非但不能闡揚先秦儒家古義，更且無法為人類道德行動的說明提供一理性基礎。

This article provides a comprehensive review on the theory that human nature as tending toward goodness, held by Professor Pei-Rong Fu, from the perspective of analytic philosophy. My discussion will be divided into five sections. In the first section, I shall introduce my basic concepts and some background information on the topic of this article. In the next section, I shall clarify the notions and theses constituting Fu’s theory, and analyze what strategies he adopts to build up his arguments. In section 3, criticisms on Fu’s theory offered by several contemporary scholars will first be introduced, which will be followed by my brief summary and estimation. Section 4 is the core of this article. In this section, I shall move on to my own methodological criticisms on Fu’s theory, pointing out that it can’t help but face a great number of difficulties in terms of three aspects: the using of concepts, the constituting of arguments, as well as the consequences Fu’s theory leads to. The last section is that which summarizes the main points of this article. The criticisms I make in this article can be concentrated on two points: not only that Fu’s approach would prevent us from understanding the significances of pre-Qin Confucianism, but that it would definitely undermine the rationality underlying the explanation of human’s moral actions.