親親相隱，正義與儒家倫理中的道德兩難

“Concealment of the Offences of Kin”, Justice and the Moral Dilemma in Confucian Ethics

「親親相隱」是儒家倫理哲學與正義觀討論中的著名兩難。在分別釐清古代與現代關於此命題爭辯以及各派立場利弊得失的基礎上，作者提出，《論語•子路》「父子相隱」章中的「孔子之直」並不在單純的「隱藏」或者「隱矯」之中，而在「隱藏」的行為與「隱痛」的情感之間。這一伴生的「隱痛」作為道德情感，不僅彰顯出我們常常處在複雜的道德兩難的實際生活境況中，而且更揭示出，儒家倫理正義的實質首先並不在於其對社會倫理政治生活中的兩難或複雜抉擇給出實際指令或行動指南，而在於坦然承認儒家倫理的「有限性質」，從而在道德形而上學的層面上定位自身，並由此出發來間接地影響與化育，而非直接地「規定」與規範我們日常的倫理、社會和政治生活。

“Concealment of the Offences of Kin” (qin qin xiangyin) is a well-known dilemma of Confucian ethics and justice. I first clarify briefly both ancient and modern discussions on this topic in the history of Chinese thought, and then I suggest a new reading of the word yin in Confucius’s Analects, i.e., not only as “concealment” (yincang), but also as “feeling of a deep pain” (yin tong). Based on this new reading, I argue that in the case of “the kin obligation of concealment between father and son,” the Confucian concept of justice or uprightness (zhi) lies not only in the concealment, but more importantly, in-between the conduct of concealment and the deep moral feeling of pain. This very feeling of the pain shows a typical moral dilemma in Confucian ethics and this dilemma reveals the complexity of Confucian ethics. It indicates that Confucian ethics does not simply aim to be, as many once thought, rules of actions or a practical “manual” of our moral, social, and political activities in everyday life. Rather, by recognizing its own finite nature and limitation in real life practice, Confucian ethics focuses more on moral character building and cultivation. Its effect on real life should be indirect, long-term, and exemplarily formative rather than direct, short-run, and categorically normative.