《老子》文本中的自我觀

The View of “Self” in the Laozi

「自我」為重要學術議題，本文貼緊《老子》文本在「我」、「自」、「吾」、「己」四詞導引下，吸收現代觀點，進行詮釋。《老子》於「道生之」原則下，在個體層面以「我獨」的創造性人格解決眾人盲目認同他者所形成的欲望問題；並在行為層面以「自然」的自發性行為實踐自我，呼應「法自然」的道，去除他者致生之異化。又於「德畜之」原則下，在認知層面藉「吾何以」的對話反思，蓄養主體性在當下的認知能力，避免執著，進入此在；並在社會層面憑「己愈與人己愈有」的認同，呼應「上德不德」的主張，建立不爭不害的人己融合關係。如此，《老子》直接根源於其道德觀點，從人我對比脫胎而出，建立了充滿創生能力的「道德」自我觀。

The “self” is an important academic subject. This article incorporates contemporary concepts and analyzes the Laozi's use of first-person pronouns such as wo 我, zi 自, wu 吾, and ji 己 to provide an interpretation of the view of “self” presented in the text. First, with respect to the aspect of individuality, under the principle of “the creation of Dao” (道生之), the subject resolves the predicament posed by desires with a creative personality characterized by “self-uniqueness” (我獨). Second, regarding the behavioral aspect, the subject realizes self-actualization through spontaneous “natural” (自然) behavior which not only resonates with the Dao that follows a natural order, but also discards deviations caused by external influences from the subject's intention. Third, for the cognitive aspect, under the principle of preservation with morality (德畜之), the subject engages in self-reflection via the mechanism of selfdialogue. This process allows the subject to enhance his or her cognitive ability, discard the obsession towards past and future, and focus on the present. Lastly, with respect to the social aspect, acknowledging “the more one gives, the more one gains” and accepting the notion that it is optimal to act in accordance with one's abilities, the subject fosters a non-competitive and harmonic relationship with other subjects. The Laozi thus constructs a moral perspective of “self” that does not conflict with the freedom of the subject or the existing structure of society, and that differs from capitalism or abstraction.