身份、道德與自由契約──儒家學說的制度性解讀

Status, Morality, and Free Contract: An Institutional Interpretation of Confucianism

儒家學說通過一整套身份等級和道德話語的建構，有效地維護了傳統中國社會的秩序。之前的很多研究都認為，基於身份等級和道德話語的秩序建構落後於基於自由、平等和權利話語的契約建構，歷史是一種從身份」到契約」的運動。但是，純粹的自由平等契約依賴於一個全能型的公共權力或一個資訊完全的社會，這實際上不可能實現。同時，自由主義道德哲學和政治哲學宣稱的平等締結契約的機會與能力也並不成立。通過自然身份和道德話語的建構，儒家創造了一種有效的契約模式，最大限度地促進了傳統中國社會中人們之間的合作。在現代社會中，身份並沒有褪去，反而變得更為複雜。基於身份、道德和契約的考察，有助於思考儒家思想在現代的闡釋可能和方向。Confucianism maintained traditional social order by construction a theory of status and morality. Many scholars nowadays think that order based on status and morality is inferior to that based on freedom, equality and rights theory. The history is thus considered a process that moved from 'status' to 'contract'. However, free and equal rights to contract depend on a society with an omnipotent public power and complete information, which is impossible in the practice. In the meantime, the opportunity and ability to contract in the real world is not equal when individuals are given the rights to contract. By construction of status and moral theory, Confucianism creates an effective contract model that greatly enhanced the cooperation between people in the traditional society. In modern society, status hardly disappears; rather, it becomes more complicated. Based on a reflection of status, morality, and contract, this paper discusses the desirable interpretation of modern confucianism.