王龍溪「見在良知」說析論

An Explication of Wang Lunghsi's Thesis about “xian-zai liang-chih”

王龍溪為王陽明晚年之高弟，於王陽明「致良知」教之微旨多所領悟發明，故其「見在良知」說實亦不外傳承自陽明之思想。然而，陽明生前並無「見在良知」這個詞彙的固定用法，正式提出「見在良知」這個明確的概念並依此闡述其學說思想者蓋屬龍溪。龍溪拈出此說後，曾招來同門如聶雙江、羅念庵和劉獅泉等人的批評，甚至引發後續許多的辯難。事實上，此一概念所引發的辯難，並不亞於從天泉證道上所衍生的「無善無惡」說之爭辯，形成了中晚明陽明後學一個聚焦的論題。透過此一論題之研究，除了可以釐清陽明後學對於良知本體和致知工夫的不同看法之外，同時也可以使吾人對於龍溪「見在良知」說之根本意涵有更進一步的了解。本文即就著環繞「見在良知」說的種種論辯來進行析論，冀能闡明龍溪「見在良知」說之旨趣。

Wang Lung-hsi, one of the distinguished disciples of Wang Yang-ming, elaborates his mentor's philosophy on “chih liang-chih” by his ingenuous thesis on “xian-zai liang-chih”. Wang Yang-ming did not specifically designate the term “xian-zai liang-chih” in his own writing. It is Wang Lunghsi who upholds it as an important thesis. Wang's thesis had evoke severe criticisms from his peers, such as Nei Shuan-chiang, Lo Nien-an, and Liu Shih-chuan, and further controversies from later philosophers. Indeed, during the period between the middle and late Ming dynasty, Wang's thesis is one of the focal philosophical concerns, comparable to the debate on “wu-shan wuô” initiated in the “Thesis Discussion Event at the Tian-chuan Bridge.” In this paper, through an analysis of the controversy about “xian-zai liang-chih,” I intent to explicate the subtlety of Wang's theory. Such an elaboration may also illustrate different interpretations of Yang-ming Wang's disciples on their mentor's ideas of “liang-chih pen-ti” (liang-chih-in-itself) and “chihchih kong-fu” (the discipline of liang-chih).