亞里斯多德與亞當斯密正義觀之比較

The ‘etiquette to guest' in Tong-tien and Tu-Yu's Consciousness of Frontier

「正義」是亞里斯多德與亞當．斯密（Adam Smith, 1723－1790）道德思想的重要基礎。斯密尤其強調如何定義與實踐正義的問題，他認為近代商業社會迫切需要新的道德準則。因此，他訴諸亞里斯多德的正義觀，在《道德情感論》（The Theory of Moral Sentiments）提出令人信服的理論。斯密更宣稱他的「合宜性（propriety）」與亞里斯多德的「中庸之道（Mesotes）」如出一轍，然亞里斯多德主張正義無法妥適置入中庸之道，而使其正義有別於其他德性。正義是關乎他者之德性，支援道德主體的內在靈魂穩定狀態，使人能做出最適切合宜的道德判斷。故正義之人有能力以外在行動，彰顯內在擁有正義的性格狀態，並以此促進城邦的整體善。斯密轉化並融會上述概念於公正旁觀者，視正義為社會基礎。本文比較二位思想家以檢驗斯密對亞里斯多德正義觀的理解和運用，釐清二者道德思想乍看相似之處。同時論證雙方正義觀的相合之處為肯認正義的雙重意義，即外在社會與內在個人靈魂的和諧。最後強調斯密正義論的特出處在於視正義為保存自由之道，證明斯密政治理想中自由社會優先於良善社會。

The concept of Justice constitutes a requisite foundation in Aristotle's and Adam Smith's (1723-1790) moral thought. This essay examines Smith's understanding and application of the Aristotelian concept of justice through a comparative study, which elucidates the prima facie resemblance between Smith's and Aristotle's moral thought. It also attests that both the thinkers acknowledge the external and internal meaning of justice, namely, the harmony of the whole society and the moral agent's state of character. Smith's commitment to the theory of justice is, in fact, for the purpose of preserving liberty, which illuminates that a free society takes priority over a beneficent one in his political ideal.