唐君毅先生論朱子格物致知工夫

Abstract

「格物致知」語出《大學》，南宋朱熹作〈格致補傳〉，對「格物致知」之意涵作出明確的規定後，自此引發許多的論議；剋就朱子之理論而言，見解即已相當紛岐。以現代學界來說，新儒學代表人物唐君毅與牟宗三二位大師對朱子「格物致知」之義的詮解即有不同。本文即對於唐君毅先生論朱子格物致知之義加以析究。唐先生以「求諸外而明諸內」來詮釋朱子的格物致知工夫，他指出由於朱子之工夫必須以向外窮格事理的方式進行，原因在於心不是理；而向外窮格並非認知事物的實然之理，乃是為了顯發心中本有之性理。唐先生強調，朱子格物致知的重點在於從具體特殊的情境中找出因應之善道，此說有其值得闡述之義蘊，同時足以顯出朱子實事求是、漸習漸明的工夫理論之特色。

Mr. Tang, Jiun-Yi tries to use “ the pursuit of outer behavior principle to enlighten inner morality (求諸外而明諸內)” to interpret the “Gongfu(工夫)” of Zhu Xi’s “ko-wu-chih-chih (格物致知)”. He also points out that the “Gongfu(工夫)” of Zhu Xi’s can only be realized through the practice of “xiong-ko-shi-li (窮格事理)” because it is the inner morality not outer behavior principle that matters. So, pursuing “xiong-ko(窮格)” outwardly is not aiming at pursuing knowledge externally but enlightening our inner morality. Mr. Tang emphasizes that the key point of Zhu Xi’s “ko-wu-chih-chih (格物致知)” is to find appropriate ways to cope with every respects of possible life scenarios. The way that Mr. Tang interprets Zhu Xi is not only worth us to further elaborate but also help to demonstrate how substantial and revealing the Zhu-Xi’s theory is.