Xie Wuliang’s Views On Mercy And Evil In Ethics

On the basis of absorbing Chinese and Western ethical thoughts,Xie Wuliang tried to deconstruct and reconstruct Chinese traditional ethics with the concepts of good,virtue and obligation.Based on the third program and eight items of the Great Learning,Xie Wuliang formed the ethical thought system of "two parts and eight theories" and "Trinity".The ethical system of "two parts and eight theories" mainly deals with theoretical problems such as the good and evil of human nature,the origin of morality,motivation and behavior,ideal personality,and practical problems of how to cultivate one’s moral character,undertake obligations,promote virtue,and pursue the highest good.In addition,Xie Wuliang also thinks that the Confucian-dominated Chinese ethics has the theory of good,virtue and obligation.Starting from the discussion of the problems of good and evil,he compares the good and evil of human nature between Chinese and Western ethics,explores the original significance of good and evil,the standard of good and evil,how to carry out the practice of eliminating evil to good and the ultimate ethical goal of "the right of goodness"(the highest good);Taking the theory of obligation and v the theory of virtue irtue as the elements of practice,the method of improving and perfecting the cultivation of virtue is carried out through the division of human obligations and the promotion of obligations.Thus,the theory of good and evil,the theory of morality and the theory of obligation are unified in a Trinity,so as to construct the "universal ethics" of the integration of individual,family,society and country.Xie Wuliang thinks that human nature is the origin of good and evil in Chinese ethics,and Western ethics is to distinguish the meaning of good and evil.Ethics is a kind of knowledge which regards morality as the fundamental structure,takes affinity for practical application,and pursuing the highest good.It should always take the fundamental structure and the practical application,personal morality and social ethics together,and finally realize the moral ideal of the highest good,which is the significance of ethics.Xie Wuliang’s exploration of the origin of good and evil puts forward clear requirements for people’s personal moral cultivation and code of conduct,that is,taking "good" as the center,or "good" as the starting point,through people’s inner moral pursuit,as well as the specific way of doing good deeds,they can finally achieve both internal and external beauty,that is the true sense of goodness.The ethical standard of good mainly lies in "from the heart",the good and evil of the heart lies in the initiation of the heart,and the human mind and moral conscience are the important standards for judging good and evil.The moral pursuit and value scale of one’s heart are the standards for judging things,and also affect people’s specific behavior.Both Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism take self-discipline and consciousness as the fundamental standard.People who consciously accept the precepts or become aware are good,and those who keep the laws and become aware are all practicing the Buddha Dharma.People having a sense of shame are the self-discipline and consciousness of the human heart.Xie Wuliang puts forward his own views on the good and evil of the human heart.He thinks that the good and evil of the human heart are determined by the will of the human heart.By observing the way of human behavior,we can distinguish whether it is good or evil.The key to a person’s life is moral cultivation.The key to self-cultivation is to eliminate evil and turn to good,and to root good in human nature.As long as people’s virtue is fully exerted,the " The highest good" can be achieved.Human behavior is caused by the will of human heart.The good and evil of human will determines the good and evil of human behavior,and the will of human heart determines the good and evil of human motivation.Xie Wuliang discusses the practice of eliminating evil and turning to good from two aspects of obligation and virtue.Obligation and virtue are the two major items of ethical practice and also the specific content of good.The obligation of human makes people have to do something.The ethical goal of good has become the common goal of individual,society and country.The duty lies in people’s original heart,that is,conscience is good,everyone has conscience,the inner meaning of virtue lies in the virtue of human heart itself,and the outer meaning of virtue is to abide the moral code of human behavior,both of which are integrated into one.In the process of carrying out virtue,the essence of propriety lies in the pursuit of the highest virtue,which is beyond the things.Therefore,the goodness of the highest virtue is called the transcendent virtue,which originates from the things themselves and surpasses the things themselves.Xie Wuliang’s theory of good and evil is summarized and reflected,and the good and evil views in Xie Wuliang’s ethical thoughts are critically inherited from the viewpoint of modern ethics.Xie Wuliang not only absorbed the western ethics,but also criticized the western ethics.He thought that the Chinese Ethics(mainly Confucianism)has its own system of good,virtue and obligation,which is more systematic and perfect than western ethics.Starting from personal morality,he strengthened people’s moral self-discipline from many aspects,such as personal cultivation,determination,action and ideal personality.However,this set of ethical system has its own shortcomings.His theory of good and evil regards human nature as the nature of human being from a natural angle,and does not recognize the larger range of good from the human nature and the difference between human and animal nature.As for the behaviors of human beings to realize good,they emphasize moral self-restraint and self-discipline,lack of systematic ethical system and norms,so we need to put forward more specific and perfect requirements for people’s moral cultivation by means of contract,system and law.We should critically inherit Xie Wuliang’s ethical thought from the perspective of Marxist historical materialism and the category system of modern normative ethics.Under the historical background of the collision of Chinese and western ethical thoughts,Althoug Xie Wuliang’s ethical thought has the color of harmonizing Chinese and Western ethics and eclecticism,emphasizing the path of returning to the traditional Chinese ethics with Chinese ethics as the main factor,and does not use the system of modern ethical norms to critically reflect on Chinese traditional ethics,Xie Wuliang’s ethical thought has a positive impact on promoting the development of China’s modern new ethics.It has an indelible historical role and needs further in-depth study.