論陽明對於動物生命的關懷

The Attitudes on Animal Life in Yangming’s Thought

本文就是解釋東方儒家王陽明對待動物生命的理解與其態度, 而提示為了解決人類看待動物生命時所發生的動物問題的 儒家基礎理論｡在所強調動物的權利與福利的西方說明著,動 物虐待與剝削的問題是在種族歧視的人類中心主義的潮流的 情況下所發生出來的,接著強調,人類接受以個體存在之動物 生命,而必須具有為了它們自由自在的生活保障的對動物生 命的道德義務｡反之,在東方儒家從人心的自然自發的道德情 感看待與關懷動物生命｡特別,陽明所強調的良知就是蘊含對 動物的道德情感的關懷與行為之義｡因此,本文先從陽明的良 知解釋出基礎於動物生命之關懷的｢萬物一體觀｣與｢仁民愛 物｣之思維,而堅持儒家對動物生命的人道主義的立場,然後,通 過這樣看法再提出解決動物虐待與剝削的問題的基礎看法｡

This article investigates the attitudes on animal life in the Confucian tradition. Especially, the thought of Wang yangming(1472~1529), the philosopher of Ming dynasty is the point in this paper. The main theories that emphasize animal right or animal welfare in the West insist that anthropocentrism and speciesism encourage us to have wrong attitudes towards animals. According to their opinion, we must have moral duties to animals. In the Confucian traditions, we can find another models that require equal consideration for animals. The thought of Yang‐ming is suitable for this case. Basically, the Confucian tradition has the idea that the nature of human beings is originally good. Especially, Yang‐ming offers the concept of the oneness of everything and demands the expansion of moral feelings to another beings. So, We must not only be kind to others, but also cherish all things. In this point, we can find the relations between the Confucian humanism and the treatment of animals.