Justice and Law in the Republic and Mencius

Abstract

本文試圖整理柏拉圖《理想國篇》以及《孟子》文本中的正義及法律思想。柏拉圖將靈魂三分與城邦三種基本族群相對應，指出心靈及城邦各部分形成和諧整體，需要能實踐正義此一德行。理性調和情慾，如同哲學家協調武士及生產者般，具關鍵性。法治則是哲君提升人民德行的重要途徑。在儒家思想中，孟子進一步闡明「義」此一德行，主張仁義等均為人與生俱來，需要持續培養的德行。義、德在於人處社會應對之合宜，仁則是人探求合宜課題之歸所。以舜為例，孟子更重視人的家庭關係，尤其人們對於父母兄弟的孝與愛。柏拉圖思想較之蘇格拉底更重視數理，不但在古希臘思想發展上，開啟重要的脈絡，也使古中國儒家與古希臘思想的分歧，更為明顯。

This article presents a sketch and a comparison of two perspectives of justice. I discuss Plato’s idea of justice in the Republic (section 2), and Mencius’ thinking on the same topic in Mencius (section 3). For Plato, justice leads to harmony and reason is the key element, especially for getting hold of the good, and for unifying the different parts of the soul successfully; likewise, the philosopher should rule the polis for the unification of the three classes of people in the polis. Mencius treats yi, the concept which is comparable to justice, similarly to Plato, namely as one’s proper relationship with others, except one’s parents who are not considered as others. For Mencius, Yi is shown in one’s lifelong commitment to act appropriately in all the situations one encounters in the world. Ren is shown in one’s love of others and guides one in a more important way than reason for one’s cultivation of yi.