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As an important sub-discipline of philosophy, ethics is a multidisciplinary cluster composed of basic theories of ethics, the history of Chinese and foreign ethical thought, and applied ethics. The construction of an independent knowledge system of Chinese ethics is inseparable from the accurate interpretation and in-depth interpretation of the classic texts of the discipline by researchers of various branches of ethics, because the focus of the classic works of any ethics discipline is the inner essence of moral and ethical life, which is the revelation of the deep connotation of the moral and ethical world, and has important theoretical research value and practical care significance. In the process of understanding, interpreting and applying various classical texts, adhering to the practical orientation of classical interpretation is the key to the construction of an independent knowledge system of ethics.
The practical orientation of the interpretation of Marxist ethics classics
In the construction of the independent knowledge system of Chinese ethics, Marxist ethics is at the core. The construction of the knowledge system of Marxist ethics involves a series of major theoretical issues such as the essential characteristics, development laws, main functions, core principles, and basic contents of moral ethics, and the accurate explanation of any of these issues should be premised on a correct understanding of the classic texts of Marxism. However, with the changes in the world, the country, and the party, we need to take the main problems and major challenges faced by people in moral and ethical life in a specific era as the starting point, and make a new interpretation of the original classic texts that meets the needs of real moral life and the trend of historical development.
The reason for emphasizing the practical orientation of the classical interpretation of Marxist ethics is inseparable from the unique theoretical quality of Marxist ethics. Marx, Engels, Lenin, Mao Zedong and others are not scholars in the study, and the fundamental purpose of their theories is not like that of Kant, Hegel and others, who are keen to start from concepts, concepts, and categories, and devote themselves to constructing a certain philosophical and ethical theoretical system, so as to obtain the self-consistency of the logical system and the perfection of moral theory, and then achieve the purpose of transforming the world through rational enlightenment and self-transformation.
On the contrary, the classic writers of Marxist ethics advocate that any theory, principle, and norm expounded by ethics must be put into practice in order to produce value. The classic works of Marxist ethics are derived from the revolutionary practice of the proletariat, and at the same time serve the revolutionary practice of the proletariat, and are tested and continuously developed in practice. It is precisely because of its insistence on the dialectical unity of theory and practice that Marxist ethics has scientifically solved a large number of unresolved and controversial problems in the history of Chinese and foreign ethical thought, correctly answered various complex moral and ethical challenges faced by modern social life, and thus effectively promoted the development of the people's moral practice activities and demonstrated its own theoretical charm and scientific power.
Of course, the Marxist ethical classics do not adopt an intuitive empirical method of argumentation when discussing moral and ethical issues, just as Marx himself pointed out: "If the manifestation of things and the essence of things are directly integrated, all science will become superfluous." Therefore, the classic writers of Marxist ethics mainly reveal the development law of morality and ethics in human society and the basic path for human beings to achieve free and comprehensive development through the analysis and investigation of the inherent contradictions and movements of morality and ethics in the process of historical development and real life, so as to transform Marxist ethics into modern science.
The modern physiognomy of the classic interpretation of traditional Chinese ethics
Although there are extremely rich moral ideological resources such as moral idealism, ethical centrism, and deontomatism in ancient Chinese classics, there is no such sub-discipline of ethics as "History of Chinese Ethical Thought" in ancient China. Of course, this does not affect our construction of an independent knowledge system of Chinese ethics, because Chinese ethical thought has a unique path of self-evolution, and Chinese thinkers of all generations have mainly constructed and expressed a new ethical thought system through the classic interpretation activities of "I Note the Six Classics" and "Six Classics Note Me".
The so-called "I Annotate the Six Classics" is the accurate study and interpretation of the classic texts, while the "Commentary on the Six Classics" is the theoretical construction and ideological expression from the main body of writing, which are both different from each other and related to each other. The former requires that in the understanding of classic texts, interpreters must get rid of personal prejudices, prejudices and customs, and constantly reflect on themselves until they obtain an understanding that is fully compatible with the content of the text; the latter requires that in the interpretation of classic texts, they must provide practical guidance for the development of ethical thought, the development of national spirit, and the value and significance of life in their time. One of the fundamental reasons why Zhu Xi's "Commentary on the Collection of Chapters and Sentences in Four Books" played a huge role in guiding the value of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties is that it has achieved the perfect unity of "I Note the Six Classics" and "Six Classics Note Me". On the one hand, Zhu Xi has done objective and truthful research on the text, grammar, and original meaning of the "Four Books" classics, so that his interpretation level has reached the realm of surpassing his predecessors, and on the other hand, he has created a complete and unified system of scientific thought through cross-text commentary, which is also oriented to reality and the future.
In addition, the reason why we emphasize the modern aspect of the interpretation of traditional Chinese ethical classics is also inseparable from the dynamic integration between knowledge and action that traditional Chinese ethical thought attaches great importance to. In essence, the main interest of ancient Chinese ethicists was not to construct a theoretical system, but to emphasize the harmony between their own thoughts and concrete actions, that is, the unity of words and deeds and the unity of knowledge and action, and to achieve the unity of knowledge and virtue through the practice of their own moral and ethical beliefs. For example, in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, the discussion of the issue of knowledge and action gradually matured, and widely involved the order, difficulty, importance, division and combination of knowledge and action, as well as the method of learning from things. Zhu Xi emphasized "knowledge-oriented" and "knowledge first", he believes that logically speaking, there is a temporal distance between knowledge and action, but in order to conquer this temporal distance and barrier, it is necessary to achieve the unity of knowledge and action and practice through hard action. Wang Yangming advocated that "the truth of knowledge is action, and the clear and conscious observation of action is knowledge", opposing the unity of knowledge and action that is divided first and then combined, emphasizing that knowledge is action, and the heart is reason.
It can be seen that the common feature of ancient Chinese ethicists is the high degree of unity between theoretical rationality and practical rationality, value rationality and instrumental rationality. Although the emphases they emphasize are different, they all attach great importance to the actualization of value ideals, and emphasize the need to put the pursuit of theory into practice, starting from self-cultivation, and implementing the theories they believe in into the practice of their own life through conscious, voluntary, and self-discipline. In other words, it is necessary to strive to realize the "co-existence" relationship between man and the world, that is, through the fit of knowledge and action, to realize the "vision integration" between history and reality, between metaphysics and metaphysics, between value ideals and current life. Therefore, we must strengthen our historical and cultural self-confidence, and continuously promote the construction of an independent knowledge system for the history of Chinese ethical thought through the use of the past for the present and the innovation of the interpretation of traditional Chinese ethical classics.
The Chinese Chinese Context Interpreted by Western Ethical Classics
Since the beginning of modern times, all aspects of traditional Chinese ethics have been impacted by European and American cultures, especially with the introduction of Western education system and subject classification system, Western ethics has become one of the courses of the "philosophy department" or "philosophy department" of modern Chinese universities. In the process of constructing an independent knowledge system of Chinese ethics, how can we correctly view the status and value of Western ethical thought? We must realize that as long as human beings exist as unique animals that are different from other species, they will inevitably have their own essential characteristics, and different types of human civilizations will certainly be able to find exchanges and mutual learning.
From the perspective of the process of modernization, the developed countries of the West have taken the lead in realizing modernization, resulting in many important concepts appearing in Western civilization first. However, this does not mean that these things can only be enjoyed exclusively by Western countries, as long as they are the achievements of advanced material and spiritual civilization shared by mankind, no matter when and where they come from, we should conscientiously study and learn from them with a broad mind and the courage to embrace all rivers. After more than 40 years of hard work in reform and opening up, the mainland's comprehensive national strength has been increasing day by day, and the construction of China's independent knowledge system has become a major issue for China in the new era. In the process of constructing an independent knowledge system of Chinese ethics, it is also necessary for us to separate the essence from the essence of Western ethical thought.
To construct an independent knowledge system of Chinese ethics, it is necessary to vigorously promote the common values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom for all mankind, fully respect the diversity of world civilizations, transcend the estrangement of civilizations through exchanges among civilizations, transcend the clash of civilizations through mutual learning among civilizations, and transcend the superiority of civilizations through the coexistence of civilizations. In particular, it is necessary to constantly eliminate the negative influence of the "hierarchy of civilizations," break through the ideological barriers of the "clash of civilizations," and jointly build a beautiful world in which each has its own beauty and the United States shares the same beauty. In the meantime, it is necessary to pay attention to highlighting the continuity, innovation, unity, inclusiveness, and peacefulness of the Chinese civilization, especially the peacefulness in it, because peace, harmony, and harmony are the concepts that have been passed down by the Chinese civilization for more than 5,000 years, and it is an excellent characteristic of the Chinese civilization to construct a world in which the group and the self are united by moral order. As General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized, Chinese civilization "advocates harmony in transportation and opposes isolation, advocates symbiosis and progress, opposes strongmen following themselves, advocates maintaining harmony and opposes the law of the jungle".
This also determines that the Chinese nation will continue to pursue exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations without engaging in cultural hegemony, and will not impose its own values on other countries and peoples. Because today, with the increasingly frequent cultural exchanges between various nations and countries in the world, cultural islands no longer exist, and only through serious and frank exchanges and dialogues can we fully understand each other's values and concerns, can we achieve the mutual integration of different civilizations in seeking common ground while reserving differences, and highlight the characteristics and values of China's independent knowledge system of ethics in this mutual integration of "you have me and I have you".
The Ethical Practice Roots of the Paradigm Renewal of Applied Ethics in China
In the process of constructing the independent knowledge system of Chinese ethics, applied ethics is undoubtedly a dazzling new star in the discipline group of Chinese ethics. Since the 60s and 70s of the 20th century, applied ethics has rapidly expanded to all fields of human life, showing many dimensions such as political ethics, economic ethics, environmental ethics, bioethics, and network ethics. Applied ethics directly studies the widely controversial moral conflicts and ethical paradoxes that exist in various fields of human life, and it aims to achieve a holistic perspective of the specific human living conditions through efforts that go beyond empirical science, so as to help people make correct moral choices in the face of diverse value conflicts in specific life situations.
In the process of constructing the independent knowledge system of any applied ethics, there is also a tension structure between the interpretation of the discipline classics and the actual moral practice. Taking the study of political ethics as an example, in the classic works of traditional political ethics, the internal consistency of morality and politics is a self-evident axiom. With the acceleration of a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, and the rapid development of digital technology, how to correctly handle the ethical relationship between state power and citizens' rights, such as the protection of citizens' personal privacy and the bridging of the digital divide, has become a hot issue in political ethics research.
In the digital era, the ability to quickly generate, transmit and obtain massive data, and the ability to interact and share multi-dimensional information are putting forward higher and higher requirements for the national governance system and governance capacity. In the meantime, the continuous innovation of the rule system of digital technology will put forward higher and higher requirements for the continuous progress of the discipline paradigm of political ethics. This requires that the development of political ethics must keep pace with the times and continue to respond effectively to the major challenges facing political practice in the digital age.
Just as the American philosopher of science Kuhn pointed out in "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions", the emergence of any kind of scientific paradigm is slowly generated by scientists on the basis of continuous accumulation of their own knowledge, but with the continuous expansion of the connotation of the original paradigm, there will be a large number of anomalies that cannot be accommodated by the original paradigm. It can be seen that all kinds of applied ethics, including political ethics, can gradually construct the independent knowledge system of their disciplines only in the continuity of the old and new paradigms and the dialectical development of stages.
(Source: Guangming Daily, April 15, 2024, page 15; author: Jin Fenglin, professor of the Department of Philosophy Teaching and Research of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China [National Academy of Administration], and special researcher of the Beijing Xi Jinping Research Center for Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era; photo source: "Frontline Theory Circle" WeChat public account.) ）
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