"Exhausting Wisdom To See Virtue" - A Study On Mou Zongsan's Theory Of Knowledg

Mu Zongsan’s handling of the relationship between knowledge and morality reflects the context of "exhausting wisdom to see virtue".The purpose of "exhausting wisdom",of course,is to highlight the limitation of cognitive mind,but this is not the ultimate aim.The purpose of highlighting the limitation of cognitive mind,beyond doubt,is to force the moral subject to change from the field of cognition to the field of morality.The two fields,however,are not completely dichotomous.They are rather just one field,displaying different faces to different subjects."exhausting wisdom to see virtue",therefore,should be understood from the perspective of subject.The emergence of the moral field,moreover,is not based on the negation of the knowledge field,but directly based on the knowledge field by the transformation of the subject,or giving it value and significance."exhausting wisdom",in other words,neither exhausts knowledge from the content,nor belittles and separates knowledge from the status,but emphasizes to fully display the function and status of the intellectual subject from the perspective of the subject,exhausts the whole cognitive process of the cognitive heart,in an effort to highlight its limitations;"see virtue" forces the moral subject from the exhausting cognitive heart.It can be transformed or upgraded from the field of knowledge to the field of morality.In Mu Zongsan’s epistemology and moral philosophy,the two stages of "exhausting wisdom" and "see virtue" should be regarded as an organic whole: the process of "exhausting wisdom",without doubt,already contains "see virtue",and "see virtue" should be based on "exhausting wisdom".The breakthrough,furthermore,starts from the display of the limitations of the mind of cognition,and then reveals the moral subject.This process has been reflected in the following four aspects.First,the moral construction of cognitive mind is the starting point of "exhausting wisdom to see virtue".Mu Zongsan first gives a kind of moral meaning to the logical starting point "physiological sense" of cognition and the material it provides.He uses causality to ensure intuitive certainty,and then uses the heavenly heart of Tao as the ultimate guarantee of causality.In the aspect of objectification of mind,it takes perception,imagination and understanding as the three kinds of deformation of mind,borrows Kant’s "comprehending synthesis in intuition","regenerating synthesis in imagination" and "recognized synthesis in concept",exhausts all the elements and functions of cognitive mind,displays them in full,and finally forces the moral subject from the intellectual subject.The core meaning of this process is to highlight the extreme point of "wisdom".Using wisdom can not make life obtain real value.The activity of wisdom itself is a kind of right,which is a temporary trap.It has to be a burden to the real world.But we can’t stop here.Only by jumping out of this state and entering into the moral realm-"see virtue"-can we get the true meaning of life and truly realize the value of life,which is the inevitable pursuit of life itself.It’s a must to fall into the trap,but only in this way can we obtain knowledge;it’s a must to jump out of the trap,only in this way can we get the value of life.They are the dual responsibility and pursuit of life to the real world and the value world.Second,the moralization of ontology and cosmology,certainly,is manifested in the construction of the transcendental level of cognitive mind.When starting the whole process of the development of epistemology,Mu Zongsan took the way of logical construction,from epistemology to moral noumenon.This subject,as the eventual guarantee of the moral creation of the universe,is further developed into the cosmological construction of ontology with four transcendental synthetical propositions.The relationship between noumenon and the world,therefore,can only be understood from the perspective of morality.Noumenon has been moral noumenon,from which the universe is moral noumenon.The moral consciousness of noumenon,nevertheless,links up the moral order and the cosmic order,making them one.Third,the moral field which the intuition of intelligence reveals needs to be borne by the material itself.The intuition of intelligence,in addition,appears in the promotion of the cognitive mind and the transformation beyond the face.It is the perceptual induction ability of the conscious body.We,with this ability,may restore the original appearance of things,namely,to know the object itself directly and present the value of the object itself.Mu Zongsan turns Kantian intuition into the concept and ability of pure moral meaning,as a kind of spiritual knowledge which can realize the ultimate purpose and value of all things.The material itself,as sure as a gun,becomes the bearer of pure moral field,and it shows the whole moral world.Mu Zongsan,on the basis of both,established two-layer ontology framework,a fact achieved the phenomenal and moral circles,and finally led by moral metaphysics.Fourth,moral metaphysics is the end of exhausting wisdom to see virtue.Mu Zongsan understood metaphysics with ontology.Noumenon is the moral noumenon with the meaning of creation.Metaphysics also has the meaning of moral creation and realization.Morality and metaphysics are an analytical relationship.In this regard,moral metaphysics is moral ontology.Mou Zongsan rejected Kant’s "moral judgment of philosophy" through rational criticism,and regarded morality as only practice and presentation.All things are the result of knowledge,self-awareness and constant creation.The three meanings of moral rationality,which cut off the current,follow the waves,and cover the universe,fully express the creation process.Mu Zongsan’s the integration of China and the West and the absorbing of Kant aim at establishing Chinese philosophy philosophically.We,using the advantages of Western philosophical logic and epistemology,can establish a philosophical discourse system for the expression of Chinese philosophy.When dealing with the relationship between knowledge and morality in the way of "exhausting wisdom to see virtue",Mu Zongsan had the intention of "philosophically establishing Chinese philosophy".Mu Zongsan,through the communication between China and the west,established his epistemology which showed the unique characteristics of Chinese philosophy.The transformation of "exhausting wisdom to see virtue" and the idea of "unity of wisdom and virtue" render another perspective for us to deal with the relationship between ethics and science and technology,human development and natural law,thus it has the value of the times.The way of communicating between China and the West,in addition,strongly shows that Chinese philosophy needs a mirror that is western philosophy.Compared with it,the philosophy and meaning of traditional philosophy,which are more tacit and more dependent on understanding,may be expressed and conveyed in a more clear way.Hence,no matter from the perspective of traditional Chinese philosophy,methodology or theoretical innovation,this way of communication,beyond question,has outstanding value and enlightening significance.