From Moral Practice To Social Order

Social order has always been the core issue of sociology.Durkheim pointed out that collective consciousness is the basis of social solidarity in the study of social order.For China,the collective consciousness of society is closely related to traditional thought,especially Confucianism.Understanding the relationship between Confucianism and social order in the past is of great significance for people to better deal with the relationship between their culture and modernity.Yangming school of mind is regarded as the last peak of the development of traditional Confucianism.which inherits the thought of the previous Confucian scholars,starting from the "Mind is Theory",Wang establishing the "Innate knowing" on the basis of "To Attain Knowledge by Investigating Thing" and "Unity of Knowledge and practice",by unify ethics and heaven and establish the relationship between morality and social order.With the continuous internalization of ethics in the individual consciousness and the practice in the world of life,the order finally appears in the action of the individual life world.The way in which this moral practice and social order is established is also shared by the whole of Confucianism.On the basis of "Humanity is originally good",Yangming school of mind and Confucianism began to establish a stable paradigm-from abstract metaphysical 'Natural law" to "ethical rules" of concrete practice,and the legitimacy of its thought often resort to individual experience and moral qualities,this feature makes Confucianism in the community have deep-rooted precipitation,which has tenacious vitality.However,this feature also leads to the limitations ofthought itself,which limit the formation of rational quality that related to the modernization.Nevertheless,it does not mean that there is a conflict between Confucianism and modernization.With the help of dialectical development,Confucianism can be seen as a dynamic process of change,that is,Confucianism has "Not yet" been completed,its features such as pluralistic and openness that show an opportunity to the development of Confucianism.The potential danger of modernity,which may lead to the weakening of collective consciousness,can be helped by inheriting and learning positive ideas from Yangming school and Confucianism,which also has the positive function to improve the quality of spiritual life and build a harmonious social order.