Making Practical Use Of Truth:A Study On Tang Junyi’s View Of Moral Practice

As a representative figure of 20 th century Neo-Confucianism in Hong Kong and Taiwan,moral personality is the highest goal and final destination in Tang Junyi’s philosophical system.Moral practice,however,as an important element in achieving this goal,has often been overlooked.Moral practice is the act of seeking the ideal purpose of reasonableness in moral life through the mind that relies on the moral practice of benevolence.In the first chapter,from the ontology of Tang Junyi’s moral metaphysics,the essay elaborates the sources of his moral practice view from five aspects,including heaven,moral self,and moral personality.The self-nature of life existence is goodness,and the basis or metaphysical root of its goodness is heaven.Goodness and morality are based on the perception of the human mind,which is a conscious pursuit of the Way of Heaven.It is morality that connects human nature and the Way of Heaven,realizing the unity of the two.Therefore,man’s transcendence of the real self and his conscious pursuit of goodness is actually the path to return to his formal roots.Tang Junyi believes that above the real self,there must exist a perfect self that transcends reality.The ideal self is a reflection of the real self,a conscious ethical demand for the real self and a desire for continuous improvement of oneself.As the tendency of human materialization gradually increases,more and more people feel the illusion of life.Based on this,Tang Junyi also gives his own reflections.He believes that the authenticity of life existence needs to be accomplished through morality,and the real life existence is the presentation of moral personality.In the continuous realization of the limited self,people begin to seek transcendence outwardly.The second chapter deals with the content of moral practice in the process of expanding the circle of the closed self.The world of the moral mind thus becomes a world of moral personality.Through the reflection of this mind,each moral mind can take in each other,thus building a moral personality world with the goal of achieving moral personality.The starting point for the construction of this world is the ordinary and simple,and it is in the moral practice of dealing with others here that we know that the realm of human life can be continuously expanded and elevated.The moral practice in daily life is also important to human beings.After realizing the limitations of their own existence,human beings need to try to step out of themselves to others and realize the continuous expansion and improvement of their realm of life in the act of sympathy and mutual help between human beings.In this process,moral responsibility will naturally arise in the face of all kinds of things in real life.In the moral practice of family life,political life and cultural life,one feels the mandate of heaven and does what is right.In the moral practice of treating others,we can continue to rise in spirit,realize the perfection of our personality,feel the true moral life in the moral practice,and thus achieve moral personality.In such a process of moral practice,we can realize the true moral life by "consciously dominating ourselves".