“礼”的伦理意蕴

"礼"最初带有宗教色彩,经过夏商周三代,"礼"完成了向伦理范畴的转变。作为处理人伦关系的准则,践行"礼"的前提是"正名",而"礼"的各种规定又维护了"正名"所确立的人伦关系。作为一种伦理精神,"礼"主要体现在诚、敬、序、履四个方面。从本质而言,"礼"设计了伦理实体,规定了人伦关系,体现了个体性向实体性回归的伦理精神。

The Ethical Meaning of "Li"

At first,the"ceremony" had a strong religious color.Through three dynasties of Xia,Shang and Zhou until Confucius,the"ceremony" had changed into the category of the ethics.As the norm of dealing with the relationship between the people,the prerequisite of practicing"ceremony"is"rectify the name".At the same time,various provisions of"ceremony"uphold the relationship between people which is established by the"rectify the name".As an ethical spirit,the profound meaning is mainly reflected in the honesty, respect,order and practice.In essence,the"ceremony"designs the ethical entity and stipulates the relationship between people,reflects the ethical spirit of the individual returning to the entity.