儒家“慎独”思想的现代反思

“慎独”作为儒家道德修养的一个重要德性，一直备受儒家推崇，其最初的含义为“诚意”，指内心的一种精神状态，后理解为个体在独处无人注意时做到思想和言行的谨慎有德，后一种含义多被广泛接受。“慎独”有其一定的境界，即应注重不睹不闻的“隐微”处，“隐”和“微”即为“慎独”的两端。儒家“慎独”作为“入德之方”在个人修身中占据了显著地位，但其最初实为儒家出于为统治阶级服务而推崇的德性，其塑造人民道德高度自律性的性质，是统治阶级管理人民的有效方式。今天我们既要发扬“慎独”注重自身完善的内向思维品质，又应将其从对人的情感压抑中释放出来，伦理存在的价值应建立在真情之上，只有真情投入的道德才会带给人幸福。

Examination of Shendu in Confucianism from the modern perspective

Shendu, which literally means ＂being watchful in solitude＂, is an important moral conduct to cultivate one＇s moral character in Confucianism and has been highly praised by the Confucian. Its initial meaning is ＂sincerity＂, referring to a state of mind. Later it is understood as ＂even when alone, one＇s words and deeds should be cautious and moral＂, which is widely accepted. Shendu is a high level of morality, calling for attention to invisible and inaudible ＂hides＂ and ＂micro＂ places which are the two ends of Shendu. Shendu, as ＂an approach to morality＂, occupies a remarkable place in one＇s moral cultivation. Yet it is at first canonized by the Confucian in order to serve for the ruling class, as its proposal of self-discipline helps the ruling class manage people. Today, the introversive thinking of Shendu, which attaches importance to self-perfection, should be highlighted, while the suppression of human emotion should be discarded. The value of ethics builds on real feeling, and only when real feeling is involved can morality bring people happiness.