孟子对语言的认识与探求

孟子认为自己的“好辩”是不得已,是为了“正人心,息邪说”,与当时的纵横游士之辩是截然不同的,所以孟子在论辩时始终坚守道义,高扬自我精神,处处体现出大丈夫的气概。孟子自认为“知言”,并善养“浩然之气”。“知言”和“养气”都是孟子道德修养学说的重要内容。在孟子看来,言语与一个人的人格修养、精神气质有着密切的关系。孟子始终围绕政治伦理来阐述语言的社会功能。孟子非常著名的“以意逆志”的观点,从文本解释学或者说从受传者的角度对言与意的关系作了深刻的阐述,提出了怎么解读文本,怎么求得语言的意义的途径。

Mencius and His Understanding and Exploration of Language

The present paper attempts to reexamine how Mencius understood and explored the question of language.He adhered to morality and justice and advocated self-improvement when conducting debates,thus showing his manliness.The philosopher believed that he knew well about human speech and was adept at fostering moral character.According to Mencius,the way one speaks is closely linked to one's personality,self-cultivation and temperament.Mencius focused on political ethics when expounding the social functions of language and he discussed the relationship between speech and meaning by proposing how to read a text so as to determine language meaning.