When answering the question of where human knowledge came from, Confucius had no idea about the origin of knowledge. He said: "Those who are born with knowledge are also superior; Those who learn and know, second; Therefore, learn it, secondly; If you don't learn, you will be next. " (Ji Shi) Here, on the one hand, he advocates the idealistic transcendentalism of "knowing from birth", on the other hand, he admits the materialism of "learning and knowing". These are two fundamentally opposite propositions, which are obvious dualism. But on the whole, Confucius' view of knowing and doing has its valuable materialistic and dialectical factors.
(a) There is a simple materialistic factor in the source of knowledge. Although he admits that there is a "natural knower", that is, a "genius" born in the womb. But he didn't say who he knew from birth, and publicly admitted that he was a "learned man". He said: "I didn't know it from birth, so I sought it from ancient times." (Book) is diligent and agile knowledge. He also said, "What's wrong with me if I study silently and never tire of learning and never tire of teaching?" This has put itself in the category of "knowing what you are trapped in". In his educational practice, he even practiced the idea of "learning and knowing". This emphasis on knowledge comes from acquired learning, which is essentially a materialistic theory of knowledge origin.
(2) There are many regular viewpoints in the process of cognition. First of all, Confucius paid more attention to what he heard and knew. He said: "smell more, choose the good one and follow it;" I know after watching too much, and I know again. "("Shuer ") is to listen more and see more in the process of understanding. Obey when you hear good things, and you will know when you look more. This is the order of understanding. In a certain sense, this is in line with materialist empiricism. Secondly, Confucius emphasized the unity of knowledge and action in the process of cognition. Confucius believes that the measure of a person's academic performance is not how many books he has read, but whether he can use what he has learned to solve practical problems. He said: "reciting 300 poems and teaching them to be political can't be achieved;" "Make it everywhere, not just right; Although a lot, what do you think? " ("Luz") means that you are familiar with 300 poems in the Book of Songs and let you engage in government affairs, but you can't do it; It's no use sending you to other countries, but you can't negotiate independently. Although you have read a lot, it is useless. This idea of distinguishing reading quality by the effect of learning in use is not only correct at that time, but also correct now. He also said: "Learning from time to time" ("Learning from time to time"), "Sexual similarity, learning from time to time is far away" ("Yang Huo"). In other words, learning must always be practiced in the actual environment, and the essence of ordinary people is similar, but due to the differences in education and living environment, the differences between everyone are more and more obvious. Everyone here emphasizes "learning" and advocates applying what they have learned. That's a good idea. Moreover, he not only regards behavior as the purpose of learning, but also puts forward the idea of testing knowledge by behavior. He has a famous saying: "Listen to what he says and watch what he does." ("Gongye Chang") and advocated that "words must be feasible" ("Lutz"), that is, words must be possible. It's a pity that you talk too much and can't actually do it. This is not only a summary of the theory of the unity of knowledge and action, but also emphasizes the standard of checking knowledge by action, which is a very regular opinion.
(3) There are abundant dialectical factors in cognitive methodology. First of all, he realized that knowledge and ignorance are dialectical. He said: "Knowing is knowing, not knowing is not knowing, but knowing." This statement not only shows that we should have an honest attitude towards knowledge, but also shows the unity of opposites between knowing and not knowing. He believes that self-knowledge "ignorance" is also a kind of "knowledge" because it is the beginning of further understanding. Secondly, he came into contact with the dialectics of right and wrong in his knowledge. He said: "A threesome must learn from each other's strengths, choose the good one and follow it, and change the bad one." This is a valuable contribution to China's ancient cognitive history. Confucius not only advocated learning from "goodness", but also advocated learning from "evil" and "correcting". This is what we are talking about now, and we should pay attention to the special role of "negative teachers". He also claimed that he had known and changed. "If you don't change, it will be too much." (Wei Linggong) If you make a mistake and don't correct it, you will add another one to it. Third, there are dialectical views on the basis and deepening of understanding. He said: "It is useless to learn without thinking, and it is dangerous to think without learning." (Politics) That is to say, if you only study without thinking, you will be confused and have no income; Thinking without reading will make your mind empty, confused and dangerous. Zhang Xuesi, the master of Confucius, paid equal attention to learning, thought in learning, skill in thinking, combination of learning and thinking, and equal attention to learning and thinking, using each other. He summed up his experience of "learning and knowing" and said: "I have never eaten all day and stayed up all night (qǐn, sleeping). It's useless to think, it's better to learn. " (Wei Linggong)
(4) There are some ways to summarize the unity of old and new opposites in knowledge. He has a famous saying, "review the past and learn the new", which emphasizes that you should review what you have learned frequently in order to "practice makes perfect" and "be a teacher" (politics). This is in line with the dialectics that old and new knowledge are inseparable. On the issue of knowledge, we also have a dialectical mind about talents. He not only advocated listening to words and observing deeds in the theory of knowing and doing, but also came into contact with dialectical analysis in talent science. He said: "A gentleman does not attract people with his words, nor does he abolish them with others." (Wei Linggong) In other words, don't listen to your good words, but don't waste them on people. This kind of thinking is very dialectical, not because of words, nor because of human words. In a word, Confucius' attitude towards learning. There are rich and desirable dialectical views on the methods of seeking knowledge and becoming a talent. He also synthesized his own ideas in this regard and set four musts: sloppy (don't be casual); Don't be arbitrary; Not solid (don't be opinionated); Don't care about me (don't just care about yourself) (Zi Han). This is a very valuable insight. As a versatile educator, historian, political activist and expert in classical literature, Confucius is unparalleled among ancient philosophers in China. Under the control of the ideas of "believing in the past" and "learning from the past", he sorted out, developed and disseminated China's historical and cultural heritage, and his influence and contribution are widely known all over the world.
Confucius' dialectical methodology is also reflected in the "golden mean" mentioned only once in the Analects of Confucius. Confucius said: "The golden mean is also a virtue, even worse!" The people have been fresh for a long time. "("Yongye ") That is to say, as a kind of morality, the" golden mean "is the highest! But the people have long lacked this morality. The "golden mean" means "the middle way", that is, reconciling and compromising contradictions, which can neither go to extremes nor intensify contradictions. He thinks that the radical disciple "teacher () has passed" and the conservative disciple "Shang () is not as good as" and "too much is not as good as" ("advanced"), both of which are not in line with the golden mean. He believes that a gentleman should be "Thai but not arrogant; Wei is not fierce. " ("Yao Ri") Not proud of Antai; Not fierce because of majesty. He even talked about fishing and bird shooting in moderation. According to the Analects of Confucius, Confucius "fished without a net, swam without shooting for the night." "In his view, fishing with a net and shooting birds in the nest are all excesses. So one of Confucius' disciples had a son who said, "Harmony is the most important thing. "(Learning while Learning) As far as its methodology is concerned, this doctrine of the mean has its reasonable factors. The so-called golden mean is the middle way of tolerance, and arbitration is enough. The middle way, that is, the golden mean, is the traditional thought of ancient Greece. The mathematician Pythagoras once said: "The golden mean is the foundation of all things. "The Archon of Athens believes that the doctrine of the mean is to prevent extremes, and advocates that" freedom should not be excessive and coercion should not be excessive. " Philosopher Democritus said, "When people go too far, the most comfortable thing becomes the most uncomfortable thing. "There are striking similarities in history. Mao Zedong also pointed out: "Confucius' view of the mean is Confucius' great discovery and achievement." (Selected Letters of Mao Zedong, page 147)
The main merit of Confucius lies in "mediocrity". "Use" has three meanings: one is "invariability", that is, law, while "middle" is an objective law that is stable and unchangeable (referring to the normal and unchangeable trend), and "in use" is a fundamental law that is stable and unchangeable. The second is "use", that is, application, that is, putting the principle of "neutrality" into practice; Third, ordinary and mediocre, that is, taking "neutrality" as the normal principle and "use" as the purpose, use has become the normal way. This is extremely important to the reality of "harmony", "balance", "harmony is precious" and unity and friendship.
In a word, we should adopt a realistic analytical attitude towards Confucius' philosophical thought, take its essence and discard its dross as an important reference for spiritual civilization and new culture construction. In particular, there is a scientific truth in Confucius' educational thought. He attaches importance to moral education in education and educates students to reflect three times a day: whether they are loyal to helping others; Whether the communication with friends is honest and credible; Whether to review the teacher's teaching often. And ask yourself not to forget to study at any time. He often says: when studying, he is afraid of not learning, and when he learns, he is afraid of losing. He also said, "In a threesome, there must be a teacher." It is a bigger mistake to advocate learning and changing it, and learning and not changing it. All these reflect the humble character that educators should also be educated. It can be said that Confucius is unparalleled among ancient philosophers and educators, and his extensive influence and great contribution are well known to the world. Confucius should be respected, and respecting Confucius means respecting the culture of the Chinese nation. Confucius has a great influence in the world. No matter in the east or the west, Confucius' thoughts have attracted the attention and research of all countries in the world.
Section 5 Sun Tzu's Art of War at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period
Sun Wu, the grandson, was named Changqing, the founder of ancient military strategists and the greatest master of military science in ancient China. The year of birth and death is unknown, the same age as Confucius. It was the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, when wars were the most frequent and vassal mergers were the fiercest. Its main activity year is around 5 14 ~ 496 BC. Originally from Qi, he fled to Wu (now Wuxi and Suzhou, Jiangsu). According to the History of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Sun Wuxian lived in seclusion in Luofu Mountain in Soochow. By chance, he met the hunter Wu Zixu and became friends. On the recommendation of Wu Zixu, he took the first 13 article of Sun Tzu's Art of War to visit He Lv, the king of Wu. He thought he would defeat Chu in the west and Qi Jin in the north and dominate for a while. Sun Tzu's Art of War has 13 articles, also known as Sun Tzu, written by Sun Wu. This is not only recorded in Historical Records and Sikuquanshu, but also proved to be written by Sun Wu by studying the bamboo slips of the early Western Han Dynasty unearthed in Lushan, Linyi, Shandong Province. Sun Tzu's Art of War is the earliest military book in China, a pearl in the history of ancient Chinese military art, and the crystallization of practical experience in the merger war since the Spring and Autumn Period. It is praised as "the sacred book of military science" and "the teacher of a hundred schools of thought" by the world military community. It has rich philosophical thoughts and is the military application of China's ancient materialism and dialectics.