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1、franklinperkinsMENCIUS,EMOTION,ANDAUTONOMY1EmotionandAutonomy“Emotion”and“autonomy”inthetitleofanarticleonMenciusleapoutasbeingimmediatelyproblematic.Thetext,Mencius,containsnowordsthatcorrespondtoeither“emotion”or“autonomy.”Moreimportant,bothwordsareimpli
2、catedinaWesterncontextofoppositionsandsepa-rations:betweenemotionandreason,afacultythatfeelsandafacultythatthinks,emotionandautonomy,passionandaction,andevenbodyandmind.AlloftheseoppositionsaremoreorlessforeigntothethoughtofMencius.Why,then,takeontheissues
3、withsuchaninauspi-ciousbeginning?First,Menciuscoversthesameterrainasemotionandautonomy,andindeed,therelationshipbetweenfeelingandself-cultivationisacentralethicalissueforMencius.Thus,althoughheneverusesawordcorre-spondingto“emotion,”Menciusspeaksofparticul
4、arstatesthatwewouldconsideremotions,suchascommiseration,love,andanxiety.2Ifthereisanycommoncategoryfortheseparticularstates,theyareattributesofxin,theheart-mind.Hence,afeltaversiontowitnessingsufferingis“axinofnot-bearing[thesuffering]ofothers”(Mencius2A:6
5、).3Else-where,adiscipleasksMenciuswhatkindofxinoneshouldhavewhengivinggiftsamongfriends,andMenciusanswers“respect”(5B:4).Inthesepassages,xincouldbetranslatedasfeelingoras“heart,”thefac-ultyoffeeling.Thecategoryofattributesofxin,however,isbroaderthanthecate
6、goryofemotionoraffectivestates.Forexample,whatwewouldcallpeaceofmindiscalledbyMenciusan“unperturbedxin”(2A:2).Inanotherpassage,Menciussaysthatxin’sofficeistothink(si;6A15).Hereitseemswecouldtranslatexinas“mind,”butitwouldbeamistaketosaythatxinsometimesmeans
7、“heart”andsometimesmeans“mind.”Rather,Menciusdoesnotmakethisdistinction;heattributesbothemotionandreasontothesamefaculty.Aswithemotions,althoughthereisnowordfor“autonomy,”MenciusiscommittedtotheideathatFRANKLINPERKINS,assistantprofessor,DepartmentofPhiloso
8、phy,DePaulUniversity,Chicago,IL.Specialties:modernEuropeanphilosophy,earlyChinesephilosophy.E-mail:franklinperkins@hotmail.comJournalofChinesePhilosophy29:2(June2002)207–226©2002JournalofChinesePhilosophy208f
