Introduction to the Special Issue

Yang Guorong

Professor of philosophy, East China Normal University

Wang Yangming’s philosophy plays an important role in the development of Chinese philosophy. Taking the heart-mind (xin) as the foundation, Wang not only makes an important shift in philosophical horizons, but also demonstrates his endeavor to explore the nature of the world and his concern with human values. Needless to say, designating the heart-mind as the original substance betrays a speculative inclination; however, its underlying purpose is to call attention to how the external world manifests itself in humanity. Wang’s emphasis on the individual consciousness constitutes an important dimension of his philosophical inquiry. Wang believes the individual’s self-awareness shows up as innate knowledge (liangzhi), which is primarily related to the being of the self and serves as the source of personal qualities. Specifi cally, innate knowledge is manifested as the individual’s moral consciousness, which is the basis for making ethical choices and moral evaluations. Wang’s epistemological concern, with the heart-mind as the substance, is combined with his sense of responsibility, as entailed by innate knowledge, which leads to a sentiment about the world best captured by the assertion that “the myriad things and I form one body.” This assertion has two aspects. First, there is no distinction between others and the self. Second, there is no distinction between things and the self. The first aspect addresses the interaction between the self and others, and the second concerns the unity of the self and the external world. Wang’s theory of the unity of knowledge and action further lays the foundation for putting his assertion into effect.

Wang Yangming’s philosophy of the heart-mind is more than a theory of the past. From a metaphysical point of view, it is to understand the meaningfulness of the world in terms of the relationship between humans and the world, rather than to paint a picture of existence external to humans through speculative reason. In terms of its practical signifi cance, Wang’s philosophy, along with other traditional Chinese thought, helps to lay the foundation for the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind. This community neither belongs to a realm which is yet unknown and external to humans, nor exists as an object of knowledge in the world before humans; instead, the community is manifested as a meaningful world through human activities and is the very place where humans live. In fact, the epistemological concern entailed by the philosophy of the heartmind serves as a logical starting point for people to accept and identify with the community. In more general terms, Wang’s focus on the heart-mind as the substance also reveals the promotion of independent thinking and free exploration, thus providing guidance on the innovative development of traditional Chinese thought and culture.

As a central part of Wang Yangming’s philosophy of the heart-mind, the theory of innate knowledge not only transcends moral spontaneity but also sublates moral apathy. It plays the role of awakening the individual’s moral self-awareness, complemented by the establishment of good moral order; both have normative content. Wang combines the process of “extending innate knowledge” with “all things attaining their principle.” The combination is inherently oriented toward establishing a moral order in accordance with moral norms, purporting to promote the moral practice of uniting knowledge and action. As can be seen, Wang’s philosophy of the heart-mind, founded more than five hundred years ago, is still full of vitality today.