The Four Dimensions of Wang Yangming’s “Extension of Innate Knowledge”

“Extension of innate knowledge” (zhi liangzhi) is the core concept of Wang Yangming’s School of Mind. He once said, “All my life’s teaching has been only the three words ‘extension of innate knowledge.’” In Wang Yangming’s view, innate knowledge, as the standard for judging right and wrong, has as its substantive content the Heavenly Principle, justice, and righteousness, and its characteristic is that it is a priori, “that is, what is called ‘the mind that discerns right and wrong is possessed by all people,’ something that is learned without study and obtained without deliberation.” Therefore, “extension of innate knowledge” means “extending” the inherently good substance, or the Heavenly Principle, justice, and righteousness, that is a priori internal to the human heart. However, because people cannot have a genuine understanding of innate knowledge and regard the character “extend” as too simple and too casual, very few can actually “extend innate knowledge,” that is, “all because they have not seen innate knowledge truly, and moreover have regarded the character ‘extend’ as too easy, and therefore most have no place to gain strength.” This necessitates an inquiry into the ultimate meaning of “extension of innate knowledge.” Examining Wang Yangming’s relevant discussions on “extension of innate knowledge,” its ultimate meaning may be manifested in the following four dimensions.

“致良知”是王阳明心学的核心观念，他曾言“吾平生讲学，只是‘致良知’三字”。在王阳明看来，良知作为判断是非的标准，其实质内容是天理、公正、道义，其特点则是先验的，“即所谓‘是非之心，人皆有之’，不待学而有，不待虑而得者也”。因此，“致良知”就是“致”先天内在于人心的善体或天理、公正、道义。可是，由于人们不能对良知有真切的认知，且将“致”字看得太简单、太草率，从而能实际地“致良知”者极少，即“皆缘见得良知未真，又将致字看太易了，是以多未有得力处”。这就需要对“致良知”的究竟义进行一番追问。考之王阳明“致良知”相关论述，其究竟义或展现为如下四个维度。

The Dimension of Cultivating the Root of Goodness

培植善根之维

The so-called dimension of “cultivating the root of goodness” refers to the cultivation, accumulation, and enhancement of the inherently good substance that is a priori internal to the human heart through “extension of innate knowledge.” Wang Yangming believed that although everyone possesses an a priori inherently good substance, not everyone is conscious of this good substance. To prevent this good substance from being lost or obscured, it is necessary to awaken people’s awareness of their own good substance, enabling them to recognize that the good substance exists objectively and to consciously guard and protect it. Hence, “extension of innate knowledge” in this sense is “cultivating the root of goodness.” Wang Yangming once summarized, “In general, my theory of extending innate knowledge… is like planting: extending innate knowledge is cultivating the vitality of the root so that it reaches the branches and leaves.” So-called “extension of innate knowledge” means, like cultivating a species, focusing on the cultivation and nourishment of the good substance, making it firm, robust, and full. However, because the good substance internal to the “mind,” such as the Heavenly Principle, is often eroded and diminished by selfish intentions, it is necessary to “accumulate good virtue” to supplement it. Wang Yangming emphasized, “Accumulating righteousness is just extending innate knowledge. If one can accumulate righteousness on ordinary days, then the flood-like qi will be supremely great and supremely impartial, filling heaven and earth, and naturally wealth and honor cannot make one licentious, poverty and lowliness cannot make one waver, and power and force cannot make one yield.” [1]1 This is a reference to the Mencius (c. 4th century BCE), where the concept of “flood-like qi” (浩然之氣) is described as a vast, righteous energy cultivated through moral action. So-called “accumulating righteousness” means gathering all kinds of goodness to achieve the supremely great and supremely impartial virtue, filling the universe without any gap, so that people can achieve not being seduced by wealth and honor, not being shaken by poverty and lowliness, and not being subdued by power and force. Therefore, “accumulating righteousness” is accumulating good virtue. And since “extension of innate knowledge” is “accumulating righteousness,” “extension of innate knowledge” requires people to continuously accumulate good virtue, not refraining from doing good because it is small, in order to ensure that the good substance is nourished. Wang Yangming also believed that although everyone possesses an a priori good substance, if they are self-enclosed and cannot continuously absorb external virtues to nourish and enrich their own good substance, it is difficult to ensure the continuous enhancement and illumination of the good substance. Hence, it is necessary to “see the worthy and think of equaling them.” [2]2 This is a phrase from the Analects of Confucius (c. 5th century BCE), Book 4, Chapter 17, encouraging self-improvement by emulating virtuous people. Wang Yangming once “recorded good people to encourage himself” and considered that “this is also to hear much and see much and remember, which is the effort of extending innate knowledge.” In his view, “extension of innate knowledge” means recording the moving deeds of good people, taking them as models, and emulating them, thereby transforming the goodness of others into one’s own goodness. Thus, “extension of innate knowledge” also means opening one’s mind to absorb all virtuous elements from outside, so as to enrich and enhance the good substance that is a priori in the “mind.” It can be seen that “extension of innate knowledge” as cultivating the root of goodness actually requires people to have confidence in their own goodness, carefully cultivate it to solidify the good substance; to accumulate good energy in daily life to enrich the good substance; and to actively learn from the excellent, transforming their goodness into one’s own to enhance the good substance. In essence, the dimension of cultivating the root of goodness in “extension of innate knowledge” requires people to solidify and strengthen their inherent good substance, thereby consolidating the foundation of being human.

所谓“培植善根”之维，是指“致良知”对先天内在于人心之善体的培育、累积与增宏。王阳明认为，虽然人人具有先天善体，但并非都能自觉到这种善体。要想这种善体不被丢失或遮蔽，必须唤醒人们对自我善体的觉悟，使人们认识到善体客观存在，并自觉固守、保护这种善体。因而这个意义上的“致良知”，便是“培育善根”。王阳明曾总结“凡鄙人所谓致良知之说……譬之种植，致良知者，是培其根本之生意而达之枝叶者也”。所谓“致良知”，就是要像培育物种一样，专注于善体的培育、滋养，使其得以贞固、壮实和饱满。不过，由于内在于“心”之善体，如天理，常常遭受私意的侵蚀而亏减，因此需要“累积善德”以补益之。王阳明强调，“集义只是致良知”，“若平日能集义，则浩然之气至大至公，充塞天地，自然富贵不能淫，贫贱不能移，威武不能屈”。所谓“集义”，便是积聚众善成就至大至公之德，以充满宇宙而无任何空隙，从而使人们能做到不被富贵所诱惑、不被贫贱所动摇、不被威武所屈服，故“集义”就是累积善德。而“致良知”是“集义”，所以“致良知”便是要求人们持续积累善德，不以善小而不为，以保证善体得到滋养。王阳明还认为，虽然人人具有先天善体，但如果自我封闭而不能持续地吸收身外的美德以滋养、丰富自己的善体，便难以保证善体的持续增宏与光明，因而需要“见贤思齐”。王阳明曾“录善人以自勉”，并认为“此亦多闻多见而识，乃是致良知之功”。在他看来，“致良知”就是通过记录善人的感人事迹，并以之为榜样，向他们看齐，从而将他人之善转化为己之善。因而，“致良知”也意味着敞开胸怀吸收身外所有美德元素，以使先验于“心”的善体得到充实和增宏。可见，作为培植善根的“致良知”，实际上就是要求人们自信其善，悉心培育，以固牢善体；就是要求人们在日常生活中累积善能，以丰厚善体；就是要求人们平时积极向优秀者学习，化他善为己善，以增宏善体。质言之，“致良知”培植善根之维，就是要求人们固牢、壮大本有之善体，从而巩固做人之根本。

The Dimension of Removing Selfishness and Cleansing Filth

去私除污之维

The so-called dimension of “removing selfishness and cleansing filth” refers to the removal of selfish intentions and the washing away of filth through “extension of innate knowledge.” Wang Yangming wrote, “The learning of the gentleman is to illuminate his mind. His mind is originally not obscured, but desires obscure it and habits harm it. Therefore, removing the obscuration and harm restores its brightness; it is not obtained from outside.” That is to say, the human mind is obscured by dwelling in selfish desires and stained with filth by habits, thus requiring removal and cleansing, and the method of removal and cleansing is “extension of innate knowledge.” So, how does one “extend innate knowledge” to remove selfishness and cleanse filth? First, one must “extend innate knowledge” sincerely. Wang Yangming believed that people all pursue wealth and honor and all obey the commands of their fathers and elder brothers, but if abandoning wealth and honor is for another purpose, or if filial piety to one’s father and respect for one’s elder brother are driven by selfish motives, then this “extension of innate knowledge” is mixed with selfish intentions. “When one should abandon wealth and honor, one abandons wealth and honor; this is just extending innate knowledge. When one should obey the commands of one’s father and elder brother, one obeys the commands of one’s father and elder brother; this is also just extending innate knowledge. In weighing the轻重 [importance] between them, if there is the slightest selfish intention, innate knowledge itself will be uneasy.” Thus, abandoning wealth and honor and obeying one’s father and elder brother both have ulterior motives and are mixed with selfish intentions. Therefore, “extension of innate knowledge” must be sincere. Second, one must “extend innate knowledge” with singleness of mind. Wang Yangming believed that “extension of innate knowledge” must be single-minded; one cannot be half-hearted, cannot have a mind that calculates success or failure, and cannot have love, hate, acceptance, or rejection intermingled within it. Otherwise, there will be a separation of inner and outer, and one cannot generate feelings of self-satisfaction and self-joy. On this, he wrote, “If one says, ‘I would rather not finish the task, but I cannot fail to cultivate [my mind],’ this is also first having a mind of utility, calculating success, failure, advantage, and disadvantage, and having love, hate, acceptance, and rejection intermingled within it. Therefore, finishing the task is made into one thing, and cultivation is made into another thing. This is the intention of affirming the inner and negating the outer; it is selfishness and the use of cleverness.” Hence, “extension of innate knowledge” must be single-minded. Finally, one must “extend innate knowledge” impartially. Wang Yangming took judging a case as an example, arguing that one should not favor a litigant because of their glib tongue, should not punish a litigant severely because of dislike, and should not comply with a litigant because of their pleas, for all these are due to selfish motives. Wang Yangming emphasized, “All these various meanings are selfish; only you yourself know them. You must carefully examine and overcome them, fearing that this mind has the slightest bias, distorting people’s right and wrong. This is the investigation of things and the extension of knowledge.” If judging a case involves favoritism and fraud, without any impartiality, then selfish desires run rampant, and naturally one cannot remove selfishness and cleanse filth. Therefore, the dimension of removing selfishness and cleansing filth tells people that when implementing or realizing “innate knowledge,” they must have a sincere mind, a single-minded mind, and an impartial mind. Only then can they thoroughly remove selfish desires and wash away filth.

所谓“去私除污”之维，是指“致良知”对私意的去除和对污垢的洗刷。王阳明写道，“君子之学，以明其心，其心本无昧也，而欲为之蔽，习为之害，故去蔽与害而明复，匪自外得也”。即是说，人心为私欲所居而被遮蔽、为习性所染而满是污垢，从而需要去除洗涤，而去除洗涤的方式是“致良知”。那么，怎样“致良知”才能去私除污呢？首先，必须是真诚地“致良知”。王阳明认为，人们无不追求富贵，无不遵从父兄之命，但如果放弃富贵却另有所图，如果孝敬父亲、敬爱兄长是私心驱使，那么这种“致良知”就夹带了私意。“当弃富贵即弃富贵，只是致良知；当从父兄之命即从父兄之命，亦只是致良知。其间权量轻重，稍有私意，于良知便自不安。”如此，放弃富贵、遵从父兄都是别有动机、夹带私意。所以“致良知”必须真诚。其次，必须是纯一地“致良知”。王阳明认为，“致良知”必须专一，不能三心二意，不能有计较成败之心，不能有爱憎取舍于其间，否则，便是内外分离，便不能生发自我满足、自我欣悦之情。对此，他写下“若云宁不了事，不可不加培养者，亦是先有功利之心，较计成败利钝，而爱憎取舍于其间，是以将了事自作一事，而培养又别作一事，此便有是内非外之意，便是自私用智”，因而“致良知”必须纯一。最后，必须是公正地“致良知”。王阳明以判案为例，认为不能因为当事人花言巧语而喜好之，不能因为讨厌当事人而严治之，不能因为当事人哀求而顺从之，因为这都是私心作祟。王阳明强调，“这许多意思皆私，只尔自知，须精细省察克治，惟恐此心有一毫偏倚，枉人是非，这便是格物致知”。断案如果徇私舞弊，毫无公心，那就是私欲横行，自然无法去私除污，所以去私除污之维，便是告诉人们推行或落实“良知”时必须具有真诚之心、纯一之心、公正之心，如此才能彻底地去除私欲、洗刷污垢。

The Dimension of Discerning Right and Wrong

辨识是非之维

The dimension of “discerning right and wrong” refers to the “extension of the innate knowledge” (致良知) in its discernment and identification of right and wrong, good and evil, and in acting according to what the innate knowledge knows to be good and removing evil. “That bit of innate knowledge in you is your own standard.” [3]3 Wang Yangming, *Instructions for Practical Living* (传习录), section on the “original substance of the mind-heart.” In Wang Yangming’s view, the innate knowledge is not only a transcendental standard within every person’s mind-heart, but also possesses the function of clear awareness and precise examination: “The empty, spiritual, clear awareness of the mind-heart is what is called the original innate knowledge.” That is, the innate knowledge has an inherent awareness and judgment of right and wrong, good and evil. To bring the function of discerning right and wrong in the innate knowledge into play, one must “extend the innate knowledge.” “If one can truly extend one’s innate knowledge, then one will see that what one usually regards as good is not necessarily good, and what one regards as not good may actually be precisely a matter of being entangled in praise and blame, gain and loss, thereby injuring one’s own innate knowledge.” What is called “truly extending the innate knowledge” includes: First, it means keeping the innate knowledge constantly awake, not allowing it to fall into stupor. Wang Yangming believed that an awake innate knowledge has an absolute inhibitory effect on selfish desires: “When the innate knowledge is stupefied, all desires run wild; when the innate knowledge is clear and precise, all desires dissolve.” Therefore, although everyone possesses the innate knowledge, it must be kept constantly awake, because selfish desires are like arrogant servants and unruly maids: when the innate knowledge is stupefied, they throw their weight around; when the innate knowledge is awake, they become docile and obedient. “It is only because the innate knowledge is obscured and blocked that [selfish desires] arise. Once the innate knowledge is awakened, it is like the white sun emerging, and all goblins and monsters naturally vanish.” With the innate knowledge constantly awake, selfish and deviant thoughts have no place to hide and are completely eliminated. Second, it means fully manifesting the innate knowledge. “The sage’s effort in extending knowledge is utterly sincere and unceasing; the substance of his innate knowledge is bright as a clear mirror, without the slightest stain. When beauty or ugliness comes, it appears according to the object, yet the clear mirror never retains any trace.” In Wang Yangming’s view, if the effort of “extending the innate knowledge” is carried to the extreme of sincerity and without end, then the innate knowledge will be as bright as the sun, as pure as water, as clear as a mirror, so that right and wrong, good and evil, beauty and ugliness have nowhere to hide and naturally manifest themselves. Thus, “extending the innate knowledge” means, whether in activity or inactivity, keeping the innate knowledge constantly at its post and diligently exercising its discerning function, so that even the right and wrong and good and evil in thoughts are examined with the utmost precision. “Wherever your thoughts alight, it knows right as right and wrong as wrong; you cannot deceive it in the slightest.” In this sense, “extending the innate knowledge” means fully manifesting the innate knowledge and completely displaying its radiant good substance. Third, it means actively identifying good and evil and, according to what the innate knowledge knows, doing good and removing evil. “Now, if one wishes to distinguish good and evil in order to make one’s intention sincere, this lies solely in extending what the innate knowledge knows. Why is this? When a thought arises, if my mind-heart’s innate knowledge already knows it to be good, yet I cannot sincerely delight in it but instead turn away from it, then I am taking good as evil and obscuring my innate knowledge that knows the good. When a thought arises, if my innate knowledge already knows it to be not good, yet I cannot sincerely detest it but instead repeat and do it, then I am taking evil as good and obscuring my innate knowledge that knows evil. If this is the case, then although one says one knows, it is still not knowing. How can the intention be made sincere?” In Wang Yangming’s view, if one wishes to distinguish good and evil, one must act according to what the innate knowledge has detected. If the innate knowledge detects that a thought is good, yet one cannot sincerely like it but instead turns away from it, then one is taking good as evil and obscuring one’s innate knowledge that knows the good; if the innate knowledge detects that a thought is evil, yet one cannot sincerely detest it but instead repeats and does it, then one is taking evil as good and obscuring one’s innate knowledge that knows evil; if either of these two situations occurs, although one says the innate knowledge knows, it is still as if it does not know. Therefore, “extending the innate knowledge” requires not only “knowing good and knowing evil,” but also knowing the good and doing it, knowing the evil and removing it. One of the goals of “extending the innate knowledge” is “making the intention sincere,” and “making the intention sincere” is not limited to “knowing good and knowing evil,” but lies even more in “doing good and removing evil.” Thus, as the discernment of right and wrong, “extending the innate knowledge” requires, first, keeping the innate knowledge awake and constantly monitoring the movements of selfish thoughts and deviant ideas; second, fully manifesting the innate knowledge, dazzling and crystal-clear, so that right and wrong, good and evil have nowhere to hide and reveal themselves; third, giving full play to the subjectivity of the innate knowledge—the innate knowledge is the substance of the mind-heart, but this substance is also a kind of clear awareness—so that the clear awareness of the innate knowledge is fully exercised, actively discerning right and wrong and good and evil in thoughts, and, according to what the innate knowledge knows, removing evil and doing good. Therefore, the dimension of discerning right and wrong in “extending the innate knowledge” requires not only cognitive discernment of right and wrong and good and evil, but also practical resolution of the problems of right and wrong and good and evil.

所谓“辨识是非”之维，是指“致良知”对于是非善恶的辨识与鉴定，并依良知所知为善去恶。“尔那一点良知，是尔自家底准则。”在王阳明看来，良知不仅是每个人心中的先验准则，还具有明觉精察功能：“心之虚灵明觉，即所谓本然之良知也”，即良知对是非善恶具有本然之觉悟与判断。发挥良知辨识是非之功能，必须“致良知”。“若能实致其良知，然后见得平日所谓善者未必是善，所谓未善者，却恐正是牵于毁誉得丧，自贼其良知者也。”所谓“实致良知”包括：第一，就是使良知时刻清醒，不能昏迷。王阳明认为良知清醒对私欲具有绝对的抑制作用，“良知昏迷，众欲乱行；良知精明，众欲消化”。因此，虽然人人皆有良知，但必须时刻保持清醒，因为私欲好比豪奴悍婢，良知昏迷时便作威作福，良知清醒时便乖巧温顺，“只因良知昏昧蔽塞而后有。若良知一提醒时，即如白日一出，而魍魉自消矣”。有了良知的时刻清醒，私邪之念便无处隐身并被彻底消除。第二，就是要使良知充分呈现。“圣人致知之功，至诚无息，其良知之体，皎如明镜，略无纤翳。妍媸之来，随物见形，而明镜曾无留染”，在王阳明看来，只要把“致良知”工夫做到极端真诚且没有止境，那么良知就会光明如日、纯净如水、明亮如镜，从而使是非、善恶、美丑无处躲藏，自然呈现。因而“致良知”就是不分有事无事，使良知时刻坚守岗位而勤恳地发挥其辨识功能，即便是意念中的是非善恶也明察秋毫，“尔意念着处，他是便知是，非便知非，更瞒他一些不得”。从这个意义上说，“致良知”就是使良知全面呈现，充分展示自己熠熠生辉的善体。第三，就是要主动地鉴定善恶并依良知所知为善去恶。“今欲别善恶以诚其意，惟在致其良知之所知焉尔。何则？意念之发，吾心之良知既知其为善矣，使其不能诚有以好之，而复背而去之，则是以善为恶，而自昧其知善之良知矣。意念之所发，吾之良知既知其为不善矣，使其不能诚有以恶之，而复蹈而为之，则是以恶为善，而自昧其知恶之良知矣。若是，则虽曰知之，犹不知也，意其可得而诚乎？”在王阳明看来，如果要分辨善恶，就必须按照良知所发觉的情况进行处理。如果良知发觉意念是善，却不能真诚地喜好它，反而背离而去之，则是以善为恶，是自昧知善之良知；如果良知发现意念是恶，却不能真诚地厌恶它，反而重蹈而为之，则是以恶为善，是自昧知恶之良知；如果属于这两种情况，虽说良知知之，犹属未知。因此，“致良知”不仅要“知善知恶”，还需要知善而为之、知恶而去之。“致良知”的目标之一是“诚意”，而“诚意”并不限于“知善知恶”，更在于“为善去恶”。可见，作为辨识是非的“致良知”，首先，必须使良知保持清醒，时刻监视着私意邪念之动向；其次，必须使良知全面呈现自己，璀璨夺目、晶莹剔透，令是非善恶无处逃匿而自显；最后，必须使良知发挥其主体性，良知是心之本体，但此本体也是一种明觉，必须将良知的明觉充分发挥，积极主动地去辨识意念中的是非善恶，并按照良知所知去恶为善。因此，“致良知”辨识是非之维，不仅要求认知上对是非善恶的辨识，更要求实践上对是非善恶问题的解决。

The dimension of constructing order

建构秩序之维

The dimension of “constructing order” refers to the “extension of the innate knowledge” in ordering things and affairs, ordering the mind-heart, and ordering society. Although Wang Yangming said that there are no affairs outside the mind-heart and no principles outside the mind-heart, he advocated “extending the innate knowledge” to all things and affairs. “What I call the extension of knowledge and investigation of things is to extend the innate knowledge of my mind-heart to all things and affairs. The innate knowledge of my mind-heart is what is called the Heavenly Principle. Extending the Heavenly Principle of my mind-heart’s innate knowledge to all things and affairs, then all things and affairs attain their principle.” For Wang Yangming, the claim that there are no affairs outside the mind-heart and no principles outside the mind-heart does not mean that things and affairs inherently possess principle, but rather that things and affairs lack the principle of value and the principle of meaning. Therefore, “extending the innate knowledge” to things and affairs means making things and affairs conform to “principle” and thereby become ordered, meaningful, and valuable. Wang Yangming believed that the innate knowledge is the substance of the mind-heart, a good substance transcendentally existing in the “mind-heart,” but because selfish thoughts arise, the substance of the mind-heart—the innate knowledge or the Heavenly Principle—becomes obscured, and thus the substance needs to be restored. What Wang Yangming emphasized—that “if gentlemen of the world only devote themselves to extending their innate knowledge, then they will naturally be able to make right and wrong public and share likes and dislikes”—requires gentlemen to remove selfish thoughts through “extending the innate knowledge,” so that public principle, moral righteousness, and justice once again display their value, and people become persons with ideals, aspirations, and convictions. In Wang Yangming’s view, the innate knowledge is the basis on which Heaven and Earth are what they are. He said, “It can be known that throughout the whole universe there is only this spiritual intelligence.” [4]4 Wang Yangming, *Complete Works of Wang Yangming*, “Record of Instructions” (传习录), section on the “spiritual intelligence” (灵明) as the single substance of the universe. Spiritual intelligence is the innate knowledge. Thus, without the innate knowledge, there can be no Heaven and Earth. But the world is often in a state of disorder and chaos, and even cases of kin harming each other occur. “When [people] are moved by desires and obscured by selfishness, so that they attack each other over gain and loss and are provoked by anger, then they will destroy things and harm their kind, stopping at nothing; there are even cases of kin harming each other, and the humanity of the one body is lost.” All this is because the innate knowledge is lacking. Therefore, one must “extend the innate knowledge,” legislate for Heaven and Earth, and establish a new order. “This innate knowledge is what is called the great foundation of the world. Extending this innate knowledge and acting accordingly is what is called the universal path of the world. Heaven and Earth take their places, the ten thousand things are nurtured, and whether in wealth and honor, poverty and lowliness, hardship and danger, or barbarian lands, one enters everywhere and finds oneself at ease.” As the construction of order, “extending the innate knowledge” requires people to know that things and affairs lack the Heavenly Principle, and thus they need to establish the Heavenly Principle for things and affairs—that is, in fact, to rationalize everyday things and affairs; it requires people to know that the Heavenly Principle originally resides in the human mind-heart and is the substance of the mind-heart, but because selfish desires obscure the substance of the mind-heart, they need to “extend the innate knowledge” to remove selfish desires and return to the substance, thereby reconstructing the order of the mind-heart; it requires people to know that Heaven and Earth are in chaos and the human world is disordered, and thus they need to “extend the innate knowledge” to construct a new order for society. Therefore, the dimension of constructing order in “extending the innate knowledge” means establishing principle for things and affairs, legislating for the human mind-heart, and establishing order for society.

所谓“建构秩序”之维，是指“致良知”使物事秩序化、心灵秩序化、社会秩序化。王阳明虽言心外无事、心外无理，却主张“致良知”于事事物物。“若鄙人所谓致知格物者，致吾心之良知于事事物物也。吾心之良知，即所谓天理也。致吾心良知之天理于事事物物，则事事物物皆得其理矣。”对于王阳明来说，心外无事、无理，并非指物事本具之理，而是指物事缺失价值之理、意义之理；因而“致良知”于物事，就是使物事合“理”而秩序化、意义化、价值化。王阳明认为，良知是心之本体，是先验存在于“心”的善体，但由于私意萌发，使心之本体良知或天理被遮蔽，因而需要恢复本体。王阳明所强调的“世之君子惟务致其良知，则自能公是非，同好恶”，就是要求君子通过“致良知”去除私意，使公理、道义、公正重新展示价值，使人们成为有理想、有抱负、有信念之人。在王阳明看来，良知是天地所以为天地的根据，所谓“可知充天塞地中间，只有这个灵明”，灵明即良知也，因而没有良知，便不可为天地。但天地间常常处于无序混乱状态，甚至出现骨肉相残的情形，“及其动于欲，蔽于私，而利害相攻，忿怒相激，则将戕物圮类，无所不为，其甚至有骨肉相残者，而一体之仁亡矣”。这都是因为缺失了良知，所以必须“致良知”，为天地立法，建立新的秩序，“是良知也者，是所谓天下之大本也。致是良知而行，则所谓天下之达道也。天地以位，万物以育，将富贵贫贱，患难夷狄，无所入而弗自得也矣”。作为建构秩序的“致良知”，就是要求人们知道，物事无天理，从而需要为物事立天理，实际上就是使日常的物事合理化；就是要求人们知道，天理本在人心，乃心之本体，但由于私欲使心之本体被遮蔽，从而需要“致良知”去私欲而回到本体，以重建心灵秩序；就是要求人们知道，天地混乱、人间无序，需要“致良知”为社会建构新的秩序。因此，“致良知”建构秩序之维，意味着为物事立理、为人心立法、为社会立秩序。

In summary, the ultimate meaning of Wang Yangming’s “extension of innate knowledge” consists of four dimensions: cultivating the root of goodness, removing selfishness and eliminating defilement, discerning right and wrong, and constructing order. Cultivating the root of goodness means that people must consciously build upon the foundation of the innate good substance within themselves, diligently nurture the root of goodness, accumulate virtuous deeds, and absorb good energy to solidify the inherent good substance, manifesting as the dimension of consolidating the good substance. Removing selfishness and eliminating defilement means that when removing obscuration to restore the mind’s substance, one must be sincere, pure, and impartial, manifesting as the dimension of self-purification. Discerning right and wrong means that innate knowledge must remain constantly alert, manifest itself, and act to do good and eliminate evil according to what innate knowledge perceives, manifesting as the dimension of self-watchfulness. Constructing order means establishing principles for things and affairs, legislating for the human mind, and building order for society, manifesting as the dimension of constructing a world of meaning. These dimensions present the basic content of Wang Yangming’s “extension of innate knowledge.” At the same time, during the unfolding of the four dimensions of “extension of innate knowledge,” there are some characteristics worthy of our attention. Regarding consolidating the good substance, “extension of innate knowledge” is not merely “exhausting one’s mind” or “discovering the original mind”; it still requires outward learning, emphasizes the exchange of good energy between the internal and external, and stresses the significance of external goodness for consolidating and reinforcing the mind’s substance. Regarding removing selfishness and eliminating defilement, “extension of innate knowledge” needs to be equipped with corresponding virtuous conditions, thereby purifying the form and content of “extension of innate knowledge,” enabling people to recognize that “extension of innate knowledge” requires not only accomplishing meritorious deeds and performing good acts but also doing so without selfish intent; hence, “extension of innate knowledge” must also be matched with qualities such as sincerity, purity, and impartiality. Regarding discerning right and wrong and good and evil, discerning right and wrong and good and evil requires that “extension of innate knowledge” not only recognize right and wrong and good and evil but also act to do good and eliminate evil based on what innate knowledge perceives; “extension of innate knowledge” cannot remain at the level of theoretical discourse but must be embodied in practical action. Regarding constructing order, this expresses the ideal of “extension of innate knowledge” in pursuing a good society. “Extension of innate knowledge” is not merely an inner-sage effort; it also has a strong outer-king appeal. “Extension of innate knowledge” hopes that things and affairs all attain their “principle,” that the mind’s substance is radiant, and that the universal principle of heaven and earth prevails; thus, it is a profound longing for and persistent pursuit of a harmonious society. In this way, the practical significance of “extension of innate knowledge” naturally emerges.

总之，王阳明“致良知”的究竟义，便是培植善根、去私除污、辨识是非、建构秩序四个维度。培植善根就是要求人自觉善体在我的基础上，努力培育善根、积累善德、吸收善能以固牢本有之善体，表现为固守善体之维；去私除污就是要求去蔽以复见心体时，必须真诚、纯一、公正，表现为自我清洁之维；辨识是非就是要求良知时刻清醒、自我呈现、并依良知所知为善去恶，表现为自我警醒之维；建构秩序就是要求为物事立理、为人心立法、为社会建构秩序，表现为建构意义世界之维。这些维度呈现了王阳明“致良知”的基本内涵。与此同时，“致良知”四个维度展开过程中，还有一些值得我们注意的特质。就固守善体而言，“致良知”并非只是“尽其心”或“发明本心”，它仍然需要向外学习，注重内外善能量的交换，强调外在的善对于心之本体的巩固、夯实之意义。就去私除污而言，“致良知”需要配备相应的德性条件，从而纯洁“致良知”的形式与内容，使人们认识到“致良知”不仅要做事功、为善事，而且要无私意地做事功、为善事，因而“致良知”还需配之以真诚、纯一、公正等品质。就辨识是非善恶而言，辨识是非善恶是要求“致良知”不仅要识得是非善恶，还要根据良知所知是非善恶做到为善去恶，“致良知”不能停留于理论诉说，而须体现于现实行动。就建构秩序而言，表达了“致良知”追求美好社会的理想。“致良知”并非仅仅是内圣工夫，而且具有强烈的外王诉求，“致良知”希望物事皆得其“理”、心之本体灿然、天地公理流行，因而是对和谐社会的深情向往和执着追求。如此，“致良知”的现实意义也就自然呈现。

Therefore, these four dimensions indicate that the so-called “extension of innate knowledge” requires people to consciously recognize their good substance and consolidate it, requires people to perform good deeds without any selfish intent mixed in, requires people to not only discern right and wrong and good and evil but also actually do good and eliminate evil, and requires people to use innate knowledge to construct a new order for heaven and earth and build a new world of meaning. “Extension of innate knowledge” is not an abstract and dry concept but a concrete and vibrant one, possessing both theoretical and practical qualities. Theoretically, “extension of innate knowledge” is Wang Yangming’s enrichment, development, and transcendence of Mencius’s theory of innate knowledge, and it transforms “innate knowledge” from a static form to a dynamic form. Practically, it contains Wang Yangming’s method of cultivating the ideal personality and his path to building an ideal society, thereby exhibiting rich, direct, and strong practical significance.

因此，这四个维度表明，所谓“致良知”，就是要求人自觉其善体并固牢之，就是要求人做善事必无私意夹杂其中，就是要求人在识得是非善恶基础上更要实际地为善去恶，就是要求人用良知构筑天地新秩序，建造新的意义世界。“致良知”并非一个抽象干瘪的观念，而是一个具体而充满活力的观念，兼具了理论与实践双重品质。从理论上说，“致良知”是王阳明对孟子良知说的充实、发展与超越，而且使“良知”由静态形式转向动态形式；从实践上说，则是蕴含了王阳明的培养理想人格之方式与建设理想社会之路径，从而表现出丰富的、直接的和强烈的现实意义。

(Author: Li Chenggui, Professor at the School of Philosophy, Nanjing University)

（作者：李承贵，系南京大学哲学学院教授）

Online Editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧