A Comparative Study of the Aesthetic Thought on “Goodness” between Laozi and Kant

道家之“善”主要围绕道家思想的核心观念“道”“自然”与“无为”而展开，通过将“善”与个人修养、处事方式、国家治理等方面相结合，进而归纳出实现人民幸福、社会融洽以及国家长治久安的方法途径。在康德看来，善的概念并不是先于道德法则确立的，他认为先于道德法则的善的概念却包含着内部矛盾，不论是将善等同于幸福和道德这种情感，还是看作是对上帝意志的完善，这种矛盾都无法避免。我们可以从善这一概念入手，探索中西方关于哲学思想的差异。The “goodness” of Taoism is mainly centered on the core concepts of Taoism, “Tao”, “nature”, and “non-action”. By combining the concept of “goodness” with personal cultivation, the way of doing things, and the governance of the country, the Taoist concept of “goodness” summarizes the ways to realize the happiness of the people, the harmony of the society, and the long-term stability of the country. In Kant’s view, the concept of goodness is not established before the moral law, but he believes that the concept of goodness, which precedes the moral law, contains internal contradictions, which are unavoidable, whether the goodness is equated with the emotion of happiness and morality, or is regarded as the perfection of God’s will. We can start from the concept of goodness to explore the differences between Chinese and Western ideas about philosophy.