形盡神全：儒家哲學對安樂死命題的三重分析

Body Perished, Spirit Intact: A Threefold Analysis on the Euthanasia Proposition Through Confucian Philosophy

Abstract

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.

面對現代社會中關於安樂死的倫理爭議，本文從儒家生命哲學的視角出發，系統考察了苦樂、榮辱與生死三大核心問題，以回應安樂死所涉及的價值困惑。本文認為：第一，儒家在承認生理痛苦的同時，更強調道德主體對苦樂的超越性把握；第二，儒家的尊嚴觀以“仁義”為終極尺度，主張人格價值不受生理殘缺影響；第三，儒家死亡觀通過祭祀制度與“三不朽”思想構建了生命的倫理延續性，否定了將死亡簡化為終結的預設。總之，儒家對安樂死總體上持審慎乃至反對的立場。

In the context of contemporary ethical controversies, this paper systematically examines three core issues - suffering and joy, honour and disgrace, and life and death - from the perspective of Confucian life philosophy, aiming to address the value dilemmas inherent in euthanasia. The paper presents the following arguments: 1) Confucianism, while acknowledging physiological pain, emphasises the moral agent’s transcendent mastery over suffering and joy. 2) The Confucian view of dignity, grounded in benevolence and righteousness, asserts that personal worth remains unaffected by physical impairment. 3) Confucianism constructs an ethical continuity of life through sacrificial rituals and the doctrine of “three forms of immortality”, rejecting the reduction of death to mere termination. Essentially, Confucianism adopts a cautious stance of general opposition towards euthanasia.