Famous historian Zhang Hao’s book Dark Consciousness and Democratic Tradition mentions that dark consciousness is the dark side of human nature. Regarding human nature, there are two kinds of thoughts that have the greatest influence, one is the theory of evil nature and the other is the theory of good nature. The former, such as Christianity, thinks that human nature is evil and dark. The latter, such as Confucianism, believes that human nature is good.
The book holds that dark consciousness is the foundation of human history, and every civilization has dark consciousness. “The so-called dark consciousness comes from the face-up and awareness of all kinds of dark forces inherent in human nature or the universe. Because these dark forces are deeply rooted, the world is flawed and imperfect, and human life is full of ugliness and regrets.” (Zhang Hao, Dark Consciousness and Democratic Tradition, Chengdu, Sichuan Publishing Group, 2003) It is the response to the dark consciousness of human nature that promotes the development of history. The development of history is to overcome the dark consciousness.
The Christian theory of evil nature is the fundamental doctrine of Christianity and the starting point of western legal and political culture. Paul says in his letter, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12) Based on Paul’s view of sin, Augustine put forward the theory of original sin. It is believed that the depravity of Adam and Eve was passed on to future generations through both sexes, so everyone after Adam and Eve has original sin.
In medieval culture, human sin was directly embodied. “Gregory listed seven ‘unforgivable sins’: vanity, jealousy, anger, melancholy, depression, greed, overeating and lust.” (Liu Cheng’s Study on the Living State of “Man” in the Christian Cultural Environment of Western Europe in the Middle Ages, Beijing Normal University Press, March 2012, p. 19)
In modern western legal philosophy, among the three natures of natural law, the original state of human beings is the natural state is a state of war because everyone wants to possess others. Hobbes believed that everyone is an egoist, so human society must be in a state of war before entering the social state. “When there is no common power to subdue everyone, people will be in the so-called state of war. This kind of war is a war between everyone.” (Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan, Commercial Press, 2017, pp. 94-95)
Confucianism in China also has its dark consciousness. For instance, Chinese philosopher Xunzi says, “People’s nature is evil, and those who are good are false. The nature of today’s people is that they are born with good benefits, and they are obedient, so they compete for life and give way to death. However, there are diseases and evils in life, so the residual thief is born but loyal and faithful. I have the desire to have eyes and ears, have a good voice, and be obedient. Therefore, I am promiscuous, but I am ignorant of propriety, righteousness, and arts.” (Xunzi’s “On Evil Nature Essay 23”)
Although both China and the West acknowledge the dark consciousness of human nature, the ways to overcome it are different, which leads to different civilizations and social and political systems.
The way to overcome the dark consciousness of Christianity is to establish a legal rule system, and limit the desire for power in a cage by restricting human nature and making rules. The social chaos caused by the evil of human nature makes people aware of the cruelty of this state, so they transfer some power by contract, so that the transferred power is handed over to the state, and the public power of the state maintains the social order within the established rules. It is out of the dark consciousness that people still take the non-transferable power as their own, which is the disobedience of evil laws and the resistance to tyranny. It is the distrust of dark consciousness that any decision of public power must go through complicated procedures.
Therefore, in the dark consciousness, the west chose the rule of law, thus coming out of a different democratic political system in the east.
Although China’s Confucianism also has dark consciousness, the way to overcome it is not through the legal system, but through morality. From the Three Emperors and Five Emperors to King Yao, Shun and Yu, they were shaped into moral sages. It was the perfection of morality that made them overcome their dark consciousness. Therefore, the Confucian idea is not to make rules, but to emphasize inner cultivation, the so-called “inner sage and outer king”. It’s a bit like Plato’s philosophy, a king in his ideal country. However, relying on personal cultivation to overcome the dark consciousness often leads to an infinite loop and becomes self-supervision. Therefore, in this culture, we can only see that the image of the molded moral sage, especially the emperor, is deliberately publicized as a moral perfectionist, with the purpose of covering up his immoral way to gain power.
Zhang Hao’s book Dark Consciousness and Democratic Tradition is a comparison between the two civilizations, which brings us a reflection on our own civilization. Therefore, we should take a critical attitude towards traditional culture, actively absorb other civilizations and actively communicate with other cultures in the world. Only in this way can we overcome the dark side of our own civilization and bring about our own development.
- Translated by Charlie Li
张灏先生的《幽暗意识与民主传统》提到幽暗意识就是人性的阴暗面。关于人性，有两种思想影响最大，一种是性恶论，一种性善论。前者如基督教，认为人的本性是恶的，是阴暗的。后者如儒家，认为人本性是善的。
本书观点认为，幽暗意识是人类历史的基础，任何一个文明都有幽暗意识。“所谓幽暗意识，是发自对人性中或宇宙中与始俱来的种种黑暗势力的正视和省悟，因为这些黑暗势力根深蒂固，这个世界才有缺陷，才不能圆满，而人的生命才有种种的丑恶，种种的遗憾。”（张灏，《幽暗意识与民主传统》，成都，四川出版集团，2003）正是对人性幽暗意识的回应，才促进了历史的发展。历史的发展就是为了克服幽暗意识。
基督教的性恶论，是基督教的根本教义，也是西方法律政治文化的出发点。保罗在书信里说到，“因为世人都犯了罪，亏缺了 神的荣耀。 ”(罗马书 3:23 和合本)“这就如罪是从一人入了世界，死又是从罪来的，于是死就临到众人，因为众人都犯了罪。” 奥古斯丁更是发挥了保罗的罪观，提出了原罪说。认为亚当夏娃的堕落，通过两性遗传给了后代，因此亚当夏娃之后的每一个人，都有原罪。
在中世纪文化中，更是将人的罪直接具体化，“格里高利列举了七项‘不赦之罪’：虚荣、妒忌，愤怒、忧郁、沮丧、贪婪、暴饮暴食、淫欲。”（刘诚《中世纪西欧基督教文化环境中“人”的生存状态研究》北京师范大学出版社，2012年3月，第19页）
在西方近代法律思想中，自然法的三个自然里，其中人的原始状态也就是自然状态，就是一种战争的状态，因为人人都想占有他人。霍布斯认为人人都是利己主义者，因此在没有进入社会状态之前的人类社会必然是处于战争状态中，“在没有一个共同权力使大家慑服的时候，人们便处在所谓的战争状态之下。这种战争是每一个人对每个人的战争。”（霍布斯《论政府》商务印书馆2017年，第94-95页）
中国的儒家也有其幽暗意识。比如荀子也说“人之性恶，其善者伪也。今人之性，生而有好利焉，顺是，故争夺生而辞让亡焉；生而有疾恶焉，顺是，故残贼生而忠信亡焉；生而有耳目之欲，有好声色焉，顺是，故淫乱生而礼义文理亡焉。”（荀子《性恶篇第二十三》）
虽然中西方都有人性的幽暗意识，但是克服幽暗意识的途径却不同，这也就产生了不同的文明和社会政治制度。
基督教的幽暗意识克服的路径，是建立法律规则制度，通过对人性的限制和制定规则，来把权力欲望限制在笼子里。人性之恶导致的社会混乱，让人意识到这种状态的残酷性，因此他们通过契约的方式把一些权力让渡出来，这样让渡的权力就交给国家，由国家的公权力在制定的规则内来维持社会秩序。正是出于幽暗意识的提防，人们把不可转让的权力仍然据为己有，这就是对恶法的不遵守和对暴政的反抗。正是对于幽暗意识的不信任，公权力的任何决策都必须经过繁琐的程序。
因此，在幽暗意识的中，西方选择了法治，从而走出了一条不同东方的民主政治制度。
而中国的儒家虽然也有幽暗意识，但是其克服幽暗意识的方式却不是通过法律制度，而是通过道德。从三皇五帝，到尧舜禹，他们被塑造成道德圣君，正是道德的完美性，让他们克服了幽暗意识。因此，儒家的理念不是制定规则，而是强调内在修养，所谓内圣外王。这有点像柏拉图理想国中的哲学王。然而，依靠个人修养的方式克服幽暗意识，往往会陷入一个死循环中，变成自己监督自己。因此在这种文化中，我们只能看到被塑造的道德圣人，尤其是皇帝的形象被刻意宣传成一个道德完美者，其目的不过是以此来掩盖其获得权力的不道德途径。
张灏先生的《幽暗意识与民主传统》是在两种文明的对比中，带给我们对自身文明的反思。因此，我们应该持一种对传统文化的批判态度，同时积极吸收其它文明，主动与世界上其它文化交流。只有如此，才能克服自己文明的幽暗一面，带来自身的发展。
幽暗意识下不同文明的对比和反思
Famous historian Zhang Hao’s book Dark Consciousness and Democratic Tradition mentions that dark consciousness is the dark side of human nature. Regarding human nature, there are two kinds of thoughts that have the greatest influence, one is the theory of evil nature and the other is the theory of good nature. The former, such as Christianity, thinks that human nature is evil and dark. The latter, such as Confucianism, believes that human nature is good.
The book holds that dark consciousness is the foundation of human history, and every civilization has dark consciousness. “The so-called dark consciousness comes from the face-up and awareness of all kinds of dark forces inherent in human nature or the universe. Because these dark forces are deeply rooted, the world is flawed and imperfect, and human life is full of ugliness and regrets.” (Zhang Hao, Dark Consciousness and Democratic Tradition, Chengdu, Sichuan Publishing Group, 2003) It is the response to the dark consciousness of human nature that promotes the development of history. The development of history is to overcome the dark consciousness.
The Christian theory of evil nature is the fundamental doctrine of Christianity and the starting point of western legal and political culture. Paul says in his letter, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12) Based on Paul’s view of sin, Augustine put forward the theory of original sin. It is believed that the depravity of Adam and Eve was passed on to future generations through both sexes, so everyone after Adam and Eve has original sin.
In medieval culture, human sin was directly embodied. “Gregory listed seven ‘unforgivable sins’: vanity, jealousy, anger, melancholy, depression, greed, overeating and lust.” (Liu Cheng’s Study on the Living State of “Man” in the Christian Cultural Environment of Western Europe in the Middle Ages, Beijing Normal University Press, March 2012, p. 19)
In modern western legal philosophy, among the three natures of natural law, the original state of human beings is the natural state is a state of war because everyone wants to possess others. Hobbes believed that everyone is an egoist, so human society must be in a state of war before entering the social state. “When there is no common power to subdue everyone, people will be in the so-called state of war. This kind of war is a war between everyone.” (Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan, Commercial Press, 2017, pp. 94-95)
Confucianism in China also has its dark consciousness. For instance, Chinese philosopher Xunzi says, “People’s nature is evil, and those who are good are false. The nature of today’s people is that they are born with good benefits, and they are obedient, so they compete for life and give way to death. However, there are diseases and evils in life, so the residual thief is born but loyal and faithful. I have the desire to have eyes and ears, have a good voice, and be obedient. Therefore, I am promiscuous, but I am ignorant of propriety, righteousness, and arts.” (Xunzi’s “On Evil Nature Essay 23”)
Although both China and the West acknowledge the dark consciousness of human nature, the ways to overcome it are different, which leads to different civilizations and social and political systems.
The way to overcome the dark consciousness of Christianity is to establish a legal rule system, and limit the desire for power in a cage by restricting human nature and making rules. The social chaos caused by the evil of human nature makes people aware of the cruelty of this state, so they transfer some power by contract, so that the transferred power is handed over to the state, and the public power of the state maintains the social order within the established rules. It is out of the dark consciousness that people still take the non-transferable power as their own, which is the disobedience of evil laws and the resistance to tyranny. It is the distrust of dark consciousness that any decision of public power must go through complicated procedures.
Therefore, in the dark consciousness, the west chose the rule of law, thus coming out of a different democratic political system in the east.
Although China’s Confucianism also has dark consciousness, the way to overcome it is not through the legal system, but through morality. From the Three Emperors and Five Emperors to King Yao, Shun and Yu, they were shaped into moral sages. It was the perfection of morality that made them overcome their dark consciousness. Therefore, the Confucian idea is not to make rules, but to emphasize inner cultivation, the so-called “inner sage and outer king”. It’s a bit like Plato’s philosophy, a king in his ideal country. However, relying on personal cultivation to overcome the dark consciousness often leads to an infinite loop and becomes self-supervision. Therefore, in this culture, we can only see that the image of the molded moral sage, especially the emperor, is deliberately publicized as a moral perfectionist, with the purpose of covering up his immoral way to gain power.
Zhang Hao’s book Dark Consciousness and Democratic Tradition is a comparison between the two civilizations, which brings us a reflection on our own civilization. Therefore, we should take a critical attitude towards traditional culture, actively absorb other civilizations and actively communicate with other cultures in the world. Only in this way can we overcome the dark side of our own civilization and bring about our own development.
- Translated by Charlie Li
Comparison, Reflection of Different Civilizations in Dark Consciousness
