The unity of knowledge and action

One of the propositions of Yangmingism. It is that knowing and doing cannot be separated. Wang Yangming (Shujin) criticized the fact that Zhu Xi's school of thought tended to lean towards the idea of ​​knowledge first and then practice, which placed the recognition of truth and judgment of morality first, and the practice of that knowledge second, and that the Ming Dynasty's secular learning had become empty theory without practice, and advocated the unity of knowledge and action. Therefore, he argued that knowing without putting it into practice is not true knowledge, and he took a position that emphasized practice and experience, which requires that knowledge and action be consistent in practice (refining oneself through practice). Wang Yangming's concept of "action" is also broad, and includes the workings of the human mind, such as likes and dislikes, and the desires and thoughts that appear in the mind. "Action" must naturally conform to moral norms, and in this it is required to be strict enough to overcome not only the evils that are manifested in external actions, but also the evils of inner thoughts. The mind that realizes these things is what Wang Yangming calls "good knowledge."

[Hiroyuki Sugiyama]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

陽明(ようめい)学の命題の一つ。知ることと実行することとは本来二つには分けられない、とすること。王陽明（守仁(しゅじん)）は、朱子学が真理の認識や道徳的是非の判断（知）を先にしてその実践（行）を後にする知先行後論に傾きがちであったことや、明(みん)代の俗学が実践を伴わない空論に流れたことを批判して、知行合一を主張した。そのため、知っているだけで実行しないのはまだ本当の知とはいえない、とし、実践のうえで知と行とが一致することを要請する実践重視・体験重視の立場（事上磨錬(じじょうまれん)）をとっている。また王陽明のいう「行」の概念は幅が広く、人間の心の働き、たとえば好悪の情や心に兆す意欲・思念なども「行」に含まれる。「行」は当然、道徳的規範に合致していなければならず、そこでは行動として外に表れた不善だけでなく、心内の思念の不善をも克服する厳しさが求められる。これらを実現する心が、王陽明のいう「良知」である。

［杉山寛行］

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