子曰：「學而時習之，不亦說乎？有朋自遠方來，不亦樂乎？人不知而不慍，不亦君子乎？」
這是大家都能背誦的一段「子曰」。但有多少人注意到，孔子認為人生最快樂的一些事，都是在和「他人」交往時發生的。而且，這些「他人」都還不是君臣父子夫婦，那些孝悌忠信的對象，而是和不在場的他人（即，文化的累積）的內在對話（閱讀），以及和從遠方來又能帶給我們新知與新觀點的朋友。在和這些「社會他人」的互動中，我們得到了成長機會，並由衷喜悅。我們成長了，但別人不承認，這也沒關係，這才叫「君子」，後者不是僅僅活在別人的評價下，不是一個過度「社會化」的人。這麼短短的一句話，不是深刻地檢討了「他人」（或社會）和我們的自我之間的矛盾的、複雜的、相成相悖的關係嗎？
「論語」是我國幾千年來最重要的典籍。因為各種原因，它常常被思想進步的人士視為保守的、封建的思想的淵藪，為鞏固既存的權威（尤其是家庭與國家、父權或政權）的意識形態工具。這個根深蒂固的看法固然有儒家乃至「論語」本身的原因，但卻遠遠不能窮盡我們對於「論語」的理解。而且，僅僅如此讀「論語」則失去了從這部典籍中學習到和我們今日的生存處境相關的思想資源，以及失去了從這部典籍作為一種深入理解中國人的觀念與思想方式的契機。好幾十年前，費孝通先生在其著名的《鄉土中國》中，就曾多次引用「論語」的觀念和現實社會作相互參照的重要資料。
我們這門課，是開放性的，也就是不預設任何對論語的解讀立場的討論課。任課教師並非論語專家，更非儒家學者或信徒，之所以開這門課，是希望透過這部大家都有多少接觸，表面門檻並不高的典籍，共同討論其中的意義，以期學習到以一種中國人的觀點看待社會與倫理生活，以及，作為一個附帶效果，拓展我們長期以來完全以西方為典範的社會思想或社會學的想像空間。Confucius said: "Isn't it right to learn and practice it over time? Isn't it a joy to have friends come from afar? Isn't it a gentleman if a person doesn't get confused if he doesn't know?"
This is a passage from "The Master Said" that everyone can recite. But how many people have noticed that Confucius believed that some of the happiest things in life happen when interacting with "others". Moreover, these "others" are not monarchs, ministers, fathers and sons, or the objects of filial piety and loyalty, but internal dialogues (readings) with absent others (i.e., the accumulation of culture), and what they can bring to us from afar. Friends with new knowledge and perspectives. In our interactions with these “social others,” we are given opportunities to grow and truly rejoice. We have grown up, but it doesn't matter if others don't admit it. This is what we call a "gentleman". The latter does not just live under the evaluation of others, nor is he an overly "socialized" person. Doesn't such a short sentence profoundly examine the contradictory, complex, and contradictory relationship between "others" (or society) and our selves?
"The Analects of Confucius" is the most important classic in our country for thousands of years. For various reasons, it is often regarded by progressive people as the source of conservative and feudal ideas and as an ideological tool to consolidate existing authority (especially family and state, patriarchy or political power). Although this deep-rooted view has its roots in Confucianism and even the Analects itself, it is far from exhaustive of our understanding of the Analects. Moreover, if you only read "The Analects" in this way, you will lose the ideological resources related to our current living situation from this classic, and lose the opportunity to use this classic as an in-depth understanding of Chinese people's concepts and ways of thinking. Decades ago, Mr. Fei Xiaotong, in his famous "Russian China", repeatedly cited the concepts of "The Analects" and the real society as important information for cross-reference.
Our course is open-ended, that is, it is a discussion course that does not presuppose any interpretation of the Analects. The teacher who teaches the class is not an expert on the Analects of Confucius, let alone a Confucian scholar or believer. The reason why he offers this course is that he hopes to discuss the meaning of this classic, which everyone has had a lot of contact with, and the superficial threshold is not high, in order to learn a kind of Chinese perspectives on social and ethical life and, as a side effect, expand our social thought or sociological imagination that has long been exclusively modeled on the West.
指定教材：錢穆，《論語新解》，三民書局出版。
補充教材：隨堂發給。
Designated textbook: Qian Mu, "A New Interpretation of the Analects of Confucius", published by Sanmin Book Company.
Supplementary teaching materials: distributed with class.
| 評分項目 Grading Method | 配分比例 Grading percentage | 說明 Description |
|---|---|---|
| 平常分數平常分數 ordinary fraction |
50 | |
| 期末考期末考 final exam |
50 |
