船山哲學的系統分梳向來是儒學研究中棘手的問題。船山一方面似乎肯定形上有超越的一面，但他一方面卻強調形上要落在形下才能談。無論單從性理的、或者氣論的角度來解釋船山哲學，都有其困難性。本文試圖從唐君毅「事理」、「歷史哲學之理」的角度切入，說明船山哲學當中呈現的看似矛盾的兩面傾向。對船山而言，歷史並不只是史事的累積與延續，歷史此一概念本身就牽涉到一個整體性的哲學詮釋，而其中包括天道、人道、天人之際都是關連在一起的。藉由上述角度，本文試圖說明船山並非只關心形下背後的超越性原理(隱然不可逾之天則)的說明，而是更要透過對於作為現實存在的一切或者歷史的整體把握，以相應、配合於天理流行的脈絡，完成合於理、應該實現的事情。船山以此為道德實踐的完成，而以其決定與作為是否相應配合事理，為善不善的說明。在這個意義上，本論文並非試圖建立船山的「關於歷史的哲學」，而是將船山哲學的整體視為一歷史性的哲學，並由此出發爬梳船山哲學的重要概念，藉以說明船山是如何作出不同於以往程朱、陸王宋明儒者或者氣學學者的規定與說明。;It has always been a difficult task to position the philosophy of Wang Chuanshan. While Wang confirms the transcendental nature of xingshang形上(above forms), he also emphasizes that xingshang could only be comprehended by xingxia形下(within forms). Such a philosophical dilemma is perplexing for scholars who tried to understand Wang’s philosophy from the perspective of learning of moral human nature or from that of qi. By borrowing Tang Chun-I’s notion of shili事理and historical philosophy, the present study attempts to explain the seemingly contradictory nature of Wang’s philosophy. In Wang’s philosophical discourse, history is the embodiment of Way of Heaven, Way of Man, and the relation between the unearthly and the mundane. This study indicates that, Wang is not merely interested in understanding the transcendental principle embodied “within form”. Rather, he emphasizes, through an ontological understanding of history-as-a-whole, accomplishing things that comply with the transcendental principle and are supposed to be accomplished. For Wang, moral cultivation is nothing but such a completion of things, and moral goodness is defined by whether a deed matches the principle of that completion. In this sense, this study attempts not so much to investigate Wang’s philosophy regarding history as to position Wang’s philosophical system as philosophy based on history. Taking this as point of departure, this study illustrates how Wang makes efforts to distinguish his philosophical system from that of Song-Ming Confucianism.
