中庸：中西不同 Golden Mean: East and West See Different Means

看来，所有文化都认识到‘适中’的价值。

节制，就是说在行动中寻找中庸之道，古希腊人尊为基本道德，与友谊、勇气、智慧及公正有同等地位。亚里士多德把节制列为道德，反映出对适中的要求。这已经进入古希腊人的意识之中。

在中国传统里，中庸的原理具有真正的普世意义。它不但在道德法则中扮演重要角色，同时预先决定了指定的‘感官战略’，意思是指中国人特有的目标之路：不直接进入，而是要绕个圈子。这和典型的希腊人不同。

所以，西方所说的中庸与儒家经典《中庸》所说的中庸是有所不同的。

一般上，亚里士多德与西方思维里，中庸是指中位数或者有关一系列观察或数据或哲学立场中的中央位置。古希腊原本的中庸思维后来发展为数学与科学中的黄金比例与黄金分割。在西方哲学里，大哲学家一般不涉足于中庸，这已是常识了。也就是说，西方哲学是建立在把天与人、主与客分开来的。

在中国，在《中庸》与其他经典中，中庸意味着无一定位置，因为其结果是看每一个特殊情况而定的。一个智者寻求对中庸的敬仰，就要常常以行动来增强和谐与秩序，促进天地人之间的平衡而不是其相反。所以，各别情况的性质决定什么是适当的行动。也就是说，中庸是所有智慧之本。

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It seems that all cultures recognize the worth of moderation.

Temperance, i.e., the ability to choose the golden mean in actions, statements, etc., was esteemed by ancient Greeks as one of the basic virtues on a par with friendship, bravery, wisdom, and justice. Aristotle’s definition of temperance as a virtue reflected the demand for moderation, which was ingrained in the consciousness of ancient Greeks.

The golden mean principle acquires a truly universal significance in the Chinese tradition. It plays here not only the role of a moral rule but also predetermines a specific ‘strategy of sense’, the singularity of the Chinese path to a goal: not by gaining direct access, as typical for Greece, but taking a detour.

Therefore, there is a difference on the idea of the mean as used by the West and in the Confucian classic Zhongyong.

In Aristotle and Western thinking generally, the mean is taken as an average derived as a median or similar measure of centrality in relation to a body of observations or data or philosophical positions. The original idea of golden mean of the ancient Greece was later developed into mathematical and scientific studies of golden ratio and golden section. In philosophy, it is a common knowledge that the great philosophers have never set their feet on the middle path. In other words, the western philosophy is built on the separation of nature and man, subject and object.

In China, in the Zhongyong and other Chinese classics, the mean implies no predictable position because it results from responding to each situation in its particularities. A wise person seeking to respect the mean will always act to increase harmony and order, to achieve equilibrium rather than their contraries between heaven, earth and man. Therefore the nature of the situation determines what action would be appropriate. In other words, the doctrine of mean is seen as the root of all wisdom.