本篇之研究重點，在於明末清初方以智與王船山二人思想之內容與其所可能呈顯之時代意義。此一議題之研究，由於涉及此一時期一般學術思惟底層之「哲學性議題」之開展與需求，需要辨識；而二人之思想又皆屬博大與精深，兼而有之，且其各自之思想發展，亦有前後轉變之歷程，需要釐清，故難度頗高。直至今日，學界尚未能有較為重要之突破，必須有開創性之研究視野。本文之寫作，雖以議題作為導向，然其中所涉及者，實牽涉二人一生大量著作之複雜面向。其中有關船山之部分，係由作者前著《王船山之道器論》一書，及近著〈論王船山性理思想之建構與其內部轉化〉等文作為依據，加以深化。至於方以智部分，則是以前此所從事之「王學流衍」及「三教合一」之研究為基礎而延伸。其所運用之材料，除一般易見之各種外，亦有部分，係依據北京社科院當年自安徽博物館抄得之未刊稿，資料極為珍貴。至於論文之寫作，則係以下列論述架構進行：一、方以智、王船山之學術來歷、思想處境與其所各自面對之關鍵議題；二、方以智、王船山二人思想之基本架構及其性質；三、方以智、王船山二人思想表現於學術作為之展示性；四、方以智、王船山建構論述之根本預設與其致異之根源；五、方以智王船山二人思想之對話性及其所展顯之意義。

This thesis aims to analyze the distinctiveness of the philosophies of two great masters in early Qing dynasty known as Fang Yizhi (方以智，字密之，1611-1671) and Wang Fuzhi (王夫之，字而農，1619-1692), and to estimate their significance in history. The complicatedness involved in the subject is brought about by two main causes: Firstly, both of them developed in their own way a unique system which is not easy to identify its nature. Secondly, in spite that a great number of successful researches are accumulated in the studies of the trend of thought in their time, there are still some missing links which are alien to academics. Basing on his previous studies, the author not only intends to explore some clues that were hidden beneath the trend, but also tries to reconstruct through comparison a meaningful dialogue of thought between these two thinkers. The result of the study may lead to a brand-new understanding of their contribution.