劉向思想，不是以自己本人名義說出，而是藉他輯的《說苑》和《新序》兩書透露。他說一切皆有本，本就是西洋哲學所說的本質，在這兩本書中，我所看到的他是著力在人之本上，更確切的說，他是在說出如何作人。人有各種不同身分，那麼，自然也有各種不同作法，首先就一般來說，任何人都要作完人，也就是作君子。為作完人必需要受教育作修身的功夫，就是要修德行善，作父的要慈，作子的要孝，作國王的要公正管理國家，行仁政用賢臣，善待臣下，作臣的要忠於國家元首，諫正君王的錯誤，公正管理人民。為使各界人士，都盡好責任，要受教育，學得作人作事的必要知識，使我們能夠更好完成責任，最後劉向肯定了他對上天的信仰，並肯定上天賞善罰惡的作法，而要人積極行善。

　　　　　We have come to know the Western Han scholar Liu Xiang Through his works “Shui Yuan” (說苑) and “Xin Xu”(新序). He claimed that everything contains “ben”(本) which is the same as western philosophy's notion of “essence”. From his works, we see that Liu Xiang stressed human values. In other words, he was concerned on how to properly be a “per- son”. People have various identities, so it follows that they will employ different methodologies. This in an attempt to be a “complete per- son” (完人), a “jun zi” (君子). In order to become such a person, one must undergo education. This education attempts to training a higher power. Lin Xiang also believed that this higher power rewards goodness and punishes evil, making it imperative for one to act well.