近年來關于老子或道家之"自然"的研究有重要進展,然而美中不足的是,已有的討論大多圍繞自然的造詞義和語詞義展開,鮮有討論自然一詞在《老子》中之體系義的。本文重點梳理《老子》之后,"自然"一詞在先秦兩漢重要子書如《莊子》《荀子》《韓非子》《呂氏春秋》《春秋繁露》《淮南子》《文子》《論衡》中使用與演變的情況,從而凸顯《老子》之自然的體系義與后人之自然在思想意義上的不同和演化,展現自然從整體義到個體義、最高義到普遍義、價值義到客觀義的蛻變。希望由此促進對自然詞義之豐富性、復雜性和歧義性的理解,以利于進一步思考多種自然在現代社會應用和發展之可能性。

The philosophical meaning of Laozi’s ziran is different from the meaning of ziran as a compound of two characters. Therefore,it is essential to establish a clear understanding about the meaning of ziran from various perspectives and with respect to different usages as well as paying attention to how its meaning has transformed over its long history. This essay attempts to present three philosophical meanings of Laozi’s ziran so as to offer a solid basis for comparison with later scholars’ usages of the word. In Laozi,ziran is taken as the highest value of an overall context and society. However,it would be used by later scholars in reference to individual,common,and objective situations. This phenomenon and trend can be observed in eight texts,including Zhuangzi,Xunzi, and Hanfeizi. With these transformations and complications in mind, we can better understand the different meanings of ziran and seek a sophisticated deployment of ziran as an important value for the modern world.