錢穆先生於中國現代學術史之發展中，有其特殊貢獻，此點經久而論定，歧異可漸趨於一。唯有關義理思想部分，錢先生之立場，究竟應如何評價？則不僅學者之意見不同，且此爭議，短期內難以消弭。錢先生具有明顯之儒家價值觀，與自覺之儒家意識，此一點，讀其書者皆可感受。然「儒家意識」與「儒學意識」不同。儒家意識之形成，主要來自價值信仰，與一種伴之而有之「成就價值」之志意。而「儒學意識」，則是歷史發展之產物。本文主張，錢先生之尊崇孔子，乃信仰孔子所言之「仁」與「聖」，乃信仰孔子所言之「志道」、「據德」、「依仁」、「游藝」，乃信仰孔子所言之「下學」與「上達」；凡此所據，皆在《論語》。至於學術觀念，則錢先生不唯自始即非持守以「經學」為儒學核心之舊軌，且於學術觀念之分疏上，亦是將其所關注之「史學」與「義理之學」，分判為「雖相關連，卻應區別」之兩者。故即以錢先生最所推崇之理學家言，其於程朱、陸王兩派之立說，雖皆有所取，亦皆有所不取。其中最要之差異，在於錢先生與朱子、陽明二人所持之「知識論」立場不同。此點顯示錢先生不僅不主張以「經學」為核心之儒學，其實亦並不發展以「理學」為核心之儒學。錢先生於其接受「現代思想」之衝擊與影響，並於回應時代需求之過程中，實際乃是建立一種屬於當代中國學術發展之風格；論者並不宜即以單純之「儒學觀念」或「儒學規格」加以理解，或詮釋。

Professor Chien Mu (1894-1990) occupies a prominent position as an influential historian in modern China. His research on Chinese history has been highly appraised. But at the same time, his obvious Confucian style is also quite controversial. This study tries to interpret and evaluate, through a thorough examination, the fundamental structure of Chien’s philosophical standpoint, and his application of the Confucian concepts and ideas. The author argues that, although most of Chien’s contemporary critics have treated him as a conservative Confucian scholar, yet in dealing with China’s challenge of modernization, Chien’s basic issue has always been a genuinely modern one. Not only does Chien’s entire life’s work of interpreting Chinese history revaluate the fundamental essence of the culture, his concept of value also reveals a new attempt to reestablish the Confucian system in accord with his idea of the modern scholarship.