리쩌허우는 사덕(私德)과 공덕(公德)에서 각각 출발한 종교적 도덕과 사회적 도덕으로 구성된 양덕론을 제기하였다. 그는 두 가지 도덕의 구분에 있어 존 롤스의 『정치적 자유주의』에서 제기된 ‘중첩적 합의’ 이론의 지원을 받았다고 밝히고 있다. 그러나 그의 양덕론 자체는 중국 전통적 정치‧종교‧윤리의 삼위일체 즉 정교합일의 구조를 해체하고 자유‧평등‧민주‧인권 등의 보편가치를 실현하기 위해 제기한 그 자신의 이론임을 분명히 말한다. 양덕론은 중국 학계에서 개념 혼동 등의 비판을 받으며 논란의 여지를 지니고 있지만, 종교적 도덕을 모범으로 삼아 현대 사회적 도덕을 이끌어 내는 모델을 제시함으로써 중국 사회주의 도덕을 구축하는 데 계적을 제공하는 것으로 긍정적인 평가를 받고 있기도 하다.
Li Zehou reveals that he proposed the “Two moral theories” to dismantle and reconnect the structure of the triad of politics, religion, and ethics in Chinese tradition. In “Two moral theories”, religious morality refers to the ethics of absolutism with “historical inevitability” such as “God's will” and “truth”. However, he analyzes and suggests that this religious morality is derived from a long-standing custom, that is, social morality. It is his assertion that primitive divinity was given to customs by human needs and circumstances, and it became a kind of divine absolute command, which created a huge function and effect.
Modern social morality is summarized as all social agreements between humans based on individual interests. In other words, it is a modern law and the fundamental foundation of politics.
Like the Chinese academic critique of it, the “Two moral theories” may be oriented to the issue of political philosophy rather than to a discussion for genuine morality. It is being criticized for speculatively that it was "influenced by the American logic that united American ethics and political philosophy." Of course, Li Zehou denies the latter, but as for the former, the author of this thesis also think that, especially, centered on the Analects of Confucius, borrowing the articles presented by analyzing the long historical traditions of China and saying, “Ethics is politics”, it seems that his thoughts are reflected, and he himself does not deny this criticism, but rather says, "'Ethics is the basis of political philosophy.'" Li Zehou sees that the universal values proposed by the Enlightenment Reason -liberty, equality, human rights, democracy, etc.- should be realized in China, but he says that it is a difficult task, suggesting that it is because a model suitable for China has not been found. Accordingly, he saw that the distinction between the two morals is urgently needed in present-day China, and that it is appropriate to go through John Rawls's Political Liberalism of “overlap consensus” in terms of “distinction”. He argues that the traditional structure of Confucianism should be deconstructed into “Two moral theories”, and religious morality and modern social morality should be separated and re-established.
Li Zehou's “Two moral theories” is being positively evaluated as providing a stepping stone to the construction of Chinese-style socialist morality. However, there are many controversial parts, and in particular, criticism of the confusion of concepts seems to be the most notable. However, in this regard, the author of this thesis presents Li Zehou's unique philosophical thinking and method in the ethical perspective. As Li Zehou is well-known in academia as a scholar who excels at giving or creating new concepts to existing terms, it can be also interpreted as giving his own concept to already recognized concepts in morality and ethics.