历史与自然之间:构建现代政治理论何以可能?

Between History and Nature:How Is It Possible to Construct a Modern Political Theory?

历史政治学所产出的知识产品理应把具有普遍主义性格、无问西东的政治理论作为题中应有之义。而现代政治理论的构建需要在一定程度上尊重历史取向的同时,心存对于相对主义的警觉。原因在于,历史主义与科学主义均有沦为相对主义的潜能,进而构成人类现代性危机的根本方面。为此,施特劳斯式的复归古典理性主义和沃格林式的在历史中找寻秩序,都理应构成历史政治学在政治理论建构方面的有益警醒。然而,19世纪以来古典意义上的“哲学”一分为三,实质上限制了对何为良善的界定方式与历史的视野。因此,进行现代政治理论的构建,既需以历史规训实证主义,也需将自然史及自然科学在人类心智与社会行为方面的最新进展纳入视野。作为此种努力的阶段性发现,轴心时期乃至前轴心时期的中国政治思想,特别是儒家德性政治理论及其背后的人性论,蕴藏着足以得到自然科学前沿进展支撑的“前现代”的现代政治理论成色。此种以新材料证成的古典断言一旦体系化,或将成为具有普遍主义性格的中国政治理论的重要基石。

The academic products produced by HPS(the Historical Political Science)should possess the intellectual quality of political theory with the character of universal concern.However,the construction of a modern political theory needs to respect the historical orientation to a certain extent and meanwhile be alert to relativism.The reason lies in that both historicism and scientism have the potential to degenerate into relativism,thus constituting the fundamental aspect of the crisis of human modernity.Therefore,Leo Strauss'“return to classical rationalism”and Eric Voegelin's“search for order in history”constitute beneficial warnings of HPS concerning the construction of political theory.However,since the 19th century,philosophy in the classical sense has been divided into three parts,which essentially limits the way of defining what is good and the vision of history.Therefore,the construction of modern political theory requires not only the historical discipline of positivism,but also the latest progress of natural history and natural sciences in human mind and social behavior.As the periodical discovery of this endeavor,the Chinese political thought in the Axial period and even the pre-axial period,especially the Confucian political theory of virtue and the theory of human nature behind it,contains some elements of the“pre-modern”modern political theory which is supported by the advance of natural sciences.Once this kind of classical assertion proved by new material is reconstructed and systematized,it may become important cornerstone of Chinese Political Theory with universalist character.