“道德不要主人”——论克里斯蒂安·沃尔夫对儒家伦理学的解释

“Morality Does Not Need a Master”——On Christian Wolff’s Interpretation of Confucian Ethics

克里斯蒂安-沃尔夫在1721年发表的那场关于中国人实践哲学的演讲,让他失去了教席职位,这是启蒙时代的关键事件之一。沃尔夫将这些通过耶稣会士的翻译而为人所知的中国文本解读为一个例证,以证明有德性的生活和良好的政治秩序在没有宗教的情况下的可能性。就这样,他与儒家思想的联系为一种不受神学家长制的自律伦理学的进路提供了准备。沃尔夫也以这种方式使中国成为开创现代性道路的参与者。然而,这个跨文化哲学的伟大时刻已经从西方的历史记忆中被抹去了。这篇演讲的300周年纪念是一个让我们再度回顾它的机会。

Christian Wolff’s speech on the Chinese practical philosophy(Oratio de sinarum philosophia practica)in 1721,which brought him the loss of his professorship,is one of the key events of the Age of Enlightenment.Wolff read the Chinese texts,which became known through Jesuit translations,as evidence of the possibility of a virtuous life and a well-ordered political system even without religion.Thus,his liaison with Confucianism prepared the path for an autonomous ethics without being patronized by theology.In this way,Wolff made China a participant in the opening of the road to modernity.However,this great moment of transcultural philosophizing has been eliminated from the western historical memory.The 300th anniversary of the speech is an opportunity to recall it.