论政治哲学视域中的市民社会概念

On the Conception of Civil Society in Political Philosophy Viewpoint

近年来,“市民社会”无疑是国内学术界的一个热门话语。但是,由于它是一个源自西方的历史性概念,在历时态上它的内涵和外延一直处于不断演变之中,在共时态上它的概念所指也因学科领域(如法学、哲学、政治学、社会学等)的不同而有着很大差别。因而,某个时期或某个领域的具体规定就很难具有普适性,致使这一概念的使用却随着不同学科和不同观点之间讨论的日渐深入而渐趋模糊。那么,怎样才能祛除繁多的“领域壁垒”和复杂的历史演变对市民社会概念基本内涵的遮蔽,还“市民社会”以普适性的本质而使它成为一个适用于不同学科和理论领域的范畴呢?在我们来看,政治哲学的解读可能是一个理想的维度。从政治哲学视域来看,市民社会是一个具有多重层级的复合性概念:家庭是它的基础性层级,经济交往关系是它的核心性层级,而公共领域则是它的扩展性层级。这一规定对于解决学术界长期存在的对市民社会概念解释的歧义、混乱和矛盾不失为一条崭新的理路,因而具有多方面的理论意义和实践意义。

The conception of Civil Society is undoubtedly one of the hot spots which have been discussed by the domestic academic circles in these years. But because it is a historical conception originated from the west, its intention and extension are constantly changing in diachronic meaning, and its contents are very different owing to the difference of the subject realms, such as law, philosophy, politics and sociology in co-tense meaning. So its concrete prescription in certain period or certain realm is difficult to have the universality, which leads to the use of this conception is getting vague with the discussion of different subjects and different viewpoints going deep into day by day. Then, how can we move the cover of various Realm-Rampart and complicated historical evolution off the basic intentions of the conception of Civil Society, and return the conception its essence of universality so that it will become a conception which suits different subjects and theoretic realms? From the viewpoint of the author, political philosophy is a perfect dimensionality. Civil Society is a complex conception which has multilevel in political philosophy viewpoint: family is its basic level, and economic communicated relation is its key level, moreover public sphere is its expanding level. The above prescription could be taken as a new method to resolve the different meanings, chaos and contradiction about the conception of Civil Society which are long-existing in the domestic academic circles, so it will have important theoretic meaning and practice meaning.