寻求秩序与意义——卢梭社会伦理思想论析

In Pursue for Order and Meaning——On Rousseau’s Idea of Political Ethics

非政治化的经济、非伦理化的政治、非宗教化的伦理被视为"理性祛魅"后的现代社会的基本特征和重大进步。卢梭将"政治的正当性与权威的基础在哪里?"和"道德的新基础在哪里?"这两个终极的价值与意义问题尖锐地提了出来,深刻揭示了现代社会秩序与意义的悖论。鉴于现代政治的这一困境,他自觉地把秩序与意义的双重关怀置于思维的重心:在批判唯理性的"进步"秩序观之基础上,揭示了科学、艺术的进步与道德风尚的异化;指出建立在不平等基础上的文明、秩序、理性与进步本身的先天不足;建构了以"公意"为旨归的"道德共同体"与以"公民宗教"为基石的价值意义体系这样一种新的社会政治秩序和德性生活。然而,由于思想中固有的"前瞻"与"后顾"的张力,卢梭也没有很好地走出现代性的困境。

De-politicized economy, de-ethicized politics, de-religionized ethics are regarded as basic characteristics and significant progress of modem society after the ＂disenchantment＂ by reasoning. Rousseau sharply put forward two issues concerning ultimate value and meaning what is the foundation of qualification and authority about politics？ What about morality？ Thus he revealed profoundly the paradox of order and meaning in modem society. Considering the predicament of modem politics, Rousseau consciously put twofold concerns--order and meaning--at the center of his thinking. On the ground that he criticized rationalism ＂progressive＂ order, Rousseau revealed the alienation between the progress of science, art and moral climate, pointed out the innate deficiency among science, art, morality, and progress itself, which were all based on inequality, and constructed moral community with ＂general will＂of the system of value and meaning and ＂civic religionl＂ as its soul, in which new political order and virtue life might be produced. However, for the innate contradictions between ＂looking-forward＂ and ＂tracing-back＂, Rousseau could not overcome the modem predicament, either.