心为之主与顺其自然——笛卡尔伦理学发微

Being Self-Determined and Obeying the Nature——An Exposition of Descartes' Ethics

灵魂的本质是思维,它具有自由意志;物体的本质是广延,它不能自我决定。以此"二元论"形而上学为框架,笛卡尔认为,人的本质是"灵魂与肉体的紧密结合",其‘意志’的自由选择需要得到"理性"的支持与规范。因此,要获得人生的幸福,一方面,人要成为自身行为的主人;而另一方面,人需要凭借理性认清自己的"自然倾向",进而在自由地顺应自然倾向的基础上获得心灵持久的快乐与满足。

In the framework of the metaphysical distinction of soul and body, Descartes maintains that the essence of human being is ＂an intimate union of soul and body＂, and the free choice made by will should be supported and determined by reason ; so two conditions are demanded in order to gain the happiness of human life ： being the master of one＇ s own behav- ior, and using reason to make known human＇ s own ＂natural inclination＂ , which should be freely obeyed as a basic princi- ple to gain the eternal joy and satisfaction of soul. Just in the cue of Descartes＇ discourse about ＂soul＂ and ＂body＂, this paper introduces and analyzes the main thoughts of his ethics.