重读卢梭:纪念卢梭诞辰三百周年

Rousseau and the Enlightenment of the Liberal Intellectuals

今年是卢梭诞辰三百周年，对于学界来说，最好的纪念方式莫过于重读卢梭。卢梭是启蒙运动最著名的思想家之一，有“法国大革命之父”的美誉。在全球化的今天，启蒙运动的思想观念似乎早已经全面落实。然而，尽管启蒙思想逐渐普世化，但学界对卢梭思想的认识仍然十分模糊。卢梭生前和逝后一直是个极具争议的人物，卢梭具有极为高超的写作技艺，这使得认识卢梭的面目较为困难。近几十年来，西方学界致力于重读卢梭，通过辨识他的修辞来认识复杂的卢梭。反观我国学界，虽然早已公认卢梭的思想史地位，迄今却仍停留于种种似是而非的流俗之见。我们要认清卢梭，首先必须认真重新阅读卢梭。本专栏的四篇文章，就是细致阅读卢梭的四个文本的尝试。

In spite of its great popularity and extensive influence, Rousseau＇s famous saying of ＂Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains＂ has always been puzzling for generations of scholars up to recent days, due to its extreme obscurity and diversified ways of interpretation. One important passage in Rousseau＇s Discourse on the sciences and arts contributes to the clarification of this saying, as well as to the revelation of Rousseau＇s ultimate intention within all writings of his life. Rousseau accurately discerns the intellectuals~ innovations in the concept of society, and points out the inner connection of the sciences and arts to commercial spirit, which is held in high esteem in the enlightenment. The di- versified and careful sayings which Rousseau takes to address the ＂earthly powers＂, ＂civilized peoples＂ and ＂talents＂, demonstrate Rousseau＇s insightful observation of the quality and innate character of en- lightenment.