重申启蒙--走出从启蒙到集权的“辩证法”

Reiteration of Enlightenment——Walking Out of the Dialectics from Enlightenment to Concentration of Power

在过去的两个世纪中,左派总是站在启蒙一边,为启蒙摇旗呐喊。然而,在当今时代,启蒙与左派之间的天然纽带正在断裂。在一些左派看来,启蒙不仅是理智上有缺陷的思想纲领,而且是政治上危险的行动纲领,不是被当作自由之路,而是被当作通向奥斯维辛和古拉格之路。针对当今左派中盛行的反启蒙和反现代性思潮,一些思想家提出要重申启蒙。哈贝马斯认为,启蒙虽然有局限性,但仍不失为一个包含着规范理想和解放潜能的未完成计划;布隆纳进而认为,启蒙不仅不是主体形而上学暴政和集权主义渊薮,而且是无情批判现实和主张积极行动的进步主义政治学。应该承认,在当今时代对启蒙的辩护是有意义的,但更有意义的是,通过对启蒙的批判寻找到更好的启蒙概念。

In the past two centuries,the Left was always standing by the Enlightenment,flag-waving and sloganshouting as a sign of supporting the Enlightenment.However,the natural bond between the Enlightenment and the Left is breaking in recent times.To some leftists,the Enlightenment is not only an intellectually defective ideological platform,but also a politically dangerous action platform;not regarded as a path to freedom,but the path to Auschwitz and Gulag.Aiming at the counter-Enlightenment and counter-Modernity ideological trends prevailing in the Left nowadays,some ideologists propose the necessity of reiterating Enlightenment.Habermas considers that though Enlightenment has its limitations,it can be regarded as an unfinished plan containing normative ideas and liberation of potential.Bronner thinks that Enlightenment is not the subject metaphysics of tyranny and gathering place of totalitarianism,but progressive politics which criticize the reality relentlessly and advocates positive action.It can be admitted that defense of Enlightenment in recent times is significant,but to find a better enlightenment concept through criticism of Enlightenment is more significant.