曼德维尔对卢梭自然状态学说的影响

Mandeville's Influence on Rousseau's Doctrine of the State of Nature

曼德维尔是早期现代社会的重要辩护者,他关于社会起源的论说对卢梭的《论人与人之间不平等的起因和基础》构成了深远的影响,后者的野蛮人形象、文明的演进论以及对文明实质的判断都得益于曼德维尔。是曼德维尔真正将自然法从自然状态中驱逐,使这一学说的主旨由统治的正当性变成了文明社会的历史。但曼德维尔与卢梭在人性论上的分歧使他们对文明的态度截然对立:曼德维尔所展示的社会形成过程实质上是人之粗鄙野蛮的激情如何得到驯服的过程,现代文明正体现了这种高超的驯化人性的技艺;而在卢梭看来文明恰恰是套在人身上的沉重枷锁,既剥夺了其原初的自由,亦扭曲了其纯真的天性。曼德维尔那里所隐含的文明的进步观在卢梭这里变成了人类的堕落史。

Bernard Mandeville was one of the most controversial figures in the early 18rE century, and his doctrine of the state of nature was also the most important source of Rousseau＇s Discourse on inequality. Adam Smith noted it long before, but it has not got enough attention for a long time. Clarifying the connection between Mandeville and Rousseau＇s doctrines of the state of nature is very important, not only for grasping the essence of Rousseau＇s thought, but also for the appreciation of civil society in the 18th century.