论卢梭新自然主义的方法论意义与道德意义

Methodological and ethical significance of Rousseau's new naturalism

卢梭的新自然主义直接吸收了近代哲学和自然科学中的方法论要素。对自然的讨论既构成了卢梭的论述策略,也奠定了他"关于真理和美德"的体系的基础。卢梭的自然主义所讨论的自然状态不是一种历史的真实,而毋宁是展开其推理的逻辑起点;自然人的提出也不是对人类祖先原貌的还原,而毋宁是对人类个体真实心理的回归。卢梭肯定了自然之善,因而否定了基督教的原罪说,从而将恶的问题转入道德和政治领域,由人类社会来为人的罪恶负责,把救赎的问题从彼岸拉到尘世。因此,在卢梭那里,对恶的问题的解决,就从基督教意义上通过信奉教义、忠于上帝实现对人的救赎,转为通过遵循自然法则教育人和建构完善的社会制度的方式,来缓解或解决个人和社会之间的对立。

Jean-Jacques Rousseau's new naturalism is inspired by the early modern philosophy and scientific methodology. His theory on nature constitutes the strategy of his discourse,and lays the foundation for his philosophy of truth and virtue. The natural state described by Rousseau is not the truth of human history,but rather a starting point of logic to develop his argument; his proposing of the natural man does not aim to restore the features of human ancestors,but rather to return to the truth of individual psychology. Rousseau claims the goodness of nature,opposing the Christian original sin and putting the problems of evils in the moral and political domain,and thus makes the human society itself responsible for its evils. Therefore,as for Rousseau,the solution of the problems of evil is transferred from the redemption of human by some faith in doctrines and God in a Christian sense to the education of man and the institution of reasonable social system according to the natural law,so as to alleviate or solve the opposition between man and society.