“群德”的思想分途:宪政秩序与国民公德——以五四前后章士钊及李大钊的论述为中心

The Divergence of Civic Virtue: A Study on the Public Ethics of Chinese Intellectuals in the May Fourth Period

五四时期是近代中国思想史"转型时代"的高潮。然而,因道德权威性的丧失而带来的道德分歧,也导致了对共和理念的侵蚀。民国初年政治乱局的缘由,就在于政治制度背后共和精神的缺位。共同体如何形成基于"伦理公共善"之上的集体认同,因此成为五四知识分子思考的核心问题之一。章士钊、李大钊等致力于民初宪政实践的知识分子,虽然将宪政秩序视为塑造共同体公共认同的重心,但在他们看来,国家不仅仅是一个"政治共同体",而是一个内含公共伦理的"道德共同体"。这种公共伦理或是来源于对国家公共利益的尊重,或是来自个人良知的汇合。如果说,新教改革以来的西方社会,试图通过分离德性伦理与规范伦理,以应对现代社会价值多元化的挑战。那么,五四知识分子则更注重个人德性与伦理规范的互动。在对中国思想史脉络自我理解的过程中,五四知识分子的公共伦理形成了独特的现代性。

May Fourth intellectuals forged a particular kind of morality centered on utilitarianism and individualism.However,due to the collapse of traditional moral,divergences in this new morality also eroded the political stability of the Republic of China. How could the Republic create a new collective identity as its ethical foundation? Chinese intellectuals of the May Fourth period examined the interactions between morality and ethics,individual and nation,and 'good'and 'right'in ways distinct from the history of secularization in the West,shaping a unique form of intellectual modernity in China.