立场、方法与禁忌:中国政治思想与文化研究断想

Standpoint,Method and Mistakes:Some Reflections and Suggestions on the Research of Chinese Political Thoughts

中国政治思想史研究的基本立场是站在当下反观传统,研究者的视界需要贯通古今。在方法论上,不能一味依赖定量研究和质性研究,而是需要沿用思辨性定性研究。作为中国政治思想与政治文化的研究者还要防范两种弊病:一是历史感的缺失,二是主观投射过度,同时还要坚持学术研究的"非唯一功利性"。只有历经了对于一个民族的思想与文化悠久积淀的深刻反思,研究者才会对当今时代的社会进步、人的尊严和生命的意义给出合理的人文阐释。也正是在这样的意义上,知识分子的天职——质疑、颠覆和构建方能得到真实的展现。

The standpoint of the research of Chinese political thoughts is to reflect Chinese traditions from modern perspective and sense of question. This requires a broad vision through a long history and covering the whole world. As far as method is concerned a simple emphasis on qualitative or quantitative research is not enough,and a combination of speculative and quantitative method is better. For the scholars of the circle of Chinese political thoughts,there are two drawbacks which should be avoided, one is the absence of the sense of history and the other is an overstated objective imagination. Moreover,scholars should not take an' exclusive utilitarian criterion' as the only criterion to guide their academic researches. We could not give rational and humanistic interpretations on social progress,the dignities of human being and the meanings of lives without any profound reflections on the long accretions of thoughts and cultures of our nation. Thus in this sense, the calling of the intellectuals—— to question,deconstruct and construct——can really be achieved.