论奥古斯丁的“根本恶”观念

On Augustine's Idea of “Radical Evil”

文章讨论《忏悔录》第二卷的"根本恶"观念,奥古斯丁称之为"为恶而恶"。文章从以下三方面分析了"根本恶"观念:(1)"根本恶"是与任何具体回报包括财物、名誉和权力无关的恶,是纯粹的恶;(2)"根本恶"虽然存在于个体里面,但个体由于受所谓的道德感约束,因此单个个体通常不会表现出根本恶,共同体(例如朋友的友爱)反而容易造成根本恶的实施;(3)根本恶的本质是"骄傲",而"骄傲"是一种虚假的自由。文章由此指出奥古斯丁所谓的恶的伦理是一种不同于希腊德性论的伦理观念。

This article discusses the idea of＂radical evil＂,which is called ＂no cause for the evil unless for the evil itself＂by Augustine in Vol. 2 of his Confession. It analyzes the idea ＂radical evil＂in three aspects：（ 1） ＂radical evil＂is a pure evil,which has nothing to do with any rewards such as property,honor and power;（ 2） ＂radical evil＂is usually not performed by a single person because of the restraint of conscience,though it exists within the individual. On the contrary,it is easier to be carried out in a community（ e. g. for the fellowship）;（ 3） the essence of＂radical evil＂is pride,and the pride is a kind of defective freedom. Accordingly,the article indicates that the so-called ethics of evil in Augustine is different from that in the virtue theory in Greek ethics.