从灵魂不朽到类的不朽——康德历史哲学的产生及其本质

From Immortality of Soul to Eternity of Species——Emergence and Essence of Kant's Philosophy of History

以个体灵魂的抽象理念为前提保证来世的时间持续性,是康德对灵魂不朽的实践设定的基本内涵;但这无助于建立人与人之间实在的交互作用以及一个现实的政治共同体。康德取而代之的是人类一切经验性行动对于某种隐秘的自然意图的合目的性,由此灵魂不朽被转化为类的不朽,时间的持续性获得了经验性、对象性、整体性的维度。这种在经验性行动整体上的历史哲学之所以能够成立,不仅是由于康德继承了近代政治哲学从自然状态到法制状态的主流思想,更在于它根植于康德的绵延的时间观上。康德的时间观是诸时间点之间的间断性和连续性的统一性观念,由此得到的自然事件(如人的行动)是发生在某个时间段上的连续的动作结果。而人类一切经验性行动的系统联结同时就是一切时间段的系统联结,历史就是在经验性行动上表现出来的整体性时间。

The thinking about temporal persisting from perspective of an individual soul is the main spirit of Kant's practical presupposition.However it does no good to establish factual relationships among people and a realistic political community.Thus Kant presented a covert natural purpose to ensure the infinite temporal process,which bears significances of objectivity and integrity.In Kant's view,the philosophy of history can be possible on conditions both of ideological heritage of modern political philosophy and his own thought of time.Time in Kant's philosophy is a subjective view of unity between discontinuity and consistency of numerous moments.By so understanding,a natural event is considered as an alternation during a period,and history is the systematic unity of all empirical behaviors each of which takes place during a period.