契约与伦理--霍布斯的伦理观

Contract and Ethics——Hobbes’s Ethics

霍布斯是西方伦理思想史上的重要伦理学家,他通过对人性的分析,提出人的激情尤其是权势欲是支配人类行动的最深层动因,而权势欲就是人类生命自我保存的欲望,也是人的最基本的自然权利。然而,受权势欲等激情驱使的人类由于人的自然平等从而使得自然状态就是战争状态。人对死亡的恐惧以及人的理性使得人们缔结契约,同意放弃一部分权利从而结束战争状态,进入政治社会,以契约为前提,霍布斯提出了一系列自然法,即道德法则。由于契约而进入政治社会从而人们在主权者即利维坦的统治之下生活,霍布斯进而提出主权者与臣民之间的伦理关系就是服从的论点,而臣民的服从是最大的美德。因而,霍布斯以人性自私为基点提出了两类道德:一类是基于权利平等的自然法道德,二是基于主权者与臣民不平等关系的服从道德。

Hobbes is an important ethicist in the history of western ethical thought.Through the analysis of human nature,he puts forward that human passion,especially power desire,is the deepest motive that dominates human action,and power desire is the desire of human life for self-preservation and the most basic natural right of human beings.However,human beings,driven by the passion of power,are in a state of war because of human beings natural equality.People’s fear of death and people’s reason make people conclude a contract,agree to give up part of the rights to end the state of war and enter the political society.On the premise of contract,Hobbes put forward a series of natural law,namely,moral law.Secondly,because of the contract,people entered the political society and lived under the rule of the sovereign,Leviathan.Hobbes then argued that the ethical relationship between sovereigns and subjects was submission,and that submission was the greatest virtue.Therefore,Hobbes put forward two kinds of morality based on human selfishness:One is natural law morality based on equal rights,and the other is obedience morality based on the unequal relationship between sovereign and subjects.