鲁迅疾病叙事与中国现代生命伦理的发生

Lu Xun's Illness Narratives and the Emergence of Modern Life Ethics in China

鲁迅文学中的疾病叙事不仅体现着鲁迅的医学背景、人格影响,而且灌注着鲁迅自己对生命的伦理观念。这些观念主要有三个方面的内容:一是主张安乐死,能医的就医,不能医的就帮助他死得没有痛苦;二是反对酷刑与虐杀,批判国民性中对科学的精神没有兴趣,而把聪明才智都挥洒在这种给被害人带来无穷而难忍的痛苦的虐杀与酷刑上;三是尊重残疾者但反对滥施同情,体现出肉体之小与精神之大的辩证认知。鲁迅的这种生命伦理观念既是鲁迅自身疾病纠缠的生命体验的升华,也是科学精神与生命哲学互织的结晶。鲁迅在其一生中对生命伦理现代化的思考与践行,体现出的正是他对《新青年》催生"最后觉悟之觉悟"即伦理觉悟的启蒙方略的主动呼应。

The illness narratives in Lu Xun’s works not only reflect his medical background and some aspects of his personality, but embody his ethical ideas about life. His views on life ethics includes the following three aspects. Firstly, he supported euthanasia, thinking that if his disease was curable, the patient must be treated but if not, he should be helped to die in a decent and painless way. Secondly, he was against torture and killing, criticizing the dark side of traditional Chinese national character which showed a lack of interest in life science but great talent for inventing different cruel ways to torture and kill people. Thirdly, he respected disabled people but opposed condescending sympathy towards them, which speaks of his dialectical understanding that spiritual being was superior to physical being. Such a life ethics of Lu Xun was the result of the interaction between his own experience of illness, his belief in science and his life philosophy. His thinking and practice of the modern life ethics in all his life was an active response to the enlightenment strategy promoted by the magazine Xinqingnian 新青年( New Youth ) for helping people to gain“ the ultimate understanding”( i.e. the awareness of ethics ).