阿伦特对卢梭道德政治思想的批判

Hannah Arendt’s Critique of Rousseau’s Moral and Political Thought

阿伦特以人的境况和共同世界为立足点批判卢梭的性善论,认为卢梭以激情对抗理性,以私密情感对抗大众社会,其理论和实践后果都将扼杀使政治自由得以实现的公共空间;卢梭将同情引入政治理论,以同情和无私的经验为基础去构想抽象的公意概念,从而使得主权之独一性和绝对性成为可能,但其理论蕴含将是差异与个性的消除。阿伦特对卢梭的批判凸显了其政治现象学与卢梭道德政治思想的冲突,她独特的视角和运思有助我们重新审视西方政治思想传统。

Arendt grounds her critique of Rousseau mainly on her conception of the human condition and a common world.For Arendt,Rousseau’s doctrine on the natural goodness of man implies that he opposes reason with passion and the mass society with intimacy,and entails theoretically and practically the elimination of the public space that makes political freedom possible.Rousseau,according to Arendt,also introduces compassion into political theory,conceptualizes his abstract“general will”on the grounds of inner experience of compassion and selflessness and so makes the oneness and absoluteness of the sovereignty possible,but theoretically puts an end to difference and distinction.Arendt’s reading of Rousseau culminates in the striking contrast of her political phenomenology to Rousseau’s moral-political thought.Her unique perspective and thinking helps reexamine the tradition of western political thought.