作为道德范畴的“爱”

Ethical Perspective on Love as a Moral Category

“爱”是人类最伟大的情感之一,也是人类最重要的道德范畴之一。在“爱”的内部,则存在着以感性情感为基础的感性的爱和以理性情感为基础的理性的爱的区别。感性的爱具有“由己及人、由亲及疏、由近及远”的形式,并因这一形式在内容上表现为由具体走向抽象(贫乏)的爱,最终使它在内容和形式上都成为一种“差等的爱”;理性的爱则具有“普遍的一视同仁”的形式,并因这一形式在内容上表现为固定的最为抽象(贫乏)的爱,最终使它在内容和形式上都成为一种“无差等的普遍的爱”,亦即“博爱”。差等之爱的优势主要在于私人领域,博爱的优势主要在于公共领域。若是在实践上把它们(尤其是差等之爱)误用到不适用于它们的领域,那么,就会产生不好甚至有害的社会后果,特别是会导致社会的不公正。因此,应该厘清两种爱的区别,让它们在各自占优势的领域发挥良性的社会作用。

Love is one of the greatest emotions of human and one of the most important moral categories of human.However,there is a difference between sensual love based on perceptual emotion and reasonable love based on reasonable emotion within love.Sensual love has the form of“from oneself to others,from close relations to mere acquaintances,from the near to the distant”,which makes it a love from concrete to abstract in the content,and finally makes it a“differential love”in both of content and form.Reasonable love has the form of“universal non-discrimination”,which fixes it as a kind of the most abstract love in content,and eventually makes it a“universal and non-differential love”or“universal love”in both of content and form.The advantage of differential love is mainly in the private area,while the advantage of universal love lies mainly in the public area.In moral practice if they(especially the differential love)are misused in areas that are not apply to them,there will be bad or even harmful social consequences,especially in the aspect of resulting social injustice.Therefore,we should clarify the difference between the two kinds of love,and let them play a good social role in their respective dominant areas.