康德的自由究竟是什么?

What does Kant’s Freedom Mean Exactly?

康德的自由观是其实践哲学乃至整个哲学体系的拱顶石,但这个概念的内涵是复杂的。康德在其不同文本中对自由有多种表述方式,如先验自由、实践自由等。学界倾向于对这多种表述进行分别阐明和澄清,而较少挖掘其统一性和内在一致性。近年来,将其自由归根于一种任意性或偶然性是两种流行的解读路径,但这两种路径既没有揭示康德自由观的精神实质,也无助于呈现其各种自由表述之间的内在融贯性。康德自由概念的本质是一种绝对自发的因果性能力,只有从这个视角进行解读才能勾连起其自由理论的思想整体。

Kant’s view of freedom is the keystone of his practical philosophy and even the whole philosophy system, but the connotation of this concept is complex. Kant has many ways of expression of freedom in his different texts, such as transcendental freedom, practical freedom and so on. Most scholars tend to clarify these various expressions separately, and seldom excavate their unity and internal consistency. In recent years, there are two popular ways to understand his concept of freedom in which it is attributed to either arbitrariness or contingency. However, these two approaches neither reveal the spiritual essence of Kant’s view of freedom, nor can help to show the inherent consistency between the various expressions of freedom. The essence of Kant’s concept of freedom is an absolutely spontaneous ability with the nature of cause and effect. Only reading from this perspective can we connect his ideas of freedom into a systematic whole.