西方元伦理学百年发展历程的回顾与前瞻

One Hundred Years of Western Metaethics:Retrospect and Prospect

20世纪初以来的西方百年元伦理学一直以追求关于规范性问题的确定性认识为宗旨,主要沿着道德语义和实践理性两大主线发展。前者探讨的主要问题是如何解释道德论说的两个显著的语义特征(即适真性和规范性),从而形成了认知主义与非认知主义两大阵营;后者主要探讨道德的合理性和实践理性的最终根据问题,产生了形形色色的建构主义。整个西方百年元伦理学史可以大致分为三个时期,即20世纪上半叶的初创时期、下半叶的扩张时期和21世纪以来的全盛时期。回顾西方百年元伦理学不同时期的发展,梳理西方元伦理学家在追求规范性知识的道路上所取得的进展与问题,批判性地借鉴其研究成果,将有助于我们创立具有普遍价值的、客观的规范性知识体系,以应对我们所面临的各种危机与挑战,尤其是应对人类命运共同体所面临的共同危机与挑战。

Since the early 20 th century,the project of metaethics,particularly as carried out by Western philosophers,has been aiming at pursuing definite answers to normative questions for more than one hundred years.Western metaethics has been developing along two main lines:moral semantics and practical reason.The main question for moral semantics has been how to explain two semantic features of moral discourse,i.e.,truth-aptness and normativity.Proposed responses to this question have brought about two camps of metaethical theories:cognitivism and noncognitivism.The main question for practical reason has been how to explain its ultimate ground,and proposed responses to this question have resulted in various kinds of constructivism.Furthermore,the entire history of Western metaethics can be divided into three main stages:the initial stage in the first half of the 20 th century,the“great expansion”stage in the second half of the 20 th century,and the flourishing stage in the present century.The examination of these stages of Western metaethics can show us the clear progress and achievements of Western meta-ethicists on their road of pursuing normative knowledge.At the same time,critically reflecting on their progress and achievements as this paper attempts to do can help us establish a system of universal and objective normative knowledge with which to deal with the various crises and challenges that we are currently facing,including those concerning common crises that challenge our community,which prioritizes the shared future that includes all humankind.