多学科视域下的欧洲中世纪经济伦理研究

Review of the Study of the Medieval Economic Ethics in the Western Academia from Multidisciplinary Perspective

欧洲中世纪经济伦理研究以经济学、史学和法学解释最为突出。经济学解释重在阐明其中的一系列经济观念在经济学史上的地位,其贡献不可替代。史学解释重在讨论其与资本主义的关系、各经济现象的合法性、犹太人的“放贷者”形象建构、经济伦理的基层实施、其与贫穷/慈善/医院的关系等,发经济学、法学解释等之所未发。法学解释重在从中揭示多元公正观、自然法分析、神学与教会法之关系、教会法庭的敦促还贷机制、教会的经济立法等,凸显法史路径的特长。既有解释已具学科对话基础,如朗厄姆的经济学与伦理学视野、毕宏的史学与经济学眼光、经济法学路径等。然而,既有解释在学科对话上仍有推进的空间,如关于奥利维的“资本”论,就存在用现代经济学思维过度阐释而忽略其历史情境的问题。未来的研究可考虑以此问题为例,通过两种努力实现对研究对象的更立体、有机的解释:个体研究者提升综合运用经济学、史学、法学乃至其他学科相关成果的能力,而不同学科研究者之间则可开展集体研究与写作。

Among the approaches relating to the study of medieval economic ethics,the economic,historical and legal history interpretations are the most prominent.The economic approach mainly aims at exploring the place of various economic ideas,such as that of interest in the history of economics,making advances in the understanding of the subject which other approaches cannot make.The goal of the historical approach is mainly to discuss the relationship between the subject and capitalism,the validity of many economic activities,the image of the Jewish moneylender,the translation of economic ethics into practice and so forth,offering interpretations which other approaches cannot give.The major concerns of the legal historical approach are the multidimensional medieval idea of justice,the natural law analysis,the relations of theology with canon law,the debt repayment system prompted by the ecclesiastical courts,the Church’s economic legislations and so forth,standing in contrast to the said two approaches.The existing interpretations are partly transdisciplinary,as exemplified by Langholm’s economics and ethics approach,Piron’s historical investigation with an economic flavour,and the economic and legal approach.There remains much room,however,for the existing interpretations to make further multidisciplinary attempts,as can be seen from the case of Olivi’s view of capital,from which emerges the problem that an overinterpretation is given by economists due to a lack of consciousness of the historical context.In response to such a problem and the need for further multidisciplinary attempts in general,future research can be conducted in two ways:individual researchers are expected to be able to absorb insights from economists,historians,legal historians and many others,and as an alternative,scholars from different disciplines can try to cooperate with each other in their researches.