聚焦情感:对亚当·斯密《国富论》之道德基础的重新认识--评《情感的自然化:英国古典政治经济学的哲学基础》

Focusing on Emotion:A New Understanding of the Moral Basics of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations——Book Review of The Naturalization of Sentiments:Philosophical Foundation of British Classical Political Economics

李家莲《情感的自然化:英国古典政治经济学的哲学基础》对亚当·斯密《国富论》所依循的道德哲学基础进行了深入评析。该书认为“游叙弗伦困境”是斯密道德观存在的严重问题,它既无法为“情感”提供有力的道德规范,使得基于“同情”而生的“合宜性”难逃相对主义的窠臼,也不能有效避免围绕情感主义哲学形成的各种道德难题。为应对“游叙弗伦困境”,美国当代哲学家迈克尔·斯洛特从中国古代阴阳哲学中寻找到解困之道,即运用强调被动但并非纯粹具有被动性的“承应”来制衡西方启蒙价值观过于重视理性控制的弊端。就东西方哲学交流互补这一层面而言,立足中国哲学文化思想视角重新认识《国富论》以及推动该书得以诞生的道德情感主义哲学传统,无疑具有深远且重大的现实意义。

Li Jialian’s The Naturalization of Sentiments:Philosophical Foundation of British Classical Political Economics makes an in-depth analysis of the moral philosophical basis followed by Adam Smith’s wealth of nations.This special book believes that“Euthyphro’s dilemma”is a serious problem in Smith’s moral outlook.It can neither provide a strong moral standard for“emotion”,which makes“receptivity”based on“sympathy”difficult to escape the relativism pattern,nor effectively avoid various moral problems formed around the emotionalist philosophy.In order to deal with the“Euthyphro’s dilemma”,Michael Slote found a way to understand the dilemma from the ancient Chinese philosophy of Yin and Yang,that is,to balance the disadvantages of Western Enlightenment values that pay too much attention to rational control by emphasizing passivity but not purely passivity.The seemingly advanced western thoughts actually have many defects.In terms of the exchange and complementarity of eastern and western philosophy,it is undoubtedly of far-reaching and great practical significance to re understand the wealth of nations and the moral emotionalist philosophical tradition that promoted the birth of the book from the perspective of Chinese philosophy and culture.