人为何要有道德?——回应伯纳德·威廉斯的挑战

Why be Moral?——Responding to Bernard Williams’ Challenge

在《道德运气》的第一章,伯纳德·威廉斯对西方道德哲学的主流传统发起了抨击。他批评功利主义和康德主义对道德的抽象理解无法容纳品格和个人关系的重要性,无法帮助我们解答应当如何生活的问题。威廉斯用“人格完整性”这一厚实的人格概念来挑战以往对人格同一性的薄理解,认为它构成了对现代道德哲学的一个根本挑战,即难以回答“人为何要有道德”的问题。威廉斯的批评自有其道理,但他的错误在于,第一人称的视角虽然是实践慎思的出发点,却不应该是它的终点。我们还应当具有在第一人称视角内构想他者的能力,才能成为一个道德的能动者。与康德主义那种构想他者的“薄”的方式相比,还有一种构想他者的“厚”的方式,即真正地“看到”他者,从而与他人一道实现我们的好生活计划。

In the first chapter of Moral Luck,Bernard Williams attacked the mainstream tradition of western moral philosophy.He criticized utilitarianism's and Kantianism's abstract understanding of morality for failing to accommodate the importance of character and personal relationships.He believed that this understanding missed the true question of moral philosophy,namely,“how should I live”.Williams used the profound concept of“personality integrity”to challenge the previous superficial understanding of personal identity,thinking that it constitutes a fundamental challenge to modern moral philosophy,that is,it is difficult to answer the question of“why be moral?”Williams'criticism has its own merits,but his mistake is that although the first-person perspective is the starting point of practical deliberation,it should not be its end point.We should also have the ability to conceive the other in a first-person perspective in order to be a moral agent.Compared with the“thin”(薄)way of Kantianism to conceive the other,there is another way to conceive the other in the“thick”(厚)way,that is,to truly“see”the other,thereby to realize our plans for a good life under a just system.