人性与惯性:斯宾诺莎的“人性力学”

Humanity and Inertia:Spinoza's Human Mechanics

斯宾诺莎哲学深受近代物理学尤其是机械力学的影响。但与笛卡尔不同,斯宾诺莎认为:不仅广延属性下的物体,而且思想属性下的心灵也受自然法则的支配。这特别表现在,人的情感总是受到力学原理尤其是惯性(inertia)的影响,在努力(conatus)的驱动下趋乐避苦。我们把情感的这种力学特征称为“人性力学”。历史地看,斯宾诺莎“人性力学”决定性地取代了古典人性论,成为现代人性论的核心标志。考察斯宾诺莎的“人性力学”,有利于我们理解这一重要的“古今之变”,并进而展示现代哲学在面对现代科学时的努力、困难与局限。

Spinoza's philosophy was deeply influenced by modern physics especially by mechanics.But different from Descartes,Spinoza believes that not only bodies under the attribute of extension,but also the mind under the attribute of thought are dominated by natural laws.This is particularly reflected in that human emotions are always affected by the mechanical principles especially inertia,and mind tends to be happy and avoid suffering under the drive of efforts(conatus).We call this mechanical feature of emotion“human mechanics”,Historically,Spinoza's“human mechanics”has decisively replaced the classical idea of human nature and become the core symbol of modern idea of human nature.The study of Spinoza's“human mechanics”will help us understand this important“change of ancient and modern times”,and then show the efforts,difficulties and limitations of moderm philosophy in the face of modern science.