“道德想象力”的当代美学阐释

“Moral Imagination” in Contemporary Aesthetics

在当代英美学界,审美想象渐趋被赋予诸种道德功用,作为文艺伦理范畴的“道德想象力”也应运而生。相关论断大致有三。其一,想象力可在一定程度上化解道德概念的艰涩含混,通过感性体验的浸润来优化道德实践的有效性。其二,叙事艺术包孕着丰赡且崭新的道德蕴涵,依凭想象力的持续渗透而催动着道德思维方式的更新。其三,以文学为首的“虚构”及其衍生性想象在扩张道德知识方面意义显豁,极大地改善了道德经验的范围与强度。“道德想象力”以“情境”为媒介,常与“文学”联姻,具有不可取替的效能,之于文学伦理批评而言亦不啻于一种有益的前沿路向。

Aesthetic imagination has increasingly been ascribed various moral functions, leading to the emergence of “moral imagination” as a category within literary ethics. There are three main assertions related to this concept. First, imagination can alleviate the abstruseness and ambiguity of moral concepts to a certain extent, enhancing the effectiveness of moral practice through the infusion of sensory experience. Second, narrative art encompasses rich and novel moral implications, promoting the renewal of moral thinking through the continuous influence of imagination. Third, “fiction,” spearheaded by literature, and its derivative imagination are significant in expanding moral knowledge, substantially improving the scope and intensity of moral experience. “Moral imagination,” mediated by “context” and often intertwined with “literature,” possesses irreplaceable efficacy, serving as a beneficial frontier approach for literary ethical criticism.