技术伦理与形而上学——试论尤纳斯《责任原理》

Ethics of Technology and Metaphysics——on Hans Jonas' the Imperative of Responsibility

1979年 ,尤纳斯 (190 3- 1993)发表了他的《责任原理》一书。 2 0多年来 ,书中提出的惊世骇俗的观点已经产生了很大影响 ,亦引起不少争论。按照尤纳斯的看法 ,在现代技术社会 ,人类的群体行为已经发生了质的变化。技术已不单纯是改善人类生活、促使人类进步的工具 ,技术造成的”厄运”已经威胁整个人类与自然。人类征服自然的目的已不再是保护自身免遭来自大自然的威胁。伦理学以人的行为为对象。行为涉及的范围 ,特别是行为的性质的变化要求伦理学做出相应的回答。为此 ,尤纳斯认为传统的伦理学已不能适应人类今天面对的新的情况 ,康德的只问动机不问后果的动机伦理亦显得苍白无力。取而代之的应该是以“责任”为中心的道德标准。责任的对象则包括自然界与未来人类。更甚之 ,尤纳斯认为人类有义务恪守这一原理 ,因为自然界有其自身的尊严与价值 ,如同一个嗷嗷待哺的婴儿以自己的简单存在呼唤成年人的保护那样。尤纳斯提出的具体要求似乎是明确的 ,理论上却含有一系列哲学上难以解决的问题 :从简单的真实描写 ,哪怕是对世界末日的描写 ,如何引伸出改变这一状况的道德要求 ?人类为什么要继续存在 ?怎样理解自然界的自身尊严与价值 ?如果自然界有其自身价值 ,其价值目的又是什么 ?这样的话 ,怎样解释自然?

In 1978,Hans Jonas(1903-1993)published his Imperative of Responsibility.In the more than two decades that follow,the views proposed in that book have aroused some disputes,though have been of great influence. According to Jonas,qualitative changes have occurred to the group behaviors of hummanity in modern high tech society. Technology is not merely tools for improving human life and prompting human progress. The'doom'caused by technology has threatened the survial of entire humanity and the whole nature. The end of humanity's conquering nature is no longer to protect humanity from the harm of nature. Ethics focuses on human behaviors. The change of the rules of the behavior,especially the change of the quality of the behavior requires ethics to correspond. Jonas proposes that traditional ethics cannot accommodate the new situation humanity confronting today and that Kant's ethics of ethos which focuses only on motivations rather on consequences is powerless. The substitue should be moral standard centering on'responsibility'. The object of responsibility should include nature as well as humanity. What is more,Jonas thinks that humanity has the imperative of duty to observance,for nature has its own dignity and value just as a helpless baby-by his (her) simple existence-arouses adult's care. The concrete requirements Jonas provides seem definite,but in fact,there are a lot of philosophical questions hard to answer. For example,how can the prescription to change the status quo be deduced from the simple description,even description about the doomsday?Why should humanity go on surviving?How are the digrity and value of nature understood?What's the end of it,if nature has its own value?How is the neutrality of value in scientific research explained?For philosophy to answdr all these questions,some sort of metaphysics or ontology,even theology must be appealed to. So,in fact Jonas' ethics of responsibility is an ethics of noumenon with the characteristic of faith. In the end,there is a question of practice. For this purpose it is obvious that the only theories suggested by philosophers and moralists are not enough.