文明的提升与沉沦:弥尔、严复与史华兹

The Rise and Decline of Civilization: A Study of Mill, Yan Fu and Swartz

本文在于尝试以近数十年来西方对于弥尔的研究,一方面拟就弥尔的前后期著作,说明弥尔思想的最终归趋,以及《自由论》的深层意涵,并拟以此更进一步探讨严复所了解的弥尔。作者认为严复《自由论》的翻译,虽然有不少误读和错译之处,但也忠实地传达了弥尔对社群、文明的关切,可以说是相当程度把握了弥尔的思想关怀。

This paper, based on the studies of Mill accumulated over the past decades in the west, attempts to reveal the ultimate destination that Mill's later thought was tending towards and the deeper meanings in his On Liberty. In light of this, the paper will show how Yan Fu, the earliest translator of Mill in modern China, correctly grasped and conveyed the concerns about community and civilization in Mill's thought, in spite of the numerous errors in his translations.