论麦金太尔的道德叙事理论

On Alasdair MacIntyre's Moral Narrative Theory

麦金太尔在近著《现代性冲突中的伦理学:欲望、实践推理与叙事》中对其道德叙事思想进行了系统化、理论化的阐释。具体而言,在伦理学的话语体系中,我们反思自己为了满足某些欲望或者因为何种理由选择这样做而非那样做时,也就是试图解释我作为一个理性行为者的行动是合理的。我们通过这类解释能够发展出一种关于人类行为的结构性叙事,从而获得透彻理解人类幸福意味着什么的方式。这一叙事不仅是文本的,也是历史的、实践的,我们对自己的选择、行动、人生的理解和解释都体现着叙事的作用,这一叙事又是所属传统与社会背景下的宏观叙事的一部分。

In his recent book, Ethics in the Conflict of Modernity: An Essay on Desire, Practical Reasoning and Narrative, MacIntyre gives a systematic and theoretical explanation of the previous moral narrative thought. Specifically, in the discourse system of ethics, when we reflect on what we choose to do rather than do in order to satisfy certain desires or for what reasons, we try to explain that my actions as a rational actor are reasonable. We can develop a structured narrative of human behavior through such explanations, thus gaining a thorough understanding of what human happiness means. This narrative is not only textual, but also historical and practical. Our understanding and interpretation of our own choices, actions and lives all reflect the role of narrative, and our narrative is part of the macro-narrative of our own tradition and social background.