批判理论视野下的社会自由概念及其不足

The Concept of Social Liberty from the Perspective of the Critical Theory

在人类知识史上,自由始终都是非常重要的议题。霍耐特在最近的理论发展当中,将自由从政治哲学的窠臼当中解放出来,从社会哲学的角度提出"社会自由"此一概念,成为今天国际学界相当热门的讨论主题。该概念一方面宣示了批判理论最新的研究方向,另一方面也让自由研究成为一个值得从社会学的角度加以分析的任务。然而,霍耐特虽然提出了"自由有其社会条件"的基本命题,但并没有充分解释社会的意涵。这使得他的自由理论也没能提出不同于过往政治哲学理论的创新内涵。这个不足之处,也为社会学提供了接续研究的主题。

Liberty is always a controversial theme in the history of the human knowledge.This subject,however,is always dominated by political philosophy until Axel Honneth posed the concept of'social liberty'under the aspect of the Critical Theory.The core proposition of his theory of social liberty is that the possibility of liberty presupposes some crucial social condition.On the one hand,Honneth’s theory of social liberty liberates the discussions about liberty from the domination of political philosophy.On the other hand,the theory also shows the current development of the Critical Theory.Nevertheless,Honneth do not sufficiently explain the meaning of the sociality and social condition.This deficiency is also a task for the sociological studies in the future.