1、康德的伦理学与挑战 - Maria von Herbert 的案子这是发生在 Kant(康德)和他的一个女崇拜者之间的故事。这个女士名叫Maria von Herbert，热衷于学习 Kant 的哲学。这篇东西收集的是 Kant 和她的几封通信。Maria 和 Kant 互相并不认识，Maria 只是一个默默无闻的崇拜 Kant 的读者而已。可是她突然选择了给 Kant 写信，为什么呢？故事是这样子的。她曾经有过一个情人，并且失身于他。然而，那个男子辜负了她的信任。之后，她又爱上了一名男子，然而却一直犹豫是不是要把自己这段历史告诉对方。她十分犹豫，因为她并不想欺骗对方，但是一旦告知对方这个秘密
2、，又会影响他们现在的爱情。结果，她还是告诉了自己的情人，结果是-这个男子不爱她了。她对此极其痛苦，感觉生命都没有了意义，希望结束自己的生命。在这样的情况下，她想请 Kant 帮助她：为什么还要继续活下去呢？作为一个 Kant 的热心学习者，她对Kant 的哲学思想都十分熟悉。她特别指出，Kant 的绝对命令等道义学都根本帮助不了她：她对自己的生命本身已经不再有兴趣。之后，Kant 给她回了一封信；一年之后，她又回了另一封信。可是 Kant 再也没有回过信。大约十年后，Maria 结束了自己的生命。Kant 并没有能够帮助她。这几篇通信为我们探讨了 Kant 主义的伦理道义学的一些根本问题。我们
3、可以看看 Maria von Herbert 和 Kant 的通信。先是 Maria von Herbert 给 Kant 写了一封信:(1). To Kant, From Maria von Herbert, August 1791 Great Kant,As a believer calls to his God, I call to you for help, for comfort, or for counsel to prepare me for death. Your writings prove that there is a future life. But as for th
4、is life, I have found nothing, nothing at all that could replace the good I have lost, for I loved someone who, in my eyes, encompassed within himself all that is worthwhile, so that I lived only for him, everything else was in comparison just rubbish, cheap trinkets. Well, I have offended this pers
5、on, because of a long drawn out lie, which I have now disclosed to him, though there was nothing unfavourable to my character in it, I had no vice in my life that needed hiding. The lie was enough though, and his love vanished. As an honourable man, he doesnt refuse me friendship. But that inner fee
6、ling that once, unbidden, led us to each other, is no more -oh my heart splinters into a thousand pieces! If I hadnt read so much of your work I would certainly have put an end to my life. But the conclusion I had to draw from your theory stops me -it is wrong for me to die because my life is tormen
7、ted, instead Im supposed to live because of mybeing. Now put yourself in my place, and either damn me or comfort me. Ive read the metaphysicof morals, and the categorical imperative, and it doesnt help a bit. My reason abandons me just when I need it. Answer me, I implore you -or you wont be acting
8、in accordance with your own imperative.My address is Maria Herbert of Klagenfurt, Carinthia, care of the white lead factory, or perhaps you would rather send it via Reinhold because the mail is more reliable there.大意是，Maria 告诉 Kant 自己遇到的问题。她把自己埋藏着的一个秘密（后来我们知道，就是她过去自己的情史）告诉了她的现任情人。显然她一直在犹豫是不是要把这个历史告诉
9、对方，因为她认为隐瞒就等于欺骗、撒谎，这是不道德的。因此她选择了把真相告诉对方。但她不认为自己过去在这件事上做了任何错事，也没有必要隐瞒，“there was nothing unfavourable to my character in it, I had no vice in my life that needed hiding.“。她担心的只是失去对方的爱情。结果，果然，当 Maria 把秘密告诉了对方，他对她的爱就消失了。现在，Maria 心灰意冷，觉得生活再没有意义。她读了 Kant 的道德形而上学、绝对命令，但认为它们帮不了她。她希望 Kant 能设身处地的想想她的情况，谴责她，或
10、者安慰她都行。（2）. To Maria von Herbert, Spring 1792 (Kants rough draft) Your deeply felt letter comes from a heart that must have been created for the sake of virtue and honesty, since it is so receptive to instruction in those qualities. I must do as you ask, namely, put myself in your place, and prescri
11、be for you a pure moral sedative. I do not know whether your relationship is one of marriage or friendship, but it makes no significant difference. For love, be it for ones spouse or for a friend, presupposes the same mutual esteem for the others character, without which it is no more than perishabl
12、e, sensual delusion. A love like that wants to communicate itselfcompletely, and it expects of its respondent a similar sharing of heart, unweakened by distrustful reticence. That is what the ideal of friendship demands. But there is something in us which puts limits on such frankness, some obstacle
13、 to this mutual outpouring of the heart, which makes one keep some part of ones thoughts locked within oneself, even when one is most intimate. The sages of old complained of this secret distrust -My dear friends, there is no such thing as a friend!We cant expect frankness of people, since everyone
14、fears that to reveal himself completely would be to make himself despised by others. But this lack of frankness, this reticence, is still very different from dishonesty. What the honest but reticent man says is true, but not the whole truth. What the dishonest man says is something he knows to be fa
15、lse. Such an assertion is called, in the theory of virtue, a lie. It may be harmless, but it is noton that account innocent. It is a serious violation of a duty to oneself; it subverts the dignity of humanity in our own person, and attacks the roots of our thinking. As you see, you have sought couns
16、el from a physician who is no flatterer. I speak for your beloved and present him with arguments that justify his having wavered in his affection for you. Ask yourself whether you reproach yourself for the imprudence of confessing, or for the immorality intrinsic to the lie. If the former, then you
17、regret having done your duty. And why? Because it has resulted in the loss of your friends confidence. This regret is not motivated by anything moral, since it is produced by an awareness not of the act itself, but of its consequences. But if your reproach is grounded in a moral judgment of your beh
18、aviour, it would be a poor moral physician who would advise you to cast it from your mind.When your change in attitude has been revealed to your beloved, only time will be needed to quench, little by little, the traces of his justified indignation, and to transform his coldness into a more firmly gr
19、ounded love. If this doesnt happen, then the earlier warmth of his affection was more physical than moral, and would have disappeared anyway -a misfortune which we often encounter in life, and when we do, must meet with composure. For the value of life, insofar as it consists of the enjoyment we get
20、 from people, is vastly overrated.Here then, my dear friend, you find the customary divisions of a sermon: instruction, penalty and comfort. Devote yourself to the first two; when they have had their effect, comfort will be found by itself.Kant 的回信大意如此：他讲了一大堆十分抽象的道德伦理。如果 Maria 对自己的情人进行了欺骗，那么她就理应受到惩罚
21、；对方的愤怒是合理合法的(justified)，进而对方对她爱情的消失也是合理合法的。她必须吞下自己撒谎的苦果，必须承担自己在道德上失败所带来的恶果：她要承担责任。简单说，Kant 的意思就是：你撒了谎，那么活该倒霉咯。Kant 还进一步质疑倒：你对自己把真相说出来，感不感到后悔？你是认为说出真相导致了对方和你分手，感到遗憾呢，还是因为你做了一件本身就是在道德上错误的事而感到遗憾？Kant 说，如果是前者，你就错了。你不能考虑到一个行为所带来的结果，譬如说对方是不是和你分手，而要考虑你的行为的本身是不是符合道德法则：它独立于行为的结果。如果你是因为自己做了错事而感到遗憾，那就对了：这是应该的！
22、我们看到，这就是 Kant 的道义伦理学的运用(deontological ethics) 。它关注一个行为本身的价值(intrinsic value)，而无视它的结果(consequence)。最后，件了一番道德形而上学后， Kant 实际上也安慰了一下的：你看看这件事之后，对方能不能够和你重新修好，重建爱情啊？如果不行的话，那么就说明他对的爱情都是肉欲，不是精神的！所以，这个爱情迟早都会消失！（我们看到，Kant这个说法是极其投机的，并无根据） 。人生啊就是如此，就是有这样的事情，Cest la Vie!我们遇到这些事时要沉着冷静。然而，Maria 关心的不是这些理论问题，不再是错不错对不
23、对的问题。她关心的是生存的意义：她为了他而活着，“I lived only for him“，而现在失去他的爱的她，觉得道德啊、生活啊，已经全没有意义，关键是，道德形而上学、绝对命令，能不能帮助她解决自杀的这个令人困惑的伦理问题？能不能回答个人生命的意义？Kant 没有给予解答。还有一个问题就是，对自己的情人掩满了真相的 Maria，是不是在撒谎 (lying)？我们看到Kant 在信中做了这么一个区分:“我们不能指望人们总是坦诚的，因为每个人都害怕，把自己全部的内心想法都说出来，会被他人厌恶、鄙视。然而，缺乏坦率这样一种勉强、不情愿，仍然和不诚有着巨大的区别。诚实但是有不情愿的人会说出真相-
24、但不是全部的真相。不诚实的人则会说出他自己认为根本就是错误的事情。“但是 Maria 隐瞒真相的方法，大概只是没有把自己的历史对情人道破罢了，究竟是不是撒谎呢？我觉得她是不够坦诚，而不是在撒谎。而 Kant 之后对 Maria 的道德谴责，都仿佛是她撒了谎。这样做，是不是过于苛刻呢？然而，回到 Kant 的道义学，我们发现，不够坦诚和不诚实其实没有性质的区别，只有程度的区别。它们都是对人的不够尊重。绝对命令似乎要求我们把真相全部告诉对方，而不能愚弄他们，有意识地把他们放到不知情的状况下。如果他们知道了所有的情况，他们会做出和现在完全不一样的选择。而现在他们被人有意识地愚弄了，他们不能再按照自己
25、的理性、自己的选择、自己的期望来生活了。可以马上举个例子。假设有是一个女子。她的丈夫偶尔在外面偷欢（譬如说，去妓院） 。我们假设这个丈夫把偷欢做得极尽巧妙，没有引起妻子的任何怀疑，同时他的偷欢也是非常非常偶尔的，并不构成他自己生活中的一个重大问题。妻子从来没有怀疑过丈夫，因此也从来询问过他。因此他甚至没有机会去撒谎：我们把撒谎定义为，当他的妻子问他昨天晚上去干什么了这么晚回来？他说，我加班去了！这就是撒谎，因为他没有加班。假设他妻子没有问这种问题，那么他不说出真相，似乎只是一种不够坦诚，而不是刻意的去编织谎言。但显而易见，这也构成了一种欺骗，是他对她的妻子不尊重。如果她妻子知道了的话，会怎么样
26、呢？也许她追求一个稳定的、专一的、忠诚的关系，而丈夫欺骗了她，她会希望结束这段婚姻，停止和这个人在一起。如果她不知道丈夫在外面偷欢，那么实际上她根本无法按照自己希望的方式去生活。从 Kant 传统的道义学看，这就是对人的极大不尊重。因次，我们有责任义务去把真相告诉旁的人。是否是不坦诚，还是不诚实，只是对人不尊重的程度上的差别罢了。一个流行的说法，“善意的谎言 “，在 Kant 的道义学里，是不可能的。Kant 回信后，约有一年 Maria 都未在回信。Kant 着急了，通过打听了一位认识 Maria 的朋友，事态了解自己回信所产生的效果。不久，Maria 又写了一封信：(3). To Kant
27、, from Maria von Herbert, January 1793 Dear and revered sir,Your kindness, and your exact understanding of the human heart, encourage me to describe to you, unshrinkingly, the further progress of my soul. The lie was no cloaking of avice, but a sin of keeping something back out of consideration for
28、the friendship (still veiled by love) that existed then. There was a struggle, I was aware of the honesty friendship demands, and at the same time I could foresee the terribly wounding consequences. Finally I had the strength and revealed the truth to my friend, but so late -and when I told him, the
29、 stone in my heart was gone, but his love was torn away in exchange. Myfriend hardened in his coldness, just as you said in your letter. But then afterwards he changed towards me, and offered me again the most intimate friendship. Im glad enough about it, for his sake -but Im not really content, bec
30、ause its just amusement, it doesnt have any point. My vision is clear now. I feel that a vast emptiness extends inside me, and all around me -so that I almost find my self to be superfluous, unnecessary. Nothing attracts me. Im tormented by a boredom that makes life intolerable. Dont think me arroga
31、nt for saying this, but the demands of morality are too easy for me. I would eagerly do twice as much as they command. They only get their prestige from the attractiveness of sin, and it costs me almost no effort to resist that.I comfort myself with the thought that, since the practice of morality i
32、s so bound up with sensuality, it can only count for this world. I can hope that the afterlife wont be yetanother life ruled by these few, easy demands of morality, another empty and vegetating life. Experience wants to take me to task for this bad temper I have against life by showing me that nearl
33、y everyone finds his life ending much too soon, everyone is so glad to be alive. So as not to be a queer exception to the rule, I shall tell you of a remote cause of my deviation, namely my chronic poor health, which dates from the time I first wrote to you. I dont study the natural sciences or the
34、artsany more, since I dont feel that Im genius enough to extend them; and for myself, theres no needto know them. Im indifferent to everything that doesnt bear on the categorical imperative, and my transcendental consciousness -although Im all done with those thoughts too. You can see, perhaps, why
35、I only want one thing, namely to shorten this pointless life, a life which I am convinced will get neither better nor worse. If you consider that I am still young and that each day interests me only to the extent that it brings me closer to death, you can judge what a great benefactor you would be i
36、f you were to examine this question closely. I ask you, because my conception of morality is silent here, whereas it speaks decisively on all other matters. And if you cannot give me the answer I seek, I beg you to give me something that will get this intolerable emptiness out of my soul. Then I mig
37、ht become a useful part of nature, and, if my health permits, would make a trip to Koenigsberg in a few years. I want to ask permission, in advance, to visit you. You must tell me your storythen, because I would like to know what kind of life your philosophy has led you to -whether it never seemed t
38、o you to be worth the bother to marry, or to give your whole heart to anyone, or to reproduce your likeness. I have an engraved portrait of you by Bause, from Leipzig. I see a profound calm there, and moral depth -but not the astuteness of which the Critique of Pure Reason is proof. And Im dissatisf
39、ied not to be able to look you right in the face. Please fulfill my wish, if its not too inconvenient. And I need to remind you: if you do me this great favour and take the trouble to answer, please focus on specific details, not on the general points, which I understand, and already understood back
40、 when I happily studied your works at the side of my friend. You would like him, Im sure. He is honest, goodhearted, and intelligent -and besides that, fortunate enough to fit this world. I am with deepest respect and truth, Maria Herbert.在这封信中，我们看到了 Maria 的绝望。首先，她把自己的事情重新讲了一遍：她隐瞒真相只是为了希望保住自己的爱情。但她知
41、道这是一桩罪(sin)，因此她最后还是把它说了出来，结果大家都知道了，她在道德上成功了，但是丢掉了爱情。现在，她觉得无比的空虚，生活的一切都没有了趣味，什么都不能再吸引她，生活纯粹是一种折磨人的无聊。她感觉自我已经变得多余，生命没有了意义。意识到她的未来不大会比现在更坏或更好，Maria觉得似乎应结束自己的生命。关键的是，她认为 Kant 的道德形而上学、绝对命令，虽然很重要，但是解决不了她切身的问题。她希望 Kant 能再次帮她解答这个问题：为什么该活下去呢？她期望得到具体的回答，不是抽象的、宽泛的回答。就自己在生活中的道德实践，Maria 是如此认为的：道德对她而言，变得是那么的轻松，她可
42、以“双倍“地去完成它们。为什么呢？因为她已经是一个无欲的人了。在道德实践中，她已经不需要做任何抗争：不需要和自己的欲望、本能、冲动斗争，因为没有任何东西能够吸引她。她意识到这样一来，虽然自己的行为都是道德的，但是却变得极其的空洞。她意识到，道德应该和感性结合在一起，应该是一场理性和感性的斗争。当感性已死，一切就便得索然无味。Kant 的自由主义传统把最高价值放在个人身上，个人是自由的、独立的；社群主义或集体主义（从亚里士多德到黑格尔到今天的 Michael Sandel, Alistair MacIntyre, Charles Taylor, Micheal Walzer 等）把价值放在社会、
43、集体上面。当个人的价值和集体的价值冲突时，自由主义说我们应该尊重个人、尊重理性。社群主义说我们应该尊重集体的价值，个人必须屈服。直到，今天，以 Kant 为代表的自由主义传统，和黑格尔为代表的社群主义传统者的对立，仍然在进行。其实，两个传统的冲突还在于对人性的假设的根本不同。Kant 假设的人是自由的、独立的、理性的，超脱任何的社会和文化语境单独存在；社群主义认为人天生具备社会性，生下来就是某个社会的成员，社会的价值就是他本人价值的一部。对待社群的价值，Kant 认为个人有权利进行选择、批判；社群主义认为个人要继承社会的价值，通过发现社会的价值来发现自我。从 Maria 的道德两难，我们看到了
44、一个引申极广，涉及到对人性的根本假设和认识的哲学问题。人们是否能够为了保留爱情、保留友谊、维护和集体的团结、和谐的气氛，而做出和道义论要求所不一样的东西呢？爱情、友谊、集体，是不是有自在的价值？它们总要被理性否定么？这些问题到今天，仍然没有解答。因为真理大概是不存在的。它是主观的，大概只是一个个人的观点和选择罢了。 这样就会得出一个极端化的结果。一个理想的道德人应该是没有情感、冷漠的纯粹理性的人。他应该是没有欲望的。他的行为完全是理性的选择。他做所有的事，都是为了履行道德义务而作。看来最理想的有德之人，应该是个反人类者！他非常厌世，不喜欢周边的一切，但是为了履行道德义务而生存者、帮助着别人。他
45、的所作所为，都是为了道德而道德！Rae Langton 这时指出，Kant 确实是赞美了冷漠(apathy)的。在The Doctrine of Virtue中，Kant 就说过，“ 冷漠是德行的先决“。这里的冷漠，指的是一种完全摆脱了的激情、冲动、欲望的状态。Langton 接着引用，在The Critique of Practical Reason中，Kant 把这种状态称之为“极乐“(Seligkeit)。极乐就是完全的理性，它完全独立于自然冲动、本能、感性。大概所有的理性人都希冀这一状态，但它大约只是一个无法实现的理性。Maria von Herbert 的例子很有趣。她是一个已经完全
46、对生活失去兴趣的人：“ 什么都不再能吸引我，“她写道。然而她活着，并且履行着道德的义务。如 Langton 所指出的，Kant所没有意识到的就是，Maria 是一个完美的 Kant 意义上的道德圣人！她冷漠、无欲，但是理性地为了道德而道德。而 Maria 所遇到的问题是，她感觉完全的空虚，感觉生活没有任何意义，认为自我的存在已是多余的。她认为道德对她而言太简单了，而不是太困难了，因为她已经完全没有欲望了，没有冲动了，她是一个冷漠的理性人。当她要做出一个选择时，她几乎是自动的选择为了道德而道德，因为没有一个来自欲望、来自感性的力量来和理性做斗争。因而她写道：“ 希望不要认为我这么说太高傲；然而我
47、（确实）认为道德对我而言太简单了，我甚至可以轻松地做出双倍的。“当理性没有了对手，也就意味着代表冲动、自然倾向、激情这些原始的情感都消失了，而人变成一个理性的机械人。人不可能脱开肉体性、本能性，而当把它们完全否定之后，我们也就否定了人的一部分，而人也就不再成其为人了。一个如此理性的冷漠人不是一个有血有肉的、完整的人。这样的人只是在生活中需要做出选择的时候，自动的选择做那些所谓的符合道德义务的事。他像是一个机械人。这种空虚让无法忍受，使生命都没有了趣味。Maria 进而论断道，道德必须结合着感性(sensuality)，而不能脱离它存在。真正的道德，也许需要一场理性和感性的斗争。当她感到对生活完
48、全乏味的时候，就期望消灭自己的存在。这大概是 Kant 伦理学上在实践上的一个困境，至少在 Maria 身上，我们看到了这个困境。糟糕的是， Kant 不能对 Maria 的自杀做太多评论-实际上他一句话也没有说。Kant 认为人必须要自重。然而人能不能自杀呢？我们看了绝对命令中两个内容的矛盾。你大概不会认为自杀应该变成一个普适的法则吧？那么你不会选择自杀；但你自己也是目的王国(Kingdom of Ends) 中的一个成员，你自己就是一个最高目的，你有权选择自己的生活，但不受制于任何人。所以你可以选择自杀。Langton 赶紧引用 Kant，指出 Kant 本人也承认对有勇气自杀者也需要尊重
49、。这种尊重也是对人性的一种尊重。不谈绝对命令中的矛盾。如何以 Kant 的伦理来说服一个人不去自杀呢？对 Maria 最关心的问题，Kant 没有说一句话。最后，我对冲动、自然倾向、本能等自然因素 和 理性 的对立的看法是，作为一个抽象的伦理概念它大概是可以的：一个本着善意或私利做好事的人，确实和有意识的不求任何目的，为了做好事而做好事的人，有所区别。Kant 提出的概念，是一个尺标，有利于我们判断什么样的行为是道德的。但是把它完全放到实践上来，就会产生荒谬的后果了（包括 Kant 本人对冷漠的超理性人的歌颂） 。不应该否认人的肉体性、本能性、自然性的一面。当你做一件行为时，带着感性成分，大概使我们难以判断你的行为符不符合 Kant 所说的道德，然而有一点就是，这些肉体性和本能性至少不会使你的行为变成不道德的(immoral)，充其量是非道德的。非道德和不道德，我想还是有区别的。要在生活中压抑欲望、本性，我认为是在压抑人性。Kant 的道德指标不再是一个抽象的形而上-道德概念而理想，而成了一个改变人的品性、特性的工具，否定属于我们作为人所本该具备的某些东西，一些 Kant 们应该承认，是可以被当作人性而尊重的东西。说到这里，不得不想到尼采。与崇尚理性，同时把感性、偏私、本能放到很低的位置的Kant
