现代西方伦理学的合理性危机

现代西方伦理学不仅充分发挥了为西方资本主义制度和资本主义道德价值观念体系提供辩护和论证的功能，而且在建构现代西方资本主义国家所需要的道德思想和伦理精神方面起到了不吝忽视的历史作用，但它在19世纪中期陷入了日益严重的合理性危机。现代西方伦理学的合理性危机是西方现代性危机的一个重要内容。在如何应对现代西方伦理学的合理性危机问题上，一些西方伦理学家主张把现代西方伦理学看成一项未尽的事业，另一些西方伦理学家则主张用后现代西方伦理学取而代之。由于未能从资本主义经济基础的层面来寻找现代西方伦理学陷入合理性危机的根源，西方学者应对危机的努力无法从根本上消除危机。

On the Rationality Crisis of Modern Western Ethics

Modern western ethics once played an important role in justifying western capitalist ethical thoughts and ethical spirit as well as western capitalist system and values. However, it was increasingly confronted with a rationality crisis of its own in the middle of the nineteenth century. The rationality crisis of modern western ethics is part of western modernity crisis. When addressing issue of the rationality crisis of modern western ethics, some western ethicists hold that it is still possible to develop modern western ethics, whereas others maintain that it is necessary to substitute it with postmodern western ethics. Both ways are not able to eradicate the rationality crisis of modern western ethics, for they haven＇t tried to probe the source of the crisis by ascertaining the economic foundation of the capitalist system.