伦理视角下农业的二重特性及农作“时”观念的省思

农业是人类生存和发展的基础和支撑,也是人类最早开始的有计划、有组织从事的社会活动。一方面,与其他人类活动不同,农业需要与大自然打交道,农业生产是在自然场所中显示和展开,自然亲自参与了农业生产的始终。另一方面,从对人类发展的推动来看,农业是人们最早为着满足自身生存需要而从事的一种社会活动。既然农业是作为人类的一种社会活动而存在,它必然体现了人的各方面社会特征和价值。与人参与其他社会活动涉及伦理一样,农业不但具有一般伦理的特性,而且因为它同时涉及人与自然的关系,于是决定了其伦理关注与其他人类活动不同,不只是关注人与人之间的伦理关系,更主要的是关注人与自然之间的伦理关系。农业关注的对象不是人,乃是有生命特性的农作物,这些农作物或者动物具备生命的类特征,而且这些生命特征出于自然,具有自然属性,这一点也决定了人在生产农作物的时候需要遵循自然的规范原则,由此亦决定了农业伦理需要在规范伦理学的框架中加以考察和认知。同时,农业是为着人类生存的需要而产生的,人对农业的判断又显示出功利性,使农业呈现功利性伦理的特征。因而,农业伦理具备了伦理学理论的各个层面,甚至将一些看似矛盾的伦理学理论恰如其分地整合在一起。农业伦理不只是单方面属于哪一个伦理理论,而是融合了伦理学中典型的两个流派即功利主义和义务论。在这种融合中,农业显明出一方面以支撑人的生存为目的,另一方面需要适应自然的客观性特征,于是农业伦理也随之在这两个层面反映出其独具特色的差异性。农业伦理的二重性不只是学理上的一种考量和认定,而且是具体地显明在农业实践之中,农业耕作中的"时"观念就是农业二重特性的实践显现,使农业伦理成为与具体实践相结合的实践理性。

On Duality of Agriculture and Concept of“Farming Season”from Perspective of Ethics

Agriculture,the earliest planned and organized activity of human society,is the foundation and pillar of human survival and development.On the one hand,unlike other human activities,agricultural activities are human-nature interactions in which agricultural production is presented and carried out in natural locations,involving nature throughout the process of production.On the other hand,from the perspective of the contributions to human development,agriculture is the earliest social activity for human survival.As a social activity,agriculture embodies various social characteristics and value of the human beings.Like other social activities of human being,agriculture has the characteristics of general ethics.In addition,as it involves the relationship between human and nature,it focuses not only on the interpersonal ethical relationship,but more importantly,on the human-nature ethical relationship.Agriculture is concerned with crops or livestock with life characteristics,the natural attributes,making it imperative for humans to follow the norms and principles of nature in crop production.Therefore,agricultural ethics should be studied and understood under the framework of normative ethics.Furthermore,as agriculture is for the needs of human survival,humans tend to make utilitarian judgements about agriculture,indicating the characteristic of utilitarian ethics of agriculture.Hence,various facets of ethics can be found in agriculture ethics,and it even integrates some seemingly contradictory theories of ethics.Agricultural ethics is more than a branch of ethics,but rather,it merges two classical schools of ethics:utilitarianism and deontology.In addition to supporting human survival,agriculture needs to adapt to the objective characteristics of nature.In these two aspects,agricultural ethics presents distinctive variations.Aside from a theoretical consideration,the duality of agricultural ethics presents itself in agricultural practices.The concept of"farming season"is a case in point.As an actual representation of the duality of agriculture,knowledge of farming season provides a practical justification for the integration of agricultural ethics and specific practices.