“启蒙”概念及其张力

启蒙运动是一个始于观念更新而及于自由实践的漫长过程,它唯一可以允诺的东西就是理性的自由。但它只是为现代人提供了选择的可能性,而无法决定他们如何作出选择。启蒙并非自绝于西方基督教文化传统,而是这种传统中的异质因素的全面展开。"启蒙"的概念史表明,理性缺位的启蒙不叫启蒙。启蒙史乃是理性自我理解、自我裂变的历史。然而,理性本身只是一个流动的概念,它的内在矛盾与张力也造成了启蒙自身的张力。正是理性的误用造成了启蒙的偏颇。所以,问题的关键不在于要不要启蒙,而在于怎样进行启蒙。启蒙的任务远远没有完成。为了重续这一崇高的事业,我们需要汲取法国启蒙运动的成功经验,更要汲取它的失败教训。我们需要合理地对待传统,合理地对待信仰,合理地对待科学技术,合理地对待自然;同时,我们也需要合理地对待理性自身。

The Concept of Enlightenment and Its Immanent Tension

Enlightenment is a long process which starts with innovation of ideas and aims at practice of freedom.Freedom of reason is only what it promises to offer us.Enlightenment provides us only with possibilities of choice,but could never determine how we should make choice.Enlightenment does not break with the western cultural tradition of Christianity;on the contrary,it is a full development of heterogeneous elements intrinsic to the tradition.The history of the concept of Enlightenment shows that Enlightenment with absence of reason should not be referred to as Enlightenment in a real sense.The history of Enlightenment is a history of self-understanding and self-division of reason.However,"reason" itself is a changing concept with the internal tension which results in the tension of the Enlightenment.It is misuse of reason that led to deviation of Enlightenment.Hence,the question crucial to our society is not whether we need to be enlightened or not,but how we should rationally be enlightened.We have long way to go for the purpose of Enlightenment.We take it for granted to extract the experience of success and to learn the lesson of failure from French Enlightenment in modern times.Further,we should adopt a reasonable attitude towards our own cultural tradition,belief,nature,science and technology at the same time we treat reason itself in a reasonable way.