《道德情操论》的思想介绍

道德的光芒比阳光还要灿烂

——《道德情操论》的思想介绍

二、Life Profile Of Adam Smith

Adam Smith was born in Kirkcaldy Scotland in 1723. When he was 17 years old he went to Oxford and in 1951 he became a professor of Logic at Glasgow. The next year he took the Chair of Moral

Philosophy. In 1759, he published his Theory of Moral Sentiments. It 1776 he published his masterpiece: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. After living in both France and London Adam Smith returned to Scotland in 1778 when he was appointed commissioner of customs for Edinburgh. Adam Smith died on July 17th, 1790 in Edinburgh. He was buried in the Canongate churchyard.

Adam Smith (16 June 1723 NS (5 June 1723 OS) – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish moral philosopher, pioneer of political economy, and a key figure in the Scottish Enlightenment.[2]

Smith is best known for two classic works: The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776). The latter, usually abbreviated as The Wealth of Nations, is considered his magnum opus and the first modern work of economics. Smith is cited as the father of modern economics and is still among the most influential thinkers in the field of economics today.[3]

Smith studied social philosophy at the University of Glasgow and at Balliol College, Oxford, where he was one of the first students to benefit from scholarships set up by fellow Scot, John Snell. After graduating, he delivered a successful series of public lectures at Edinburgh, leading him to collaborate with David Hume during the Scottish Enlightenment. Smith obtained a professorship at Glasgow teaching moral philosophy, and during this time he wrote and published The Theory of Moral Sentiments. In his later life, he took a tutoring position that allowed him to travel throughout Europe, where he met other intellectual leaders of his day.

Smith laid the foundations of classical free market economic theory. The Wealth of Nations was a precursor to the modern academic discipline of economics. In this and other works, he expounded upon how rational self-interest and competition can lead to economic prosperity. Smith was controversial in his own day and his general approach and writing style were often satirised by Tory writers in the moralising tradition of William Hogarth and Jonathan Swift. In 2005, The Wealth of Nations was named among the 100 Best Scottish Books of all time.[4] It is said former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher carried a copy of the book in her handbag.[5]

三、Main idea of Theory of Moral Sentiments

1.Sympathy：同情心理论是亚当·斯密伦理学体系的基础。斯密在他的《道德情操论》一书中几乎在每一个部分都是以同情心为讨论的主线的。在书中，斯密用同情的基本原理来阐释正义、仁慈、克己等一切道德情操产生的根源，说明道德评价的性质、原则以及各种美德的特征，并对各种道德哲学学说进行了介绍和评价，进而揭示出人类社会赖以维系、和谐发展的基础，以及人的行为应遵循的一般道德准则。

亚当·斯密在《道德情操论》中开门见山地指出:“无论人们认为某人怎样自私,这个人的天赋中总是明显地存在着这样一些本性,这些本性使他关心别人的命运,把别人的幸福看成是自己的事情,虽然他除了看到别人幸福而感到高兴以外,一无所得。这种本性就是怜悯或同情,就是当我们看到或逼真地想象到他人的不幸遭遇时所产生的感情。我们常为他人的悲哀而感伤,这是显而易见的事实,不需要用什么实例来证明。这种情感同人性中所有其它的原始感情一样,决不只是品行高尚的人才具备,虽然他们在这方面的感受可能最敏锐。最大的恶棍,极其严重地违犯社会法律的人,也不会全然丧失同情心。”这里,亚当·斯密承认人是自私的同时,又强调人是关心他人的,强调人性是利他的,并进一步指出利他心或者说同情心是人类的普遍本性。

2.Passions：斯密《道德情操论》的第一卷第三编(第六版的第一卷第二编)中的标题为“论各种不同的适宜激情程度”。他在第三编中把激情分为五类：起源于肉体的激情、起源于想象力的激情、非社会的激情、社会的激情、利己的激情。在这一篇中，斯密就什么样的激情应该被抑制这类问题进行了论述。

如果考虑人性中所有的各种激情，我们将发现人们把各种激情看作是合宜或不合宜的完全是同他们意欲对这些激情表示或多或少的同情成比例的。

3.Justice：正义论在斯密伦理学中有十分重要的地位。以至于不少斯密研究者都断言，斯密伦理学的本质在于他的正义论。

在人的能力存在天然的强弱差异的前提下，一种缺乏了强制性正义法则的社会，是难以避免彼此伤害的。斯密明确指出，基于愤恨和惩罚的正义法则，其基本的功能在于抑制强暴、保护弱者和惩罚罪犯。也正是因为斯密认识到了社会上个人之间存在着力量上的差异，他才把保护生命和人身安全作为一切神圣的正义法则中的首要层次，而财产权的保护则是次要的层次。

4.Conscience：斯密的良心的概念是设想的公正的旁观者的观念，他根据合宜性法则对自我行为进行道德评判，而且这种评判的影响和权威是巨大的，它促使人们追求行为和品质的合宜性，遵守社会的道德规范，从而成为配享美德的人。“在所有的场合，良心的影响和权威都是非常大的；只有在请教内心的这个法官后，我们才能真正看清与自己有关的事情，才能对自己的利益和他人的利益作出合宜的比较。