哲学 - 黑格尔：英语精读讲义

Georg Friedrich Hegel was born in Stuttgart in 1770.

乔治·弗里德里希·黑格尔1770年出生于斯图加特。

Intellectually, he was adventurous,

在思想上，他极具冒险精神，

but in externals,

但在外在表现上，

respectable, conventional,

却体面、传统保守，

and proud of it.

并引以为豪。

He ascended the academic tree and reached the topmost branch, 習語

他在学术界步步高升，登上了最高枝，

head of the University of Berlin,

成为柏林大学的校长，

when he was 60 years old.

当时他60岁。

He died the following year.

第二年他就去世了。

Hegel wrote some very long and very famous books,

黑格尔写过一些篇幅极长且非常著名的书，

among them The Phenomenology of Spirit,

其中包括《精神现象学》、

The Science of Logic,

《逻辑学》、

and Elements of the Philosophy of Right.

和《法哲学原理》。

But, we'll be frank, 語氣意圖

但是，坦白说，

he wrote horribly.

他的文笔糟透了。

His work is confusing and complicated

他的著作本应清晰直接，

when it should be clear and direct. 語法

却令人困惑、错综复杂。

He tapped into a weakness of human nature, 短語動詞

他利用了人性的一个弱点，

to be trustful of grave-sounding, 用詞

那就是容易轻信那些听起来高深莫测、

incomprehensible prose.

晦涩难懂的文章。

This has made philosophy much weaker in the world than it should be,

这使得哲学在世界上的影响力大打折扣，

and it's made it much harder for us to hear the valuable things

也让我们更难倾听

that Hegel has to say to us.

黑格尔想告诉我们的那些宝贵道理。

Amongst which,

在这些道理中，

a small number of lessons stand out. 短語動詞

有几个教训尤为突出。

Firstly,

第一，

important parts of ourselves

我们自身重要的部分

can be found in history.

可以在历史中找到。

In Hegel's day,

在黑格尔那个时代，

a standard European way of looking at the past 短語搭配

欧洲人看待过去的一种标准方式

was to consider it as primitive

是认为它很落后，

and to feel proud of how much progress had been made

并且为人类取得了多少进步

to get us to the modern age.

才步入现代社会而感到自豪。

But in his book,

但在他的书中，

The Phenomenology of Spirit,

也就是1807年出版的

published in 1807,

《精神现象学》，

Hegel argued that every era

黑格尔认为，每一个时代

can be looked at as a repository of a particular kind of wisdom. 講解

都可以被看作是某种特定智慧的宝库。

This means we need to go back in time

这意味着我们需要回顾过去

to rescue things which have gone missing. 短語搭配

去拯救那些已经遗失的东西。

So, for example,

所以，例如，

we might need to mine the history of ancient Greece 習語

我们可能需要挖掘古希腊的历史

to fully grasp the idea of what community can be, 短語搭配

才能充分理解共同体究竟能成为什么样，

something which has been lost in the modern age.

而这在现代社会已经失落了。

Or the Middle Ages can teach us,

或者中世纪可以教会我们，

as no other era can, 語法

像其他任何时代都做不到的那样，

about the role of honor,

关于荣誉的作用，

even if this period featured appalling attitudes to children 語法

即使这个时期对儿童的态度

or the rights of women.

或女性的权利极其糟糕。

Progress is never linear, 習語

进步从来都不是直线的，

Hegel tells us.

黑格尔告诉我们。

There is wisdom at every stage,

每一个阶段都有智慧，

which, says Hegel,

黑格尔说，这

points us to the task of the historian,

向我们指明了历史学家的任务，

to be A historian is to be someone

成为一名历史学家，就是成为这样一个人：

who should rescue from the past 習語

从过去拯救出

those ideas that are most needed

那些最被需要的思想，

to compensate for the blind spots of the present. 講解

以弥补当下的盲点。

Secondly,

第二，

learn from ideas you dislike.

向你不喜欢的思想学习。

Hegel was a great believer in learning from one's intellectual enemies, 講解

黑格尔非常坚信要向自己思想上的敌人学习，

from points of view we disagree with

向我们不同意的观点

or that feel alien. 用詞

或感觉陌生的观点学习。

That's because he held the bits of the truth are always getting scattered

那是因为他认为，真理的碎片总是散落各处，

even in unappealing or peculiar places,

甚至在那些不吸引人或奇怪的地方，

and we should dig them out by asking always 短語動詞

我们应该总是通过提问把它们挖掘出来：

What sliver of sense and reason might be contained 講解

究竟有怎样一丝理智和道理，可能包含

in otherwise frightening or foreign phenomena? 用詞

在那些本令人恐惧或陌生的现象中呢？

Nationalism,

民族主义，

for instance,

例如，

has had many terrible manifestations,

曾有过许多可怕的表现，

even in Hegel's day.

甚至在黑格尔的时代也是如此。

But Hegel's move was to ask what underlying good idea

但黑格尔的做法是去问，究竟有什么潜在的好想法

or important need might be hiding within the bloody history of nationalism. 習語

或重要的需求可能隐藏在民族主义血腥的历史中。

He proposed that it's the need for people

他提出，这是人们

to feel proud of where they come from,

为自己的出身感到自豪的需求，

to identify with something beyond merely their own achievements, 短語搭配

去认同那些超越了个人成就的东西，

and to anchor their identities beyond the ego. 習語

并将他们的身份锚定在自我之外。

Hegel is a hero of the thought that really important ideas

黑格尔是这样一种思想的英雄：真正重要的理念

may be in the hands of people you regard, 習語

可能掌握在一些人的手中，尽管你

at first glance, 短語搭配

乍看之下觉得他们

as beneath contempt. 習語

根本不值一提。

Thirdly,

第三，

progress is messy. 習語

进步是混乱的。

Hegel believed that the world makes progress,

黑格尔认为世界在进步，

but only by lurching from one extreme to another, 講解

但只能通过从一个极端摇摆到另一个极端的方式，

as it seeks to overcompensate for a previous mistake. 短語搭配

因为它试图对之前的错误进行过度补偿。

He proposed that it generally takes three moves 語法

他提出，通常需要经过三次转变

before the right balance on any issue can be found,

才能在任何问题上找到适当的平衡，

a process that he named the dialectic. 用詞

他将这个过程命名为辩证法。

He was often thinking of the complex twists and turns 習語

他经常思考着那些复杂的波折

that brought about the modern state. 短語動詞

催生了现代国家。

We can also think of the slow path

我们也可以想想那条缓慢的道路，

towards sensible attitudes to sex in our own time.

即我们这个时代如何走向对性的理性态度。

The Victorians imposed too much repression, 文化背景

维多利亚时代的人施加了太多的压抑，

yet the 1960s may have turned out to be too liberal. 短語動詞

然而，20世纪60年代可能又变得过于开放。

It might only be by the 2020s 語法

也许要到21世纪20年代，

that we'll find the right balance between extremes.

我们才能在两个极端之间找到恰当的平衡。

All this can seem the most appalling waste of time,

所有这些可能看起来是最令人震惊的浪费时间，

but Hegel insists that the painful stepping

但黑格尔坚持认为，这种痛苦的过渡

from error to error is inevitable,

从一个错误走向另一个错误是不可避免的，

something we must expect and reconcile ourselves to 短語搭配

这是我们在规划人生或思考历史书籍时

when planning our lives or contemplating history books.

必须预期并去接受的事情。

And sometimes,

而有时，

in this process of moving from error to error,

在这个从错误走向错误的过程中，

we will find a new solution

我们会找到一个新的解决方案，

that manages to synthesize the good qualities of the previous solutions 用詞

成功地综合了之前解决方案的优点，

to make something really new and different and better.

创造出一些真正新颖、不同且更好的东西。

Four,

第四，

art has a purpose.

艺术是有目的的。

Hegel vigorously rejected the idea of art for art's sake. 習語

黑格尔强烈反对为了艺术而艺术的观念。

Painting,

绘画、

music, architecture,

音乐、建筑、

literature, and design

文学和设计

all have a major job to do.

都有一项重要的工作要做。

We need them so that important insights 語法

我们需要它们，以便重要的见解

can become powerful and helpful in our lives.

能够变得强大，并在我们的生活中提供帮助。

Art is, in Hegel's formulation, 短語搭配

用黑格尔的话来说，艺术是

the sensuous presentation of ideas. 用詞

思想的感性呈现。

Just knowing ideas often leaves us cold. 習語

仅仅知道一些理念往往让我们无动于衷。

For example,

例如，

in theory, 表達脈絡

在理论上，

we believe that conflict in Syria is an important one.

我们相信叙利亚冲突是一个重要的议题。

In practice,

在实践中，

however, we just switch off. 短語動詞

然而，我们却不去关注它。

In principle,

原则上，

we know we should be more forgiving to our partners,

我们知道我们应该对伴侣更加宽容，

but this abstract conviction gets forgotten at the least provocation. 短語搭配

但这种抽象的信念在一丁点挑衅下就被遗忘了。

The point of art,

艺术的意义，

Hegel realized,

黑格尔意识到，

is not so much to come up with startlingly new or strange ideas, 講解

与其说是想出令人震惊的新奇想法，

but to take the good, helpful, important

不如说是采用那些好的、有帮助的、重要的、

thoughts we already think we know

我们自以为已经懂了的道理，

and make them stick more imaginatively in our minds. 習語

让它们更富有想象力地根植在我们的脑海里。

Five,

第五，

we need new institutions.

我们需要新的机构。

Hegel took a very positive view of institutions 短語搭配

黑格尔对机构

and of the power they can wield. 用詞

及其能发挥的力量持非常积极的态度。

This was a point Hegel made again and again in different ways.

这是黑格尔以不同方式反复强调的一点。

For ideas to be active and effective in the world,

要让思想在世界上发挥积极和有效的作用，

a lot more is needed than that ideas are simply correct. 語法

仅仅依靠思想本身是正确的是远远不够的。

To make major truths powerful in society,

要让重要的真理在社会中产生力量，

they need employees and buildings and budgets

它们需要员工、建筑、预算

and legal advisers.

和法律顾问。

Institutions allow for the scale 短語動詞

机构能够提供所需规模的

of time and power that big projects

时间和力量，让大型项目

need to become effective in the world.

能在世界上发挥实效。

So,

所以，

as new needs of a society get recognized,

当社会的新需求被认识到时，

they should, ideally,

理想情况下，它们应该

lead not just to new books, 語法

不仅仅带来新书，

but to the formation of new institutions.

而是促成新机构的建立。

Nowadays,

如今，

we might say we need major new institutions

我们或许会说，我们需要建立重要的新机构

to focus on relationships,

来关注人际关系、

consumer education, career choice,

消费者教育、职业选择、

mood management,

情绪管理，

and how to bring up less damaged children. 短語動詞

以及如何抚养少受心理创伤的儿童。

Hegel helps us to see valuable insights where we might initially resist them,

黑格尔帮助我们在最初可能会排斥的地方看到宝贵的见解，

in art, in institutions,

在艺术中、在机构中、

in the ideas of our enemies,

在敌人的思想中，

and in the strange mistakes of the past.

以及在过去奇怪的错误中。

His insight is that growth

他的洞见是，成长

requires the clash of divergent ideas, 習語

需要分歧思想的碰撞，

and therefore,

因此，

that it will be painful and slow.

这将是痛苦和缓慢的。

But at least once we know this,

但至少一旦我们知道了这一点，

we don't have to compound our troubles by thinking them abnormal. 用詞

我们就不必再把这些麻烦视为反常，从而加重我们的烦恼。

Hegel gives us a more accurate

黑格尔给了我们一个更准确、

and hence more manageable view of ourselves,

也因此更容易掌控的视角来看待自己、

our difficulties,

我们的困难，

and where we are in history. 習語

以及我们在历史中所处的位置。