哲學 - 黑格爾：英語精讀講義

Georg Friedrich Hegel was born in Stuttgart in 1770.

喬治·弗里德里希·黑格爾1770年出生於斯圖加特。

Intellectually, he was adventurous,

在思想上，他極具冒險精神，

but in externals,

但在外在表現上，

respectable, conventional,

卻體面、傳統保守，

and proud of it.

並引以為豪。

He ascended the academic tree and reached the topmost branch, 慣用語

他在學術界步步高升，登上了最高處，

head of the University of Berlin,

成為柏林大學的校長，

when he was 60 years old.

當時他60歲。

He died the following year.

隔年他就去世了。

Hegel wrote some very long and very famous books,

黑格爾寫過一些篇幅極長且非常著名的書，

among them The Phenomenology of Spirit,

其中包括《精神現象學》、

The Science of Logic,

《邏輯學》、

and Elements of the Philosophy of Right.

和《法哲學原理》。

But, we'll be frank, 語氣意圖

但是，坦白說，

he wrote horribly.

他的文筆糟透了。

His work is confusing and complicated

他的著作本應清晰直接，

when it should be clear and direct. 文法

卻令人困惑、錯綜複雜。

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

他利用了人性的一個弱點，

to be trustful of grave-sounding, 用詞

那就是容易輕信那些聽起來高深莫測、

incomprehensible prose.

晦澀難懂的文章。

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

這使得哲學在世界上的影響力大打折扣，

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

也讓我們更難傾聽

that Hegel has to say to us.

黑格爾想告訴我們的那些寶貴道理。

Amongst which,

在這些道理中，

a small number of lessons stand out. 片語動詞

有幾個教訓尤為突出。

Firstly,

第一，

important parts of ourselves

我們自身重要的部分

can be found in history.

可以在歷史中找到。

In Hegel's day,

在黑格爾那個時代，

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

歐洲人看待過去的一種標準方式

was to consider it as primitive

是認為它很落後，

and to feel proud of how much progress had been made

並且為人類取得了多少進步

to get us to the modern age.

才步入現代社會而感到自豪。

But in his book,

但在他的書中，

The Phenomenology of Spirit,

也就是1807年出版的

published in 1807,

《精神現象學》，

Hegel argued that every era

黑格爾認為，每一個時代

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

都可以被看作是某種特定智慧的寶庫。

This means we need to go back in time

這意味著我們需要回顧過去

to rescue things which have gone missing. 片語搭配

去拯救那些已經遺失的東西。

So, for example,

所以，舉例來說，

we might need to mine the history of ancient Greece 慣用語

我們可能需要挖掘古希臘的歷史

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

才能充分理解社群究竟能成為什麼樣，

something which has been lost in the modern age.

而這在現代社會已經失落了。

Or the Middle Ages can teach us,

或者中世紀可以教會我們，

as no other era can, 文法

像其他任何時代都做不到的那樣，

about the role of honor,

關於榮譽的作用，

even if this period featured appalling attitudes to children 文法

即使這個時期對兒童的態度

or the rights of women.

或女性的權利極其糟糕。

Progress is never linear, 慣用語

進步從來都不是直線的，

Hegel tells us.

黑格爾告訴我們。

There is wisdom at every stage,

每一個階段都有智慧，

which, says Hegel,

黑格爾說，這

points us to the task of the historian,

向我們指明了歷史學家的任務，

to be A historian is to be someone

成為一名歷史學家，就是成為這樣的一個人：

who should rescue from the past 慣用語

從過去拯救出

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

以彌補當下的盲點。

Secondly,

第二，

learn from ideas you dislike.

向你不喜歡的思想學習。

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

黑格爾非常堅信要向自己思想上的敵人學習，

from points of view we disagree with

向我們不同意的觀點

or that feel alien. 用詞

或感覺陌生的觀點學習。

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

那是因為他認為，真理的碎片總是散落各處，

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 片語動詞

我們應該總是透過提問把它們挖掘出來：

What sliver of sense and reason might be contained 講解

究竟有怎樣一絲理智和道理，可能包含

in otherwise frightening or foreign phenomena? 用詞

在那些本令人恐懼或陌生的現象中呢？

Nationalism,

民族主義，

for instance,

舉例來說，

has had many terrible manifestations,

曾有過許多可怕的表現，

even in Hegel's day.

甚至在黑格爾的時代也是如此。

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

但黑格爾的做法是去問，究竟有什麼潛在的好想法

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

或重要的需求可能隱藏在民族主義血腥的歷史中。

He proposed that it's the need for people

他提出，這是人們

to feel proud of where they come from,

為自己的出身感到自豪的需求，

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

去認同那些超越了個人成就的東西，

and to anchor their identities beyond the ego. 慣用語

並將他們的身份錨定在自我之外。

Hegel is a hero of the thought that really important ideas

黑格爾是這樣一種思想的英雄：真正重要的理念

may be in the hands of people you regard, 慣用語

可能掌握在一些人的手中，儘管你

at first glance, 片語搭配

乍看之下覺得他們

as beneath contempt. 慣用語

根本不值一提。

Thirdly,

第三，

progress is messy. 慣用語

進步是混亂的。

Hegel believed that the world makes progress,

黑格爾認為世界在進步，

but only by lurching from one extreme to another, 講解

但只能透過從一個極端搖擺到另一個極端的方式，

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

因為它試圖對之前的錯誤進行過度補償。

He proposed that it generally takes three moves 文法

他提出，通常需要經過三次轉變

before the right balance on any issue can be found,

才能在任何問題上找到適當的平衡，

a process that he named the dialectic. 用詞

他將這個過程命名為辯證法。

He was often thinking of the complex twists and turns 慣用語

他經常思考著那些複雜的波折

that brought about the modern state. 片語動詞

催生了現代國家。

We can also think of the slow path

我們也可以想想那條緩慢的道路，

towards sensible attitudes to sex in our own time.

即我們這個時代如何走向對性的理性態度。

The Victorians imposed too much repression, 文化背景

維多利亞時代的人施加了太多的壓抑，

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

然而，20世紀60年代可能又變得過於開放。

It might only be by the 2020s 文法

也許要到2020年代，

that we'll find the right balance between extremes.

我們才能在兩個極端之間找到恰當的平衡。

All this can seem the most appalling waste of time,

所有這些可能看起來是最令人震驚的浪費時間，

but Hegel insists that the painful stepping

但黑格爾堅持認為，這種痛苦的過渡

from error to error is inevitable,

從一個錯誤走向另一個錯誤是不可避免的，

something we must expect and reconcile ourselves to 片語搭配

這是我們在規劃人生或思考歷史書籍時

when planning our lives or contemplating history books.

必須預期並去接受的事情。

And sometimes,

而有時，

in this process of moving from error to error,

在這個從錯誤走向錯誤的過程中，

we will find a new solution

我們會找到一個新的解決方案，

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

成功地綜合了之前解決方案的優點，

to make something really new and different and better.

創造出一些真正新穎、不同且更好的東西。

Four,

第四，

art has a purpose.

藝術是有目的的。

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

黑格爾強烈反對為了藝術而藝術的觀念。

Painting,

繪畫、

music, architecture,

音樂、建築、

literature, and design

文學和設計

all have a major job to do.

都有一項重要的工作要做。

We need them so that important insights 文法

我們需要它們，以便重要的見解

can become powerful and helpful in our lives.

能夠變得強大，並在我們的生活中提供幫助。

Art is, in Hegel's formulation, 片語搭配

用黑格爾的話來說，藝術是

the sensuous presentation of ideas. 用詞

思想的感性呈現。

Just knowing ideas often leaves us cold. 慣用語

僅僅知道一些理念往往讓我們無動於衷。

For example,

例如，

in theory, 表達脈絡

在理論上，

we believe that conflict in Syria is an important one.

我們相信敘利亞衝突是一個重要的議題。

In practice,

在實踐中，

however, we just switch off. 片語動詞

然而，我們卻不去關注它。

In principle,

原則上，

we know we should be more forgiving to our partners,

我們知道我們應該對伴侶更加寬容，

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

但這種抽象的信念在一丁點挑釁下就被遺忘了。

The point of art,

藝術的意義，

Hegel realized,

黑格爾意識到，

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

與其說是想出令人震驚的新奇想法，

but to take the good, helpful, important

不如說是採用那些好的、有幫助的、重要的、

thoughts we already think we know

我們自以為已經懂了的道理，

and make them stick more imaginatively in our minds. 慣用語

讓它們更富有想像力地根植在我們的腦海裡。

Five,

第五，

we need new institutions.

我們需要新的機構。

Hegel took a very positive view of institutions 片語搭配

黑格爾對機構

and of the power they can wield. 用詞

及其能發揮的力量持非常積極的態度。

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

這是黑格爾以不同方式反覆強調的一點。

For ideas to be active and effective in the world,

要讓思想在世界上發揮積極和有效的作用，

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

僅僅依靠思想本身是正確的是遠遠不夠的。

To make major truths powerful in society,

要讓重要的真理在社會中產生力量，

they need employees and buildings and budgets

它們需要員工、建築、預算

and legal advisers.

和法律顧問。

Institutions allow for the scale 片語動詞

機構能夠提供所需規模的

of time and power that big projects

時間和力量，讓大型專案

need to become effective in the world.

能在世界上發揮實效。

So,

所以，

as new needs of a society get recognized,

當社會的新需求被認識到時，

they should, ideally,

理想情況下，它們應該

lead not just to new books, 文法

不僅僅帶來新書，

but to the formation of new institutions.

而是促成新機構的建立。

Nowadays,

如今，

we might say we need major new institutions

我們或許會說，我們需要建立重要的新機構

to focus on relationships,

來關注人際關係、

consumer education, career choice,

消費者教育、職涯選擇、

mood management,

情緒管理，

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

以及如何撫養少受心理創傷的兒童。

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

黑格爾幫助我們在最初可能會排斥的地方看到寶貴的見解，

in art, in institutions,

在藝術中、在機構中、

in the ideas of our enemies,

在敵人的思想中，

and in the strange mistakes of the past.

以及在過去奇怪的錯誤中。

His insight is that growth

他的洞見是，成長

requires the clash of divergent ideas, 慣用語

需要分歧思想的碰撞，

and therefore,

因此，

that it will be painful and slow.

這將是痛苦和緩慢的。

But at least once we know this,

但至少一旦我們知道了這一點，

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

我們就不必再把這些麻煩視為反常，從而加重我們的煩惱。

Hegel gives us a more accurate

黑格爾給了我們一個更準確、

and hence more manageable view of ourselves,

也因此更容易掌控的視角來看待自己、

our difficulties,

我們的困難，

and where we are in history. 慣用語

以及我們在歷史中所處的位置。