野蠻與宗教:柯靈烏⋘新利維坦⋙與其政治思想中的文明兩極

Barbarism and Religion: Collingwood's New Leviathan and the Two Extremes of Civilization

本文探討英國哲學家柯靈烏的政治思想中歷史、哲學與宗教間的關連。其晚年著作《新利維坦》是本文最主要參考的文本，而作者認為柯靈烏最具體系性的政治思想盡在其中。要充分解釋此書，有必要從科氏之認識論、形上學、歷史哲學及神學觀之匯通連接處進行，而核心之概念即為the concrete universal（具體的存有整體）；在此觀念下，柯靈烏解釋了人的倫理行為及社會的最適狀態。宗教與野蠻是柯靈烏所認為的文明兩極，前者帶來人文化成，而後者摧毀之。柯靈烏對近代文明的憂心在於他認為近代文明之中的科學主義心態以及各個專業知識間的斷裂狀態很有可能催生出反文明的野蠻心態，吾人不可不慎。而基督教應該成為歐洲文明最終的堡壘，因為它是對於人的「標準狀態」的啟示。透過本書，柯靈烏把他一生的治學融為一主題：unity of life（生命的統一性）。

This is an investigation of Collingwood's New Leviathan on its theoretical foundations in terms of the rapprochement among philosophy, history and religion. New Leviathan has been famous for its austere allegation of the herd worship of the German nation; but it is also a comprehensive demonstration of how the branches of knowledge can be combined to serve the social theorist as an architect of an ideal human society. Barbarism and religion are used by Collingwood as the two extremes of human civilization, the former being the attempt to destroy civilized way of life, either through violence or wrong attitude. It is Collingwood's contention that Christianity has been providing European civilization with moral deals to which individuals and states should always appeal. The four barbarisms he enlisted are all examples either of distortion of Christianity or of assault on its moral foundations.