評Alexander Broadie, A History of Scottish Philosophy

A Review of Alexander Broadie's A History of Scottish Philosophy

蘇格蘭哲學與思想史近年為英語學界之新興研究領域。身為該領域之先驅、蘇格蘭啟蒙研究首屈一指的學者，亞歷山大．布洛迪有鑑於此趨勢，以本書叩問「何謂蘇格蘭哲學」之根本問題，並提供讀者一部十分全面的哲學史著。布洛迪成功地在書中兼顧歷史與哲學的深度，闡明蘇格蘭哲學的本質與重要性。他主張蘇格蘭哲學必須放入歷史脈絡之中研究，因為它並不僅是一項哲學的志業，更是數世紀以來凝聚蘇格蘭民族的文化傳統。若缺少過去思想家們齊力建構此一智識文化，近代以降的科學、文學、政治與文化發展恐怕舉步維艱。本文旨在評論《蘇格蘭哲學史》；同時概覽布洛迪任教於格拉斯哥大學時從哲學到歷史的學術轉向。他對蘇格蘭哲學文化的投入值得當代歷史學家與哲學家關注，其作品開啟了思想史與哲學史對話的契機；文末將透過本書探討目前英語學界思想史與哲學史之互動關係。 Scottish philosophy and intellectual history have become the increasingly fashionable fields of academic studies. Alexander Broadie, one of the pioneers and an accomplished scholar of the Scottish Enlightenment, returns to the basic question, namely, ＂what is Scottish philosophy?＂, and presents a comprehensive work on the history of Scottish philosophy. Broadie successfully elucidates the nature and significance of Scottish philosophy both historically and philosophically. He argues that Scottish philosophy must be studied in its historical context, for it is not only a philosophical enterprise but also a persistent tradition which has united the Scottish nation for centuries. The advancements in science, literature, politics, and culture in Scotland would be extremely unlikely, if not impossible, without such an intellectual culture established by thinkers in that tradition. This article is intended as a review of Broadie’s A History of Scottish Philosophy in the background of his shifting academic interests from philosophy to history while he holds the professorship in University of Glasgow. His commitment to Scottish philosophical culture deserves the attention of contemporary historians and philosophers, for his work opens up a space for dialogue between intellectual history and history of philosophy, an issue addressed at the end of this paper.