何以言道德進步？史迪芬平克、約翰葛雷與強納森海德特

Is There Progress in Morality? Steven Pinker, John Gray and Jonathan Haidt

美國哈佛大學心理學教授史迪芬平克（Steven Pinker）於2011年寫下《人性中的良善天使》，高舉理性與科學、捍衛人文主義、宣揚進步觀念、提倡道德進步說。英國思想家約翰葛雷（John Gray）專研政治哲學，退休前任倫敦政治經濟學院歐洲思想教授，2002年寫成《稻草狗》，開門見山反人類中心說、反人文主義、反道德進步論。平克認為人類有向善的趨向，累積而成進步，葛雷反對此說。二人之辯在英語世界掀起熱議，蓋其議論觸及倫理學之根本─假若道德無所進步，勸善純屬徒勞，道德社會無從建立，則辨別善惡何益？本文對比平克和葛雷的說法，輔以美國心理學家強納森海德特（Jonathan Haidt）的論說，以說明何以平克的說法不令人滿意、及為何人類的道德處境更近於葛雷的理解。

Steven Pinker, currently a professor of psychology at Harvard University, is the author of The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined (2011). The book is a defense of key human values such as reason, science, humanism, progress and moral progressivism. John Gray is a British political philosopher who held the position of Professor of European Thought at the London School of Economics and Political Science until his retirement in 2007. Gray’s book Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals was published in 2002, unabashedly expressing his opposition to anthropocentrism, humanism and progressivism. Pinker argues that the world is getting better. The continuous accumulation leads to progress, including moral progress. Gray opposes this view. Their dispute has sparked much discussion in the English-speaking world because it touches on the core of ethics: if moral progress is non-existent, there is no hope for people to become virtuous, why should we bother distinguishing good from evil? By examining Pinker’s and Gray’s arguments, and using Jonathan Haidt’s moral psychology, I will explain why Pinker’s account is unsatisfactory; and why the human moral condition is more akin to Gray’s understanding.