Links Between East and West 31 - Enlightenment 东西方的连接31 - 启蒙

The Direction of Human History?

One can view human history as an arrow comprised of infinite smaller cycles. History is an "arrow" as it has a general direction. For example, suppose one looks at systems of government or politics since the days of the Classical Greeks (~500 BCE). In that case, it is not difficult to delineate a rough path from the myriad forms of government in ancient Greece, to the republican or later highly centralized Rome, to the kingdoms during the Middle Ages, and finally to the Renaissance or Enlightenment, when significant democratic reforms swept across most of Europe. This rough path displays a regular direction of improvement in the political constitution.

Smaller cycles still exist within this "arrow" and play an indispensable role. The "smaller cycles" inherently allude to the continuous actions of construction, destruction, re-construction, and re-destruction. The cycles reflect the complex and conflicting nature of people. While people sometimes prefer to socialize and cooperate attentively, at other times, they are more isolated and antagonistic toward each other. The interactions between human nature's social and unsocial factors constitute the cycles. Human political or cultural structures might move forward at certain intervals during the cycles, perhaps by chance. For instance, during the 20th century, the world began with a de-construction represented by World War I and then entered a construction period during the interwar period, when international organizations to maintain peace, such as the League of Nations, were experimented with. However, the world plunged back into re-destruction with World War II, destroying most previous orders. After 1945, re-construction started, and international organizations such as the United Nations were born, though these organizations were an improvement from the days of the League of Nations. Micro-cycles like these merge into the direction or "arrow" of history.

Human civilization progresses in this cycle of construction, destruction, re-construction, and de-construction. Then what has pushed the advancement of human society? "Enlightenment" might be the most vital answer. Through a comparison of Immanuel Kant's and Confucius' ideas on "enlightenment," this essay will dive deeper into this concept.

The Definition of Enlightenment

To begin with, "enlightenment" is a rather complicated word to define. In his essay "An Answer to the Question: 'What is Enlightenment'" Kant's definition is quite insightful. He claimed enlightenment is "man's emergence from his self-incurred immaturity." The key word in this quote is "immaturity." Kant defined "immaturity" as the "inability to use one's understanding without the guidance of another." This implies that "immaturity" shares no complete connection with age. Children are often "immature" as they make decisions with the help of others. Adults, though, can be "immature" too if they cannot think and act independently. The other term in this definition is "self-incurred." People's immaturity is self-incurred because they do not have the courage or resolution to leave the immature state even though they understand immaturity. When people rid themselves of this immaturity, they enter a state of enlightenment.

Unlike Kant, Confucius did not define "enlightenment" clearly. At the heart of Confucius' thinking are Confucian ideals: "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and fidelity." An individual who constantly lives by these values is considered enlightened. Confucius argued that most people must gradually transform through education to obtain enlightenment. The courses of nature should guide this transformative course. Comparing Confucius with Kant, one can see that both philosophers defined "enlightenment" as a process towards an ideal state. But Kant focused more on the individual's independence and use of reason, while Confucius concentrated on setting up criteria to judge or supervise human conduct.

The Path to Enlightenment for the Individual

Now that "enlightenment" is presented more lucidly, it is necessary to examine Kant's and Confucius' views on the methods or paths to reach enlightenment. For an individual in Kant's philosophy, reaching "enlightenment" is strongly tied to humans realizing their "natural capacities." By "natural capacities," Kant referred to human reason and morality, though the term could embody other abilities. In his essay "Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose," Kant pointed out that "reason, in a creature, is a faculty which enables that creature to extend far beyond the limits of instinct the rules and intentions it follows in using its various powers…." This quote suggests that once people learn to use their reason effectively, they can exit a natural state whereby they rely solely on their instincts. This point can additionally, presumably, imply that once humans are equipped with reason, they can decide on their own and carve out development paths individually. Thus, the utilization of reason is indispensable for the achievement of enlightenment.

For Confucius, one can arrive at enlightenment with continuous education and self-reflection. An enlightened individual decides based on justice and acts based on respect, modesty, and honesty. To become so, Confucius placed a hefty weight on the role of education. Besides seeking knowledge, he argued that learning from people who live by their moral character could quickly diagnose and improve on their mistakes, hence stepping closer to enlightenment. Confucius also believed in the importance of self-discipline in achieving enlightenment. One of his quotes reads, "An enlightened man stringently restricts himself, while a vile man stringently restricts everyone except himself." Confucius thought one could only reach enlightenment when one surpasses a certain age. In other words, the road to enlightenment is long and sometimes arduous. This thought reminds one of a similar Kantian argument that for people to learn how to use reason, many generations must continuously pass down wisdom and experience.

Conclusion

Although almost 2000 years of history separated Kant and Confucius, both thinkers displayed remarkable differences and similarities in their views about human enlightenment. Additionally, it is worth noting that both thinkers lived during rather tumultuous times. Confucius formulated his system of thoughts during the Spring and Autumn Period when different forces in China were battling for hegemony. Kant lived during the Age of Enlightenment when democratic revolutions appeared across Europe and the tension between the old aristocratic system and the novel democratic one. These conflicts and tensions must have provided food for thought, as there was an urgent need for solutions to social dilemmas. But the fundamental motive behind formulating these ideas was a surprisingly simple term: courage. Kant and Confucius were courageous thinkers who dared to break the restrictions placed by traditional social dogmas and trace the underlying paths of human history. They lived up to and beyond the motto of enlightenment: "Sapere aude", or "dare to know".

提问：人类的历史是否是曲折向前的？

人们可以把历史看作一支向前的 "箭头"，它指向一个前进的大方向。以人类政治体制的更迭为例，从古希腊时代（约公元前500年）的多重政府形式，到共和制和后来权力高度集中的罗马，再到中世纪的王国，最后到文艺复兴和启蒙运动时期重大的民主改革席卷欧洲，这条粗略的路径显示了政治体制改革的规律性方向。

在这个历史向前的 "箭头 "中，存在着更小的循环周期。这些 "较小的周期 "内部存在着建设、破坏、再建设和再破坏的持续运动。这些循环运动反映了人的复杂和冲突的本质。虽然人们有时喜欢社交，用心合作，但在其他时候，人们却更孤立，甚至彼此对立。人性中的社会因素与非社会因素之间的相互排斥作用构成了这些周期。在周期的某些间隔，人类的政治或文化结构可能会向前发展，当然这发展也许是偶然的。例如，在20世纪初，世界开始了以第一次世界大战为代表的破坏期，然后在1919年至1937年间进入了一个建设期，在这个时期，国际联盟等维护和平的国际组织得到了初步建立并尝试发挥作用。然而，随着第二次世界大战的爆发，世界又陷入了再破坏期，摧毁了之前的大部分秩序。1945年后，重建工作开始，世界进入了较长时间的和平期。联合国等国际组织诞生，这些组织比国联时代有了明显改进。

人类社会正是在这种建设、破坏、再建设和再破坏的持续运动中始终向前。是什么促使人类社会不断改革、不断进步的呢？"启蒙 "应该是最重要的答案。通过比较伊曼纽尔-康德和孔子关于 "启蒙 "的思想，本文将更广泛和深入地探讨这一概念。

人类前进的动力：启蒙

首先，"启蒙 "有一个相当复杂的定义。康德在他的文章《对 "什么是启蒙 "问题的回答》中的定义相当有见地。他声称，启蒙是 "人从自我造成的不成熟中走出来"。这句话中的关键词是 "不成熟"。康德将 "不成熟 "定义为 "在没有他人指导的情况下无法通过自己对事物进行理解"。这意味着，"不成熟 "与年龄没有完全的联系。儿童往往是 "不成熟 "的，他们只能在别人的帮助下做决定。不过，如果成年人不能独立思考和行动，他们也可能是 "不成熟"的。这个定义中的另一个术语是 "自我造成的"。人们的不成熟是自己造成的，因为即使他们理解不成熟，他们也没有勇气或决心离开不成熟的状态。当人们摆脱了不成熟，就更接近一种启蒙的状态。

与康德不同，孔子没有为 "启蒙 "提供一个明确的定义。孔子思想的核心是一套儒家理想，即 "仁、义、礼、智、信"。一个持续按照这些价值观生活的人被认为是开明且受到启蒙的。孔子认为，大多数人必须通过教育逐步转变，才能获得启蒙，自然界的规律更应该指导这个转变的过程。对比孔子和康德，我们可以看到，两位哲学家都把 "启蒙 "定义为走向理想状态的过程。但康德似乎更注重个人的独立性和对理性的运用，而孔子则更注重建立判断或监督人类行为的标准。

启蒙之路

现在，"启蒙 "的概念已经以一种更清晰的方式呈现出来，我们有必要研究康德和孔子对达到“启蒙“的方法或路径的看法。对于康德哲学中的个体来说，达到 "启蒙 "的概念与人类实现其 "自然能力 "紧密相连。康德所说的 "自然能力 "基本上是指人类的理性和道德，尽管这个词可以体现出其他能力。康德在他的文章《具有世界性目的的普遍历史的想法》中指出，"理性在一个生物中是一种能力，它使该生物在使用其各种能力时，能够远远超出自然本能的限制，遵循规则和意图......" 这句话表明，一旦人们学会有效地利用他们的理性，那么他们就可以脱离只依靠本能的自然状态。此外，这一点还可以以一种推测的方式暗示，一旦人类具备了理性，他们就可以开始自行决定，并单独开辟出发展的道路。因此，理性的运用对于实现启蒙是不可或缺的。

在孔子看来，一个人可以通过不断的教育和自我反省来达到启蒙。一个经历启蒙的人基于正义作出决定，基于尊重、谦虚和诚实而行事。要做到这一点，孔子对教育的作用给予了高度重视。除了寻求知识之外，他还认为，通过向那些恪守着道德品质生活的人学习，人们可以迅速诊断和改进自己的错误，从而向启蒙迈进。孔子还相信自律对实现启蒙的重要性，他的一句名言是："君子求诸己，小人求诸人"。孔子认为，一个人只有在超过一定年龄时才能达到开悟。换句话说，通向启蒙的道路是漫长的，有时是艰辛的。这一思想让人想起康德的一个类似论点，即要让人们学会如何使用理性，就必须有许多代人不断地传授智慧和经验。

结语

总的来说，尽管康德和孔子之间相隔了近2000年的时间，但两位思想家在关于人类启蒙的观点上都表现出了显著的差异和相似之处。此外，值得注意的是，两位思想家都生活在相当动荡的时代。孔子在春秋时期创建了他的思想体系，当时中国的不同势力正在争夺霸权。康德生活在启蒙时代，当时欧洲各地出现了民主革命，旧的贵族制度和新的民主制度之间出现了显著矛盾。这些冲突和紧张关系提供了思考的素材，因为当时社会迫切需要解决政治与文化困境。但是，提出这些想法的基本动机却是令人惊讶的简单：勇气。康德和孔子是勇敢的思想家，他们敢于打破传统社会教条的限制，追踪人类历史的基本路径。他们踏实地践行并超越了启蒙运动的格言，"Sapere aude"，即 "敢于认知"。