【推文】Logan Lancing - Rousseau’s philosophy promotes the idea of unlimited Man and unlimited ...

這是 Logan Lancing 最近寫的推文串（不算很長）

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原文及個人翻譯

Many atill think Rousseau was an enlightenment thinker, but his legacy lives through Kant, Hegel, and Marx. Why? Because at its core, Rousseau’s philosophy promotes the idea of unlimited Man and unlimited government—a radical departure from Enlightenment liberalism.

許多人仍認為盧梭是一位啟蒙思想家，但盧梭的哲學思想與啟蒙自由主義有明顯的不同，他提倡「不受限制的人」和「不受限制的政府」的概念，與當時強調限制政府權力以保護個人權利的自由主義思想相違背。

2. Enlightenment liberalism focused on limiting government to protect individual rights. Rousseau flipped this: he saw government as the instrument to bring about a moral transformation, where individual freedom is subsumed into the “general will.” Sound familiar?

3. Rousseau's belief in unlimited Man laid the groundwork for Kant’s moral philosophy and Hegel’s idea of the State as a manifestation of Spirit. For Rousseau, man's freedom isn’t about limiting power; it’s about achieving a higher moral unity through the collective.

啟蒙時代的自由主義著重於限制政府權力以保護個人權利。然而，盧梭則翻轉了這種觀念：他認為政府是帶來道德轉型的工具，個人自由被融入「普遍意志」中。這聽起來熟悉嗎？

盧梭對「不受限制的人」的信念為康德的道德哲學和黑格爾國家觀念奠定了基礎。對盧梭來說，人類的自由不是關於限制權力，而是通過集體實現更高的道德統一。

4. This idea evolves in Kant's philosophy, which proposes that true freedom comes from aligning with universal moral laws. Rousseau’s “general will” becomes Kant’s moral imperative. The individual is bound not to a limited state but to an infinite moral ideal.

這種想法在康德的哲學中得到進一步發展，他提出真正的自由來自於遵守普世道德律。盧梭的「普遍意志」成為康德的道德義務。個人不是對有限的國家/政府有義務，而是有義務去追求無限的道德理想。

5. Enter Hegel: he takes Rousseau’s vision of moral unity and Kant’s universal laws to the next level. For Hegel, the State is not just a collection of individuals but the realization of universal Spirit. Rousseau’s unlimited Man becomes Hegel’s unlimited State.

黑格爾將盧梭的道德統一觀念和康德的普世法律帶到了另一個層次。對黑格爾來說，國家不僅是個人的集合，更是普世精神的實現。盧梭的「不受限制的人」成為黑格爾的「不受限制的國家」。

6. Rousseau’s roots are not Enlightenment rationalism but something esoteric: his philosophy is deeply gnostic, seeking hidden truths about human nature and society. His concept of the "general will" has a religious, mystical quality—a kind of social alchemy.

盧梭的思想根源並非啟蒙時代的理性主義，而是具有神秘色彩的。他的哲學尋求人類本質和社會的隱藏真理，具有濃厚的靈知派特質。他的「普遍意志」概念具有宗教和神秘的品質，宛如一種社會煉金術。

7. This gnostic-alchemical thinking persists in Hegel and finds its way into Marx. For Marx, history is a process of transformation, where the “material” world will eventually reflect humanity's true nature—an echo of Rousseau’s vision for remaking man and society.

這種gnostic-alchemical（隱秘的、煉金術般的）的思維在黑格爾那裡持續存在，並延續到馬克思。對馬克思來說，歷史是一個轉型過程，其中「物質」世界最終會反映人類的真正本質——這與盧梭對重塑人類和社會的願景相呼應。

8. Rousseau’s ideas aren’t about practical governance or protecting rights; they are about an idealistic transformation of the world. This is why his legacy flows into German Idealism. He sought not to limit power but to channel it towards “moral ends.”

9. In contrast to Enlightenment liberalism, which stresses the limits of human reason and government, Rousseau promotes a philosophy of “unlimited potential.” Man is infinitely malleable; the State is infinitely perfectible. That’s the root of his break from the Enlightenment.

10. Rousseau’s vision of the “general will” is not a call for Liberalism—it’s a call for a transcendent unity where the individual will dissolves. This idea flows into Hegel’s view of the State as the embodiment of Spirit, and Marx’s concept of Man's "species-being."

盧梭的想法並非關於實用的治理或保護權益；它們是關於對世界的理想化轉型。這就是為什麼他的遺產流傳到德國理想主義中。他尋求的不是限制權力，而是將權力導向「道德目的」。

與啟蒙時代的自由主義不同，後者強調人類理性的局限性和政府的限制，盧梭提倡一種「無限的潛力」哲學。人類是無限可塑的；國家是無限可完善的。這是他與啟蒙時代思想分道揚鑣的根源。

盧梭對「普遍意志」的願景並非是對自由主義的呼喚——它呼喚一種超越的統一，其中個體意志融化於其中。這個想法流傳到黑格爾對國家作為精神體現的觀點，以及馬克思對人類「物種本質」的概念。

11. Rousseau is often considered a champion of liberty, but it's a very different liberty than the Founding Fathers envisioned. His liberty isn’t about individual rights but aligning oneself with the “true” collective will—a spiritual liberation from self-interest.

12. Rousseau, in essence, introduces a gnostic worldview to political philosophy: society is fallen, and it can only be redeemed through a hermetic, alchemical process where the individual merges with the “general will.” This leads to Kant, Hegel, and ultimately Marx.

13. The Founding Fathers viewed government as a necessary evil—a limited institution to safeguard individual liberty. Rousseau sees it as a means of achieving a higher, almost mystical, moral unity. It’s a philosophy that lends itself to unlimited government, not limited power.

盧梭常被視為自由的捍衛者，但他的自由與（美國）開國元勛們所設想的非常不同。他的自由並非關於個人權益，而是關於與「真實」的集體意志一致——一種從個人利益中解放出來的精神解放。

盧梭本質上在政治哲學中引入了靈知派的世界觀：社會是墮落的，只有通過個體與「普遍意志」的融合才能救贖它——這是一種神秘主義的、煉金術般的過程。這導致了康德、黑格爾，到最後馬克思的思想。

開國元勛們認為政府是一種必要的邪惡——一種為保障個人自由而設的有限機構。盧梭則認為它是達到更高、幾乎神秘的道德統一的手段。這是一種容易導致無限制政府、而不是有限權力的哲學。

14. Rousseau is not an Enlightenment liberal. His thought leads directly to the idealism of Kant and Hegel and the revolutionary socialism of Marx. He envisions a total transformation of society—a gnostic-alchemical process that rejects the liberal tradition.

15. Rousseau’s legacy is not one of liberty through restraint but of liberation through the dissolution of the self into a collective ideal. That’s a direct path to the philosophies that would later challenge and reject Enlightenment liberalism altogether.

盧梭並非啟蒙時代的自由主義者。他的思想直接導致了康德和黑格爾的理想主義，以及馬克思的革命社會主義。他設想了社會的徹底轉型——一種拒絕自由主義傳統的gnostic-alchemical（隱秘的、煉金術般的）過程。

盧梭的遺產並非通過限制來實現自由，而是通過將自我融進入集體理想來實現解放。這是一條直接通往後來挑戰和拒絕啟蒙時代自由主義的哲學的道路。