- 學位論文
從共和到極權：卡西勒對現代國家難題的診斷
From Republic to Totalitarian: Cassirer’s Diagnose of the Dilemma of Modern State
摘要
即便當代已被普遍認為是世俗時代，威瑪共和國到納粹德國的轉變以及廣泛出現在當代不同領域中的神話或宗教現象，使眾多思想家開啟對「政治神話」的探究。而在既有討論中，本文將試圖透過詮釋重要研究者卡西勒的著作來提供理解這一現象的初步框架，進而說明政治神話在當代政治領域中的意涵。 本文將試圖透過卡西勒早期發展出的文化哲學來做為理解卡西勒對政治神話之分析的基礎，說明卡西勒文化哲學中的內在張力，使其哲學體系內在蘊含某種目的論結構，進而將神話思維與倫理生活的發展相關連。最後，因為文化哲學同時做為哲學人類學，這些哲學觀點因此重大形塑卡西勒對政治神話的評價，促使他將政治神話視為政治自由與啟蒙理念的否定。其次，本文將透過文化哲學的體系進一步說明卡西勒如何回應政治神話的現象，以及他對政治神話之起源、本質的分析。本文認為基於文化哲學的研究，卡西勒將國家學視為文化科學的一環，試圖透過特定的國家學方法論來擺脫政治神話的威脅。接著，本文亦將說明卡西勒的政治神話系譜學考察分別建立在文化哲學與哲學人類學的基礎之上，對卡西勒而言，政治神話的復甦正在於錯誤的理解人與作為人類作品的文化。最後，本文將具體考察卡西勒對當代極權國家的分析，說明為何卡西勒會將極權國家定義為「神話的技術」，這一概念界定又具有何種意義？ 在說明完卡西勒對政治神話的分析之後，本文將回到最初的切入點，考察卡西勒的論點是否有助於我們理解「政治神話」這一現象所具有的意義？本文認為，卡西勒確實得出許多重要的洞見，但他對啟蒙理念的預設，可能導致他忽略神話在政治領域中潛在的正面作用。而政治神話衍生的問題，將成為「現代」脈絡下必須持續探究的對象。
並列摘要
The Modern Age has been widely perceived as a secular age. However, the transformation from Weimar Republic to Nazi Germany, and mythical and religious phenomena which frequently appear in different domains in contemporary time, have impel many thinkers to investigate “Political Myth”. This thesis will interpret Ernst Cassirer’s works to establish a preliminary frame to understand Political Myth and its significances in contemporary political domain. First, this thesis will use the development of Philosophy of Culture as means to comprehend Cassirer’s analysis of Political Myth. Since Cassirer equates Philosophy of Culture with Philosophical Anthropology, the immanent tension in Philosophy of Culture will lead to a teleological structure, which relates mythical thought with the development of ethical life. Therefore, Cassirer evaluates Political Myth as a negation of political freedom and the idea of Enlightenment. Next, this thesis will explain how Cassirer use the system of Philosophy of Culture to analyze the origins and the nature of Political Myth, and how he responds to the phenomena of Political Myth. I argue that Cassirer had seen the theory of state as a part of cultural sciences, and he tries to overcome the threats of Political Myth with a specific methodology of the theory of state. Then, this thesis will demonstrate that Cassirer bases the genealogy of Political Myth on the Philosophy of Culture and Philosophical Anthropology. To Cassirer, the misunderstanding of human and culture leads to the resurrection of Political Myth. I will inspect Cassirer’s analyses of contemporary totalitarian state, explain why he defines it as “the Technique of Myth”, and what is the meaning of this definition. In the final chapter, I will return to the threshold of this thesis, and examine whether Cassirer’s contentions can help us to understand the significance of the phenomena of Political Myth. I argue that Cassirer’s presupposition of the idea of Enlightenment might make him ignore the possible positive influences of Political Myth. To uncover the problems and benefits of Political Myth in the context of Modern Age, this subject should continuously be discussed and investigated.