以撒•柏林的史論－從觀念史的思考到決定論的批判

本文專究柏林的歷史思想，探討柏林在一九五○年代時，對「觀念史」這個領域的思考和期許，以及對西方近代史學和文化思潮的一些評述。本文更宏觀的企圖是藉由柏林，條理出二十世紀中葉英國史學和文化發展的一二軌跡。探究柏林的思想之路，首先照見的是觀念史研究在英國歷史學界中的困境。柏林認定觀念史處理的是過去之人的獨特意識經驗和結晶，正呈現他循著勒弗喬(A.O.Lovejoy)這派「觀念史」的腳步而來。他持著多元主義的原則，不認同十九世紀史學的變革具有進步意義，和當時許多史家的看法悖反而行。他質疑非個人解釋的力量日漸膨脹，惋惜個人在歷史中的作用和責任受到漠視和壓抑，是對二十世紀以來社會科學以及社會史興起的擷頏。而在一九五○年代批判黑格爾和馬克思的形上哲學風尚中，柏林更以決定論之名強力回應此時代風潮。

關鍵字

以撒•柏林；觀念史；史學；決定論

並列摘要

This article aims to enquire into the historical view of Isaiah Berlin in the context of current historiography, and to relate his ideas to the work of his contemporaries. Through this investigation, it is hoped that some lights can be shed on the intellectual climate of England in the 1950s. The analysis focuses on Berlin' comments on the study of the history of ideas, his evaluation of the development of modem historiography, and his concern over the influences of determinism. The reconstruction of Berlin's thought reveals the research dilemmas facing Oxford academic circles, the dominance of the progressive view of historiography shared by many historians while rejected by Berlin, and the growing ascendancy of social sciences and Marxism.