名人小故事哲学思想家9：Immanuel Kant 伊曼努尔·康德

Immanuel Kant

伊曼努尔·康德

Immanuel’s early childhood seems to have been idyllic. The family was rather well off. The parents got along and loved their son. Father appears to have been a gentle and hardworking man, while mother, who took care of the family’s paperwork, was well educated. Little Immanuel was her constant company, and her influence on him was considerable.

康德小时候的生活像田园诗般优美。家境殷实，父母恩爱，又疼爱孩子。父亲看起来像个绅士一样有风度，而且非常勤劳；母亲受过良好教育，安心持家。小康德总是跟在妈妈身边，因而，康德受母亲的影响非常大。

After “Manelchen” could walk, Anna Kant took him out for walks in the meadows and fields. She taught him what she could, of the seasons, the plants and animals, and the sky. Her little son responded eagerly with questions; and the mother encouraged his outdoor curiosity with praise, patience, and more information.

小康德会走以后，妈妈就带着康德出去散步，去田野也去草原。妈妈尽可能地教康德知识，包括四季景物，各种动植物，甚至包括头顶的天空。小康德也用焦急的、一连串的问题来回应妈妈。妈妈总是耐心回答他的问题，不停地表扬他，并教他新鲜的东西，以此来鼓励他的好奇心。

For learning about the details of nature, the child grew up in a good environment. Konigsberg enjoys a cool and gentle climate; typical of high latitudes, the flat Baltic terrain has not much biological diversity, and its biomes — meadows, moors, deciduous and conifer forests — are not hostile. At Kant’s time, bears and wolves were common, but neither of which are in the habit of attacking humans (despite legends to the contrary). Walks as the ones he enjoyed, at the edge of town, were funny and perfectly safe. Excursions into nature also have a spiritual subtext. German tradition invests natural places with meaning.

学习着自然界的一切，拥有如此好的环境，小康德渐渐长大了。格尼斯堡是典型的高纬度地区的气候，终年温暖凉爽。波罗的海沿岸平原的物种并不是特别丰富，高原沼泽、落叶树、针叶林等当地的生态系统平衡发展。康德小时候，熊和狼时常出没，但却从来不伤人，（虽然当地的神话可能不这样说)。在这个小城镇， 康德想去哪就去哪，充满乐趣而且非常安全。经常到自然中去走走也可以丰富人的精神生活。在德国的传统中，自然也常被赋予深刻的含义。

As for his parents, Kant later described that, “My two parents were perfectly honest, morally decent, and orderly. They did not leave me a fortune (but neither did they leave me any debts). Moreover, they gave me an education that could not have been better when considered from the moral point of view. Every time I think of this I am touched by feelings of the highest gratitude. I will never forget my mother, for she implanted and nurtured in me the first germ of goodness; she opened my heart to the impressions of nature; she awakened and furthered my concepts, and her doctrines have had a continual and beneficial influence in my life.” 

对于父母，康德日后这样描述：“我的父母诚实、正直、守法。他们虽然没有给我留下太多的财产（当然他们也并没有留下任何债务），但他们却给了我良好的教 育，如果从道德的角度来说，没有什么比这样的教育再好的了。每次想到这里，我心里便由衷地升起对父母的感激之情。我永远也不会忘记我的妈妈，是她在我心灵种下善良的种子，是她让我打开心扉感受自然，也是她唤醒我的头脑，开阔我的视野。她的教育让我受益终生