旅遊、閱讀與實驗觀察

Abstract

本研究以孟德斯鳩為例，試圖探討啟蒙運動時期西方學者普遍相信「自然環境影響人體」的看法及其可能的學術資源。研究結果顯示，孟德斯鳩的知識來源相當複雜：他除了閱讀當時旅遊者所撰寫的遊記以及一些古代作家的作品之外，他自己還親自旅遊歐陸，進行個人實地觀察，並與他人交換意見。而他所閱讀的古代作品可能包括：希波克拉提斯的〈論空氣、水與地點〉、蓋倫的《論食物的性質》、呂克萊斯的《論自然》。藉由孟德斯鳩的個案研究，我們更能瞭解：當啟蒙哲士構思自然科學知識時，古 典學術傳統仍然扮演相當重要的角色。

In the eighteenth century, western scholars were generally convinced that the natural environment, especially climates, influenced human bodies and minds. Montesquieu was one of the influential protagonists of this idea. My study focuses on the development of his climatic theory and attempts to find out the roots and sources of his thought. It argues that Montesquieu was influenced by a complex of traditions and personal experiences. He not only read contemporary travel books and classical literature, but also toured around Europe in person and conversed with other scholars about the relations of climates and humans. As for the classical literature, the sources he primarily consulted were those works written by Hippocrates, Galen and Lucretius. The ancient heritage actually has greater sway on the formation of Montesquieu’s natural knowledge, as well as on that of other Enlightenment philosophes, than current scholarship has supposed.