由於巴貝夫思想及他所領導的「追求平等的密謀」和19世紀後發展出來的共產主義思想的相似性，巴貝夫從19世紀共產主義發展以來便成為許多學者研究的對象。然而，也因這層關係，巴貝夫研究始終纏繞著與19世紀及20世紀共產主義之間的比較與對照，使得巴貝夫常常抽離了他真正所屬的時代與他個人的生命經驗。因此，本論文試圖擺脫僅將巴貝夫當成另一段歷史的史前史的情況，希望能夠將巴貝夫放回他的時代，重新考察他的思想及他的行為，並思考他的思想與行動和他個人生命經驗之間的關係。 在章節安排上，本文正文共分為三章，第一章考察巴貝夫直到熱月政變之前的人生經歷，其中又以1789法國大革命的爆發為分界點，分別探討巴貝夫革命前後的生平。第二章則是對巴貝夫思想的探討，首先第一節將研究他人生不同階段的經濟思想以及它們的變化，而在第二節則探討巴貝夫經濟思想中的自然法論述，第三節則將論證穩定性的追求在巴貝夫經濟思想中的地位。第三章則是對於巴貝夫人生最後階段的探討，尤其是「追求平等的密謀」，而此章最後將研究巴貝夫的自由民主思想，並探討巴貝夫相關思想與「追求平等的密謀」之間的關係。

法國歷史長期以來多樣性文化造成的地方特殊性，在旺代地區與羅馬公教信仰結合，成為宗教信仰與地方認同的綜合體——鐘聲文化。透過教堂與教堂的鐘，神職人員掌控居民的一切活動，創造與教堂密不可分的生活經驗，也以教堂為中心建立一個居民共享的文化空間。 　　法國大革命延續波旁王室追求中央集權與教權歸屬王權的目標，希望能夠創立全國性的國家認同，打破過去各地方獨立的地方特殊性，以及宗教干預政治的傳統，並將法國建構成一個想像的共同體。而在鐘聲文化之下，旺代則希望能夠維持地方情感，保護信仰，延續法國歷史上地方精神與中央精神的抗衡。旺代戰爭的意義在於突顯出法國並不是一個單一的概念，在法國一詞之下，包含的是各種各樣的文化與生活模式。 　　旺代的地方意識，顯現出法國歷史的延續性，並沒有因為革命發生而斷裂。而法國大革命所彰顯的國家認同，目的則在使法國能真正朝向一個民族國家前進，不再是分散的、對中央沒有依賴性的不緊密結構。延續與變遷，便構成法國大革命時期，旺代地區的認同糾葛。 　　本文所要探究的，即是從旺代地區在舊制度時期羅馬公教下鐘聲文化開始，進而探討大革命發生後，在旺代戰爭過程中，地方意識與中央集權的對抗，以及戰後國家認同的問題。 / In French history, cultural diversity influenced the identity of many different regions. In the case of Vendée, local identity, strengthened by the Roman Catholic Church, formed a special concept, which was described as “esprit du clocher”. The rhythm of daily life, as well as the general view of the world, was dominated by the church bell. Even after the French revolution, the French government followed the example from the ancien régime. They tried to replace this feeling of local identity with the spirit of a new nation. The general tendency of centralization continued. However, Vendée tried hard to maintain their long held approach. The Vendée War was a result of the cumulation of this tension. The outcome of this war proved that the new national identity was prevailing. In this thesis, the author wishes to examine the transition from the esprit du clocher to the esprit de la nation.

國族是什麼？國族主義又是什麼？ 面對許許多多歧異又紛雜的關於國族與國族主義的論述，本論文嘗試另闢蹊徑，從哲學層面來闡釋這一問題。本文區分國族之形成的主觀條件與客觀條件，認為國族不同於國家與民族，不能單純以客觀條件作為依據，而是必須以主觀條件作為依據。本文又進一步區分形式條件與實質條件，認為主觀條件中必須同時包括形式條件與實質條件，也就是說，一群人若要組成一個國族共同體，這些人必須是出於各自之自由意志，決定共同組成一個不同於其他之團體的共同體，而且要尋找並形成某種歸屬核心，當做共同體之根本質素，使之成為維繫共同體之長久存續的道德基礎。 本文以羅爾斯的政治自由主義與民族觀點作為論述根基，由此開展一種新的國族觀點，一種特殊的、只在自由主義式的民主政治體制中存在的政治共同體。並認為，人類理性必然要求人類朝這樣的政治共同體邁進，使每個人的自由都夠有最合理的、最和諧的發展，而不致釀成戰爭衝突。 / What is “nation”? And what is “nationalism”? There are many diverse and conflicting theories about nations and nationalism. We look into these theories and then abandon them because there are too many definitions. We believe that the nation is a special and unique political community and it accrues only in the liberal constitutional democracy of the modern period. There are two kinds of conditions for the construction of a nation: the subjective condition and the objective conditions. The former is an inner characteristic, while the later are external features. Unlike a state or a people, a nation must be founded the subjective condition as much as the objective conditions. In other words, the subjective condition, human beings’ free will, is the essential bedrock for the construction of a nation. In this perspective, we further distinguish the formal condition from the substantive condition. The formal condition has no content; its only function is pure decision-making. If a group of people is willing to associate together and form a community, it’s necessary for them not only to make a decision but also to decide what community they want to be. Furthermore, they have to search for and fashion their own defining core as the underlying element of the community as well as the moral foundation for the continuance of the community. Based on John Rawls’ political liberalism and his views about peoples, this paper evolves a new viewpoint of the nation as a unique political community that exists only in the liberal democracy. We also assume it is required by human reason that mankind should move forward to such a political community, enabling everyone to develop his or her liberty in the most reasonable and harmonious way without leading to wars and conflicts.