余功
必須坦承,寫A-Z的文章,某些字母須搜索枯腸,如X便是這樣。不過,今天談的其實也算是重要課題,而且凸顯了中西哲學的不同,那便是中國哲學的xin(心)。
人類的心靈活動,西方哲學慣常分為兩個不同範疇:heart(心腸、心情)和mind(心智、心思),前者關乎feeling(感覺),後者關乎thinking(思想)。但中國的「心」卻兩者兼備,並不區分,因此西方哲學把中國的xin譯作heart-mind。
「心」是會思考的器官
中國古代哲學把「心」視作跟眼或耳一樣的器官,不同之處是會思考。例如孟子(Mencius)便說:「耳目之官不思,而蔽於物……心之官則思,思則得之,不思則不得也」(Organs such as those of hearing and sight, being unable to think, can be misled by external things......But the heart does think. Only by thinking will the answer be found)( 《孟子.告子上.第十五章》,Mengzi 6A15)。
換句話,中國哲學從來不把理論與實際清楚劃分,卻把兩者視作一體。因此,當孔子(Confucius)說「吾十有五而志於學」(At fifteen, my heart-mind was set upon learning)(《論語.為政.4》,Analects 2.4),他所追求的絕非只是理論學問,而是強調道德實踐和自我成就。正如孟子說:「盡其心者,知其性也」(For a person to realise fully one's heart-mind is to fully realise fully one's nature and character)(《孟子.盡心上.第一章》,Mengzi 7A1)。這兒帶出了另一個X字首的重要課題:xing(性),惜本文無法在此討論。
因此,中國哲學較少強調人心內的理智與情慾交戰,但西方哲學卻很重視這點。例如使徒保羅(Paul the Apostle)描述自身內心掙扎時便說出名句:to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find(立志為善由得我,只是行出來由不得我)(Romans《羅馬書》7:18)。
內心干擾 道德掙扎
中國人的道德掙扎,是指內心受到外物的干擾。試看莊子(Zhuangzi)如何解說:「聖人之靜也,非曰靜也善,故靜也;萬物無足以鐃心者,故靜也」(The stillness of the sage is not a matter of his saying, "It is good to be still," and thus he is still. He is still because none of the myriad things are able to agitate his heart-mind)(《莊子.天道》,Zhuangzi 13)。
中西哲學比較,很有趣,但也很困難呢。
逢星期五見報
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