试论宗教的灵魂不死观念

灵魂不死的观念是宗教的重要标志。如果没有灵魂不死,神界的地狱、天堂、西方极乐世界将是空荡荡的,从而失去存在的前提。宗教所说的人的灵魂,原本是人的生理心理现象。所以,唯物论者认为,灵魂是不存在的;它和鬼神是不存在的,是同一个命题。没有灵魂不死,宗教及其神界则会丢掉控制人生的手段。关于灵魂不死的任何说法,都是违背辩证法的虚幻、虚妄之词。     

托马斯·阿奎那论灵魂的本质与等级

依据托马斯·阿奎那在《神学大全》中的论述,灵魂,尤其是人类的理智灵魂,乃是一种特殊的形式。其特殊性在于:一、与一般的非生命体的形式相比较,灵魂是生命体的第一原则,等级更高,更加高贵;二、按照生命体的形式的等级,人类的理智灵魂高于动物的感觉灵魂和植物的生长灵魂,并且包含有后两者的全部能力;三、灵魂作为形式,对于质料具有主动性,并且理智灵魂具有对其他形式的认知能力,这种认知因为主动理智的原因而与上帝有关系;四、灵魂脱离躯体后,依然保有其存在,但是其认知方式已经有所改变。     

奥古斯丁之“灵魂能力等级”观念探析

本文探讨了奥古斯丁早期哲学作品《论灵魂的广大》(De quantitate animae)所提出的"灵魂能力等级"的观念,认为这一观念是奥古斯丁对于普罗提诺所发展的灵魂上升观念的继承。不过,基于基督教传统,奥古斯丁在其中后期思想中逐渐提出了与古典看法不同的阻碍灵魂上升的原因,并指出基督救赎的必要性。奥古斯丁的新阐释中体现的基督教意识,也导致他将古典哲学中非时间性的灵魂上升论转换导向了基督教末世性的历史救赎论。     

民族灵魂工程建设——立国的第一资本

一个国家和民族有三种立国资本 ,即文化和民族灵魂资本、金融和经济资本、科技和知识资本。本文着重讨论民族灵魂工程建设是中国在 2 1世纪经济全球化过程中最急需的第一资本 ,并提出民族灵魂工程建设的具体实施方案     

无心智的目的性——亚里士多德论营养与生殖

当代生命哲学要求重新理解生命自身的目的性与统一性,它们都指向了亚里士多德这一共同源头。在亚里士多德哲学中,营养灵魂是一种基础性的灵魂能力,它又有（狭义的）营养灵魂和生殖灵魂之分。理解它的关键在于论证两种能力的统一性并揭示其形而上学意蕴。（狭义的）营养灵魂和生殖灵魂之间构成了一种“不一不异”的关系,二者形成一种闭合循环,保证了生命体的“生生不息”。同时,对于今天的生命哲学而言,亚里士多德营养灵魂学说重要的意义在于提供了一种无心智的目的性,这有助于更加深刻地把握身心关系与生命的完整性。     

灵魂

就像天际那一朵飞翔的彩云，总有着空灵灿烂的风姿；就像石缝中伸出的嫩芽，总有着浪漫向上的清丽；就像高山流泉的歌唱，总有着声情并茂的韵律；就像仁慈宽厚的大地，总有着万紫千红的花朵；就像峭拔巍峨的巨峰，总有着擎起春夏秋冬的力量；就像清莹丰沛的雨露，总有着葱茏万木的赤诚；就像亘古常新的阳光，总有着繁衍生命的激情和畅想，总有着旺盛天地的气势和力量……     

从"载营魄抱一"看逍遥境界与成仙信仰

中国古代道家(教)常常或隐或显地体现出对内体的肯定甚至眷恋。本文从中国古代的魂魄二元灵魂观入手考察其身体观及对灵肉关系的看法,并选取《庄子》逍遥境界与道教的成仙信仰这两种迥异于西方的超越样式进行具体的分析,以期展露其“肉体关怀”的真正根源所在。     

保罗的伤心事

正令人景仰的使徒保罗,有没有伤心事呢?当然有!这是我在读《哥林多后书》时体会到的:"如今我打算第三次到你们那里去,也必不累着你们,因我所求的是你们,不是你们的财物。儿女不该为父母积财,父母该为儿女积财。我也甘心乐意为你们的     

正义、秩序和灵魂——莱布尼兹正义理论剖析

本文从本质形而上学、存在形而上学与道德形而上学三个层面对莱布尼兹正义理论进行剖析。就本质形而上学而言,作为本质、理念的正义是一种爱别人的习惯,是心灵钓天赋观念,每个人基于内在、自我圆满之缘由而追求正义;就存在形而上学而言,存在形态的正义体现为自然秩序之有机和谐、人及其共同体秩序之仁爱和谐、宇宙秩序之普遍和谐;就道德形而上学而言,考察正义的前提和根源必然要追溯形式、灵魂与精神之来源,承认形式、灵魂与精神之不死。     

美国诗歌中的禅性与五台山诗

在美国超验主义(或称浪漫主义)派别的诗歌中，有不少禅味隽永的诗篇，读来与五台山诗一样的清醇澹泊，不沾一丁点儿的世俗气，能给人纯美的享受。     

Pushing the Monstrous to the Edge of the World; Shaking the Nightmare off the Chest: Hans Blumenberg and Walter Benjamin’s Philosophies of Myth

Abstract

This paper explores the philosophies of myth of Walter Benjamin and Hans Blumenberg. It defends the thesis that both approaches to myth, despite their differences, bring the longer, more ambiguous, legacy of the history of the human species into relation with the more familiar history of logos (a history of thinking). They do this by maintaining a distinction between myth as it probably first emerged, namely as a way of controlling human anxieties and vulnerabilities that arose as a consequence of the pragmatic, material conditions of the pre-historical world, and myth as the vast array of orally transmitted traditions left to history. In the case of both thinkers, this dichotomy illuminates myth, not as one category of human expression, but as a representation of the deeper vulnerabilities experienced by human beings, and the concerted, collective (largely failed) attempts to overcome them. Philosophy’s task in the face of a longer, darker history of the species, is a vigilant negotiation with the human frailties that might see its work undone.     

Demythologizing intuition

Max Deutsch’s new book argues against the commonly held ‘myth’ that philosophical methodology characteristically employs intuitions as evidence. While I am sympathetic to the general claim that philosophical methodology has been grossly oversimplified in the intuition literature, the particular claim that it is a myth that philosophers rely on intuitions as evidence is open to several very different interpretations. The plausibility and consequences of a rejection of the ‘myth’ will depend on the notion of evidence one employs, the notion of intuition one holds, and how one understands the idea of ‘relying on’ or ‘employing’ something as evidence. I describe what I take to be the version of The Myth which is most plausibly undermined by Deutsch’s arguments; however, I also argue that the falsity of this myth has only minimal consequences for the viability of the experimental philosophy research project.     

WHAT IS “MYTHIC REALITY”?

Abstract. The topic of the March 2011 symposium in Zygon is “The Mythic Reality of the Autonomous Individual.” Yet few of the contributors even discuss “mythic reality.” Of the ones who do, most cavalierly use “myth” dismissively, as simply a false belief. Rather than reconciling myth with reality, they oppose myth to reality. Their view of myth is by no means unfamiliar or unwarranted, but they need to recognize other views of myth and to defend their own. Above all, they need to appreciate the grip that any belief aptly labelled myth has—a grip that holds at least as much for a false belief as for a true one.     

From philosophy to criticism of myth: Cassirer’s concept of myth

This article discusses the question whether or not Cassirer’s philosophical critique of technological use of myth in The Myth of the State implies a revision of his earlier conception and theory of myth as provided by The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms. In the first part, Cassirer’s early theory of myth is compared with other approaches of his time. It is claimed that Cassirer’s early approach to myth has to be understood in terms of a transcendental philosophical approach. In consequence, myth is conceived as a form of cultural consciousness which is constituted by specific symbolic processes. In the second part, the theoretical assumptions underlying Cassirer’s criticism of myth are discussed and compared with his earlier theory. It is argued that there is a strong conceptual and theoretical continuity between Cassirer’s early views on myth as a symbolic form and his later critique of technological use of myth.     

An Empirical Analysis of the Efficacy of the Wisc in the Diagnosis of Organicity in Children of Normal Intelligence

The Jungian concepts of archetypes and psychic reality are utilized to explain the difference between illusory and real psychic phenomena. Myths are defined as unconscious projections of archetypal material upon the environment, which assume definitive shapes as objects or persons having an archaic character. Only by an analysis of the meaning and value of the various mythological heros, motifs, or ancient objects depicted in a myth can an approach be made in comprehending the original archetypes from which they emerged. The difficulty of applying external scientific criteria of validity and reliability to a psychic event is explored at some length. In accordance with Jungian theory, “mental illness” is described as a myth which tends to isolate the observer from the one observed in a significant manner. Another way of looking at the “mentally ill” person is offered in terms of a common bond of humanity that exists between that person and one that is labeled as “mentally healthy.”     

Imagining solidarity in the twenty-first century: towards a performative postsecularism

Imagining solidarity in the twenty-first century is particularly difficult in light of three factors: religious diversity, a religious/secular binary and uncertainty as to the political future. This article employs myth as a lens for exploring and developing responses to these difficulties coalescing around the term postsecular. It suggests that these difficulties are reproduced rather than overcome in Jürgen Habermas’ work. It then distinguishes between the postsecular, postsecularity and postsecularism to demonstrate how recent work offers new possibilities. Finally, it draws on original ethnography to develop this work. It claims that myth is central to how both religious and nonreligious people imagine solidarity. It suggests that myth is primarily performed rather than rationally argued, and calls for myths to be judged on the basis of the performances they produce. Finally, it suggests that the content of myths is less important than how and by whom they are constructed. Together, these insights constitute performative postsecularism.     

Mythic perspectives for a world in distress∗

In a series of books and articles published over the past two decades, the authors have developed a five‐stage system for identifying and modifying the mythic structures that guide individual development. In this essay, they draw upon the integral relationship between personal and collective myths in applying this five‐stage model to contemporary social issues. They focus, in particular, on the mythic conflicts that underlie the tensions between progress and sustainability and between individualism and community. Based on the contradictory designs inherent in a prevailing myth and in an emerging myth, the authors present a dialectical model that is formulated to lead to a new myth that incorporates the most functional elements of old and emergent forces, while transcending their limitations. The essay closes with a discussion of social actions that may embed a new myth within a culture, along with the conditions that are required to effectively reinforce and maintain it.     

Femininity and Masculinity in City-Form: Philosophical Urbanism as a History of Consciousness

Mutual feedback between human-made environments and facets of thought throughout history has yielded two myths: the Garden and the Citadel. Both myths correspond to Jung’s feminine and masculine collective subconscious, as well as to Nietzsche’s premise of Apollonian and Dionysian impulses in art. Nietzsche’s premise suggests, furthermore, that the feminine myth of the Garden is time-bound whereas the masculine myth of the Citadel, or the Ideal City, constitutes a spatial deportment. Throughout history the two myths have continually molded the built environment and thought, but the myth of the Ideal City – from Plato to Descartes to modernity – came to dominate city-form and ensuing aspects of contemplation. This relationship seems to have shifted during the twentieth century. Intellectual dispositions have begun to be largely nurtured by an incongruous city-form emerging from the gap between the incessant promise for an automated, well-functioning city, on the one hand, and looming alienation, coupled with the factual, malfunctioning city, on the other hand. Urban decay, a persisting and time-bound urban event that is a byproduct of this configuration, suggests the ascent of the Garden myth in post-modern city-form.     

The Alchemical Oedipus: Re-Visioning the Myth

The Oedipus myth is foundational to depth psychology due to Freud’s use of Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex in the creation of psychoanalysis. But analytical psychology’s engagement with the myth has been limited despite the importance Jung also places upon it. The absence of a developed Jungian response to Oedipus means the myth’s psychologically constructive elements have been overlooked in favour of reductive Freudian interpretations. I examine whether analytical psychology can fruitfully re-engage with Oedipus by reinterpreting his story as a paternal rebirth. This is achieved by reincorporating those parts of the myth that occur before and after the period portrayed in Oedipus Rex. Such a move reintegrates Oedipus’ father, King Laius, into the story and unveils important parallels with the alchemical trope of the king’s renewal by his son. Using Jung’s method of amplification, Oedipus is recast as Laius’ redeemer and identified with the archetype of psychological wholeness, the Self. The contention is that such an understanding of Oedipus supports a clearer recognition of the potentially generative quality of human suffering, restoring to the myth the quality of moral instruction it possessed in antiquity.