关于《上清经》

本文探讨《上清经》与上清派的命名、《上清原统经目注序》的撰作时间和作者以及东晋《上清经》的成书等问题。着重考察了华侨、杨羲、许谧、许翽等制作的首批上清经、传、诰的情况,并列书名、篇目;同时指出《上清经》的某些复杂性质。本文对与经书相关的道教分派标准问题也提出了自己的见解。     

景教与佛教关系之初探

属于西方基督教一支的景教传入中国,丰富了中国的传统宗教文化,但不久又衰微不显。作者认为,景教初传中国是以佛教作为载体,因为佛教始终处于中外宗教文化交流的主体地位,且具有开放脑性格,所以成为景教传入最好的依附对象。景教的经典采取了佛典的形式,景教与佛教在未来解脱的理论和目的非常接近,都主张善恶宗教伦理道德观,于是为景教经典翻译提供了参考及利用的材料。景教与佛教在思想理论上的表述仍然存在着一定的差异,但这是在利用了佛教的一些基本教义以后才表述出自己的主张。汉译景经完整地介绍了景教的教义和神学思想,虽然其中掺杂有佛教的东西,但主要教义和观点并没有改变,所以对景教的研究,不能仅注意景教碑,景经也是一个重要的内容,这是应引起学术界注意的地方。     

Reasoning serves argumentation in children

The argumentative theory of reasoning (Mercier & Sperber, in press-c) claims that reasoning evolved for argumentation: to find and evaluate arguments in dialogic contexts. The theory has drawn most of its supportive evidence from work with adults, leaving open the possibility that argumentive features of reasoning are in fact entirely learned. Evidence is reviewed here suggesting that the special relation between reasoning and argumentation holds at all ages. More specifically, it is argued that (a) children possess at least rudimentary argument skills, (b) they are able to reap the benefits of social reasoning from very early on, (c) confirmation bias is present as soon as they start to argue, and (d) children can be victims of the same biases that affect adults when they use reasoning in the wrong contexts. These claims strengthen the argumentative theory of reasoning and support a call for more research on the interactive features of reasoning in both adults and children.