论亚里士多德的主动理性与神圣实体

亚里士多德在《论灵魂》第三卷第5章中提出了“主动理性”的概念。关于“主动理性是什么”以及“主动理性与人的理性是何种关系”的争论从古代的漫步学派延续至当代,从未停歇。以托马斯·阿奎那为代表的解释认为主动理性是人的理性灵魂的内在部分,以阿芙罗蒂西亚的亚历山大为代表的解释认为主动理性是与人的灵魂和身体相分离的神圣实体,而当代的物理主义者认为主动理性仅仅是亚里士多德解释理性活动的理论预设。本文支持一种经过更新的“主动理性是神圣实体”的解释。它表明,《形而上学》十二卷第6—9章补充了《论灵魂》第三卷第5章的内容;主动理性不是形式和知识的全体,也不是理性活动的普遍动力原则,而是在作为宇宙的“原初动力因”和“最终目的因”的意义上“制造”了可思对象和人的理性活动。     

神秘主义的哲学问题与方法:批判与反思

"神秘主义"泛指人与超越本体结合之神秘经验的学问和实践,普遍见于世界各大宗教传统。本文首先批判神秘主义的三种研究路径(神学、心理学和哲学),进而针对其哲学问题和研究方法提出两个论点。第一,实在,语言和心灵是神秘经验的构成性要素,因此在解读个别神秘主义文本时,要注意这三者间的特殊关联方式。第二,否定神学是用来获取神秘经验的特殊策略,但不同的神秘家运用了不同的否定神学,这导致以下悖论:诸多神秘经验彼此既相同又不同。因此采用否定神学的神秘主义,其合理性取决于此悖论能否被解决,而神秘主义哲学的基本任务就是探讨该悖论之解决方案。     

神话、秘仪和神秘主义--试论诺斯替精神的客观化与内在化

本文认为诺斯替神话体系是体验的预期,而不是体验的投射,是使体验成为可能的必要条件,而不是体验的结果;诺斯替神话体系可以经过神秘仪式转化为心灵修炼的内在程序,而诺斯替神话体系本身则是来源于更基本的生存状态或诺斯替时代精神,是诺斯替时代精神的客观化。研究时代精神、神话与神秘主义之间的关系可以为各种宗教修行体验之间的相互印证提供理论基础。     

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。     

新柏拉图主义对奥古斯丁灵魂思想的影响

奥古斯丁对灵魂本质的认识经历了从“物质主义”到“精神性的”重大转变,这一转变的出现离不开“柏拉图学派的书籍”(libri Platonicorum)的影响.在此之前,奥古斯丁认为天主和灵魂都是物质.主要在普罗提诺的影响下,奥古斯丁认识到灵魂是无形的、精神性的,灵魂赋有理性并且不朽.与普罗提诺不同的是,奥古斯丁认为灵魂不具有神圣本性,同万物一样是被造物.对灵魂本质认识的转变,使其灵魂思想乃至其个人的信仰发生了重大转向.     

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     

试析亚里士多德的灵魂论 ——基于亚里士多德《论灵魂》

亚里士多德把灵魂看作不可与身体分离的生命的形式。他区分植物性灵魂、动物性灵魂与思想性灵魂。借助对有理智的生命的灵魂结构的解释和对思想本身的结构的解释,亚里士多德使思想在灵魂中获得了最重要的性质。亚里士多德把善看作驱动人的运动的最后原因。在人的灵魂中,他区分两种指向善的原因——思想与欲求。欲求被看作灵魂的思想性活动部分与动物性活动部分趋向善对象的气质倾向。他区分欲求的三个要素:思想活动部分的希望、动物性活动部分的欲望与感情。亚里士多德的解释结构在理论上容许在灵魂的动物性活动部分拥有区别于欲望的欲求。这种欲求被解释为对于肉体快乐以外的其他快乐,它的一个重要部分被解释为选择。     

阿奎那灵魂学说的立场与方法

阿奎那的灵魂学说虽然从理性辩护主义的立场,调和了亚里士多德关于"灵魂是肉体的形式和现实性"的定义和古代教父关于"灵魂是不朽的精神实体"的论断,但它并非一个将哲学和神学无原则地掺和在一起的理论体系,而是通过意义辨析的方法对前人思想做出了创造性发展。在此过程中,基督教信仰赋予了他的学说以许多独特的内容和积极的影响。     

Comparative Mysticism and the Problem of Interpretation: Rumi and Meister Eckhart

Since the second half of the nineteenth century, modern comparative studies of mysticism have generally adopted one of two divergent approaches. One group, generally labeled as essentialist or phenomenologist, has used comparative methodology in order to highlight the commonalities between different mystics or mystical traditions, hence establishing universal structures and essential meanings from what seem to be overlapping aspects. The other group has been termed, inter alia, constructivist, particularly since the last third of the twentieth century, and it has used comparison as a tool for accentuating the distinctions between mystical systems and demonstrating how dissimilar backgrounds lead to the construction of differing mystical constructs. Avoiding overemphasis on either affinities or distinctions, this article suggests an alternative methodology, which utilizes comparison in highlighting the specific characters, central themes and focal points of its object of study. Applying this method to the practical mysticism of Jalal al-Din Rumi vis-à-vis that of Meister Eckhart demonstrates how comparison can be appropriately used as an apparatus of clarification and comprehension rather than as a device for imposition or reduction – as a “mirror” rather than as a “mold.”     

Christian Mysticism and Science: The Phenomenological Dimension

Abstract

In this second of three papers, I identify three fundamental phenomenological themes that have informed Christian mystical theology and then explore how these themes might be given further understanding via natural science. The first theme, detachment, minimizes any association with the secular world in favor of humility and openness to God. Detachment is chosen in consciousness using a resonant global workspace linked through the hippocampus to reconstructions of both declarative and emotional memory. The second theme, infused contemplation, is concerned with God's top-down revelation to the recollected mind of the mystic. The resulting top-down resonance creates an appropriate theory of mind for infused contemplation, as the human mind is now more perfectly linked with the mind of God. The third theme is mystical union, which both theology and science claim occurs within consciousness. Starting in intentional consciousness, the mystic undergoes an unmediated surrender beyond cognition to non-intentional consciousness. Because God fills the center of our being, a resonating luminosity can thus occur arising from the union of God and self within pure consciousness.     

Christian Mysticism and Science: The Psychological Dimension

Abstract

In this third of three papers, I identify three fundamental psychological themes that have informed Christian mystical theology and then explore how these themes might be given further understanding via natural science. The first theme, desire, represents an ever greater love for God: an insatiability related to the limitations of human language. Such focused desire for God is likely associated with brain activity in the caudate nucleus (CN); associated permanent changes in the neuroplastic brain further enhance this desire. The second theme, discernment, is about listening to God, being open to God's graces, and waiting for the right time to make godly decisions. Such decisions reflect both cognitive and emotive skills, as verified by their overlapping neural circuits within the brain. Psychotherapy indicates that the mind can control the brain, consciously improving and directing chosen events, thus leading to enhanced discernment. The third theme is charity, which represents the universal link between love of God and love of neighbor. Neuroscience demonstrates how cognition gives rise to such features as willfulness, surrender, fragmentation and wholeness—all of which play significant roles in mystical experiences, including the evolution to charity. Love of neighbor can be taken as shared attention building on intersubjective perception; such shared attention represents a deep interaction of lovers in voluntary self-disclosure—surely the ultimate basis for charity.     

The God Mysticism Scale: a Brief Version

Pastoral Psychology - This paper presents two studies concerned with developing a brief version of the 32-item God Mysticism Scale (GMS; Hood Jr. and Williamson Journal of Psychology and...     

Mysticism and psychedelics: The case of the dark night

This study uses a model of consciousness derived from LSD-assisted psychotherapy to illumine an enigmatic set of painful experiences that occur on the mystic's path known in Western circles as the dark night. It argues that the dark night experiences described in John of the Cross's classic workDark Night of the Soul can be conceptualized in terms of Stanislav Grofs category of perinatal experience. The discussion examines the implications of this reconceptualization in three areas: (1) our understanding and evaluation of mysticism, (2) assessing LSD's potential for fostering genuine spirituality, and (3) reassessing the ancient claim that the capacity to experience transcendental states of being is innate.     

康德圆善的二维精神结构:世俗性与神圣性

世俗与神圣,理性与信仰,是康德圆善(summum bonum)内部呈现的最深刻二元性结构矛盾。这一结构性矛盾是由实践哲学的三大悬设——意志自由、灵魂不朽、上帝存在确立的,但根本上是由启蒙时代精神所铸造的。圆善这一二维精神结构特点同时也是康德哲学的内在精神结构特征。