史懷哲——《敬畏生命》.doc

敬畏生命 【德】史懷哲我是一個(gè)生命，生命的意愿是生存，在生命的中途，她愿意活著。在我的生命意識(shí)中，帶著對(duì)毀滅和痛苦的懼怕，渴望著更廣闊的生存和快樂；我的周遭圍繞著同樣的生命意識(shí)，無論她在我面前表達(dá)自己還是保持沉默。 生命意識(shí)到處展現(xiàn)，在我自身也是同樣。如果我是一個(gè)有思維的生命，我必須以同等的敬畏來尊敬其他生命，而不僅僅限于自我小圈子，因?yàn)槲颐靼祝核钌畹乜释麍A滿和發(fā)展的意愿，跟我是一模一樣的。所以，我認(rèn)為毀滅、妨礙、阻止生命是極其惡劣的。 尊敬生命，在實(shí)際上和精神上兩個(gè)方面，我都保持真實(shí)。根據(jù)同樣的理由，盡我所能，挽救和保護(hù)生命達(dá)到她的高度發(fā)展，是盡善盡美的。 在我內(nèi)部，生命意識(shí)懂得了其他的生命意識(shí)。她渴望透過自身達(dá)到整合，成為一個(gè)整體。我只能堅(jiān)持這樣一個(gè)事實(shí)，生命意識(shí)透過我展示了她自己：成為與其他生命意識(shí)相互依存的一員。 我經(jīng)驗(yàn)過向一切生命意識(shí)表達(dá)同等敬畏的不可遏止的沖動(dòng)，如同尊敬自身的一樣。通過這種經(jīng)驗(yàn)形成了我的倫理觀。一個(gè)人遵從這種沖動(dòng)，去幫助所有他能夠幫助的生命，并且畏懼傷害任何活著的生靈，這個(gè)人才是符合倫理的。 如果我把一個(gè)昆蟲從泥坑救出來，我的生命對(duì)另一個(gè)生命做出貢獻(xiàn)，那么對(duì)立于生命自身的生命分隔現(xiàn)象就消失了。 不論何時(shí)不論何種方式，我的生命對(duì)另一個(gè)生命貢獻(xiàn)出他自身，我的生命意識(shí)就經(jīng)歷了一個(gè)從有限到無限的融合的愿望，在這個(gè)愿望中，所有的生命是一個(gè)整體。 絕對(duì)倫理要求在生命中創(chuàng)造完美。她不可能完全實(shí)現(xiàn)；這一點(diǎn)倒無所謂。對(duì)生命敬畏的感覺是絕對(duì)的倫理。它使生命序列的保持和提升順利運(yùn)作。 不論在什么情況下，毀滅和傷害生命都如同惡魔一樣有罪。在實(shí)踐中，我們真的被迫選擇。我們經(jīng)常必須武斷地決定何種形式的生命，甚至何種特殊的人，我們應(yīng)該挽救，何種我們應(yīng)該毀滅。盡管如此，敬畏生命的原則仍然是完整的和毋庸置疑的。 這種倫理并不因?yàn)槿藗兊膫惱碛^抵觸現(xiàn)象而失效，農(nóng)民在牧場(chǎng)割草喂牛割下了一千棵花，可是他必須注意，在回家的路上，不要因?yàn)槌两谙残那槔锒鴦澋袈放缘幕ǘ?，因?yàn)檫@樣做是不必要，是對(duì)生命犯下罪行。我的解讀：我推薦的文章是史懷哲的敬畏生命，這篇文章雖是短小精悍，卻是我所讀過的最有智慧的文字之一。史懷哲所創(chuàng)立的生命倫理學(xué)的核心思想，都凝聚在這篇文章里面。下面，我愿意從哲學(xué)角度，粗淺談?wù)勎覍?duì)這篇文章的解讀。首先，文章的第一層次是史懷哲對(duì)生命的定義，在這里，生命并不僅僅是保有有活性的身體那么簡(jiǎn)單，生命不是一種對(duì)身體靜態(tài)的占有。生命只有“在生命的中途”才愿意活著，而這“中途”，則是“更廣闊的生存和快樂”，一種動(dòng)態(tài)自由的生活過程。由此可見，在史懷哲眼中，生命不是單個(gè)身體所固有的性質(zhì)，而是一種對(duì)外的自由能動(dòng)作用，身體只有在對(duì)外關(guān)系中獲得發(fā)展時(shí)，才顯現(xiàn)出生命意識(shí)。而“對(duì)痛苦、毀滅的畏懼”，也不單純是懼怕對(duì)肉體的失去，而是身體獲得自由發(fā)展的愿望受到阻礙時(shí)，生命意識(shí)本能體現(xiàn)出的懼怕。據(jù)此推斷，史懷哲對(duì)生命的定義，其實(shí)已內(nèi)在地包含了一種生命意識(shí)對(duì)個(gè)體化原則的超越，生命并非局限于相互隔離的身體內(nèi)部，而是在身體對(duì)外的能動(dòng)作用中顯現(xiàn)自身，用辯證法來解釋的話，生命在這種對(duì)外活動(dòng)中不斷失去原有的身體，但同時(shí)也不斷使活動(dòng)對(duì)象被同化為生命意識(shí)的內(nèi)在內(nèi)容。這種推斷是否有得到史懷哲的印證呢？有的，那就是該文展開的第二層次?！叭绻沂且粋€(gè)有思維的生命，我必須以同等的敬畏來尊敬其他生命，而不僅僅限于自我小圈子?！痹谶@里，生命意識(shí)明顯具備了超越狹隘小我的意向。自我的生命意識(shí)感受到他周圍的生命意識(shí)“渴望圓滿和發(fā)展的意愿，跟我是一模一樣的?！边@其實(shí)就是生命意識(shí)的同一性，生命意識(shí)本質(zhì)上是超越個(gè)體隔離的。敬畏生命的內(nèi)在理由，其實(shí)就是對(duì)生命意識(shí)超越狹隘自我的本質(zhì)的印證。而“毀滅、妨礙、阻止生命”，不僅是對(duì)其他生命的犯罪，更是對(duì)自身的狹隘固守，對(duì)自我生命原則的背棄。這種敬畏體現(xiàn)在思想上，就是對(duì)其他生命意識(shí)的感同身受，對(duì)蒼生的悲憫情懷。生命意識(shí)之間的相互溝通，相互依存，使生命“透過自身達(dá)到整合，成為一個(gè)整體。”這是生命倫理觀的至高境界。而體現(xiàn)在實(shí)踐上，人的行為則需與生命倫理觀相一致。如果我把一個(gè)昆蟲從泥坑救出來，那么我就打破了利己行為的原則，耗費(fèi)自己身體的能量去保全另一個(gè)身體的繼續(xù)發(fā)展。在這一過程中，我貢獻(xiàn)出了自己原有的身體，卻讓被救的昆蟲納入了我的生命體系?！皩?duì)立于生命自身的生命分隔現(xiàn)象就消失了?！薄叭说漠惢焙汀白匀坏娜嘶痹谶@一行為中達(dá)到了內(nèi)在統(tǒng)一，“我的生命意識(shí)就經(jīng)歷了一個(gè)從有限到無限的融合的愿望”。史懷哲干凈利落地闡明了生命倫理學(xué)的第二層次后，他的第三層次，則是對(duì)相對(duì)的行動(dòng)與絕對(duì)的倫理之間矛盾的思考?！敖^對(duì)倫理要求在生命中創(chuàng)造完美。她不可能完全實(shí)現(xiàn)”，相反，“在實(shí)踐中，我們真的被迫選擇。我們經(jīng)常必須武斷地決定何種形式的生命，甚至何種特殊的人，我們應(yīng)該挽救，何種我們應(yīng)該毀滅?！泵鎸?duì)這種矛盾，史懷哲的解決方案就是時(shí)刻保持“對(duì)生命敬畏的感覺”，這種感覺就是絕對(duì)倫理，它并不因?yàn)閷?shí)踐活動(dòng)的不徹底性而失去其完整性。這是史懷哲一種富有宗教氣質(zhì)的解決方案，它意味著人處于相對(duì)的世界中，必須在任何合適的條件下保持自己敬畏生命的絕對(duì)可能性。農(nóng)夫割花喂牛時(shí)，這種可能性是受客觀條件限制的，但是如果他干完活走在回家的路上，而不必傷害花朵，他就必須保持這種不傷害的可能性，而對(duì)花朵保持敬畏，如果他自行關(guān)閉了這種可能性，而去有意傷害花朵，那么他就違反了敬畏生命的絕對(duì)倫理。英文版：I am life which wills to live, in the midst of life which wills to live. As in my own will-to-live there is a longing for wider life and pleasure, with dread of annihilation and pain; so is it also in the will-to-live all around me, whether it can express itself before me or remains dumb. The will-to-live is everywhere present, even as in me. If I am a thinking being, I must regard life other than my own with equal reverence, for I shall know that it longs for fullness and development as deeply as I do myself. Therefore, I see that evil is what annihilates, hampers, or hinders life. And this holds true whether I regard it physically or spiritually. Goodness, by the same token, is the saving or helping of life, the enabling of whatever life I can to attain its highest development. In me the will-to-live has come to know about other wills-to-live. There is in it a yearning to arrive at unity with itself, to become universal. I can do nothing but hold to the fact that the will-to-live in me manifests itself as will-to-live which desires to become one with other will-to-live. Ethics consist in my experiencing the compulsion to show to all will-to-live the same reverence as I do my own. A man is truly ethical only when he obeys the compulsion to help all life which he is able to assist, and shrinks from injuring anything that lives. If I save an insect from a puddle, life has devoted itself to life, and the division of life against itself has ended. Whenever my life devotes itself in any way to life, my finite will-to-live experiences union with the infinite will in which all life is one. An absolute ethic calls for the creating of perfection in this life. It cannot be completely achieved; but that fact does not really matter. In this sense reverence for life is an absolute ethic. It makes only the maintenance and promotion of life rank as good. All destruction of and injury to life, under whatever circumstances, it condemns as evil. True, in practice we are forced to choose. At times we have to decide arbitrarily which forms of life, and even which particular individuals, we shall save, and which we shall destroy. But the principle of reverence for life is nonetheless universal and absolute. Such an ethic does not abolish for man all ethical conflicts but compels him to decide for himself in each case how far he can remain ethical and how far he must submit himself to the necessity for destruction of and injury to life. No one can decide for him at what point, on each occasion, lies the extreme limit of possibility for his persistence in the preservation and furtherance of life. He alone has to judge this issue, by letting himself be guided by a feeling of the highest possible responsibility towards other life. We must never let ourselves become blunted. We are living in truth, when we experience these conflicts more profoundly. Whenever I injure life of any sort, I must be quite clear whether it is necessary. Beyond the unavoidable, I must never go, not even with what seems insignificant. The farmer,