哲学 - 托马斯·阿奎那：英语精读讲义

It seems at first weird that we might learn from Thomas Aquinas. 表達脈絡

起初看来，我们能向托马斯·阿奎那学习似乎有些奇怪。

He was a medieval saint who was reputed to have levitated and had visions of the Virgin Mary. 語法

他是一位中世纪的圣人，据说能悬浮在空中，还曾见过圣母玛利亚的幻象。

He was much concerned with explaining how angels speak and move. 短語搭配

他非常关心解释天使如何说话和移动。

And yet, he continues to matter 表達脈絡

然而，他如今依然重要，

because he helps us with a problem

因为他帮我们解决了一个

which continues to bedevil us. 用詞

持续困扰我们的问题。

How we can reconcile religion with science 短語搭配

即如何将宗教与科学、

and faith with reason.

信仰与理性调和起来。

Aquinas was both a philosopher and a saint,

阿奎那既是哲学家也是圣徒，

refusing either to lose his faith or mindlessly believe, 語法

他既拒绝失去信仰，也不愿盲目盲从，

he developed a new understanding of the place of reason in human life.

他对理性在人类生活中的地位提出了一种新的理解。

Aquinas's monumental contribution was to teach Western European civilization

阿奎那的巨大贡献在于教导西欧文明：

that any human being, not just a Christian,

任何人类，而不仅是基督徒，

could have access to great truths 短語搭配

都有可能触及伟大的真理，

whenever they made use of God's greatest gift to human beings, 短語搭配

只要他们利用上帝赐予人类最伟大的礼物——

reason.

理性。

Aquinas broke a logjam in Christian thinking, 習語

阿奎那打破了基督教思想中的一个僵局：

the question of how non-Christians could have both wisdom

非基督徒怎么可能既拥有智慧，

and at the same time no interest in or even knowledge of Jesus.

同时却对耶稣毫不关心甚至一无所知？

Aquinas universalized intelligence.

阿奎那使智慧变得普遍化。

He opened the Christian mind to the insights of all of humanity 習語

他向全人类的洞见敞开了基督教的思维，

from across the ages and the continents.

跨越了不同的时代与大陆。

The modern world,

现代世界，

in so far as it insists that good ideas can come from any quarter, 講解

在坚持好想法可以来自任何领域、

regardless of creed or background, 短語搭配

无论信仰或背景的程度上，

remains hugely in Aquinas's debt. 習語

依然深深受惠于阿奎那。

Thomas Aquinas was born to a noble family in Italy

托马斯·阿奎那出生于意大利的一个贵族家庭，

in 1225.

时间是1225年。

As a young man,

年轻时，

he went to study at the University of Naples

他进入那不勒斯大学求学，

and there came into contact with a source of knowledge 短語搭配

在那里接触到了一种

which was just then being rediscovered.

刚开始被重新发现的知识源泉：

The texts of ancient Greek and Roman authors.

古希腊和古罗马作家的文献。

Aquinas then became an academic at the University of Paris

随后阿奎那成为巴黎大学的学者，

and an exceptionally prolific writer,

并成为一位异常高产的作家，

producing nearly 200 pieces about Christian theology

创作了近200部关于基督教神学的作品，

in less than three decades.

在不到三十年的时间里。

His books bear beautiful and strange titles 用詞

他的著作有着美丽而奇特的名字，

like the Summa Theologica and Summa contra Gentiles.

如《神学大全》和《反异教徒大全》。

Such was his devotion to knowledge, 語法

他对知识如此投入，

even at the moment of his death at the age of 49,

甚至在49岁离世的那一刻，

Aquinas is reputed to have been in the middle of writing

据说阿奎那还在撰写

an extended commentary on the Song of Songs.

一篇关于《雅歌》的长篇评注。

After he died,

他死后，

he was canonized in the Catholic Church 文化背景

被天主教会封为圣徒，

and is now the patron saint of teachers. 文化背景

如今是教师的主保圣人。

Aquinas's starting point was that some of the world's greatest thinkers

阿奎那的出发点是，世界上一些最伟大的思想家

have not been Christian,

并非基督徒，

but this didn't bar them from having huge insights 語法

但这并未妨碍他们拥有巨大的洞见，

because, as Aquinas proposed,

因为，正如阿奎那所言，

the world can be usefully explored through reason 表達脈絡

世界可以通过理性来有效地探索，

and not just through faith.

而不只是通过信仰。

To explain how this could work, 表達脈絡

为了解释这如何行得通，

Aquinas brilliantly proposed that the universe and all its dynamics

阿奎那绝妙地提出，宇宙及其所有动态

operate according to two kinds of law, 短語搭配

是根据两种规律运行的：

secular natural law and religious eternal law. 文化背景

世俗的自然律和宗教的永恒律。

For Aquinas,

对阿奎那来说，

a lot of the world follows natural laws.

世界上的许多事物都遵循自然律。

We can find out for ourselves how to smelt iron,

我们可以自己摸索出如何冶炼钢铁、

build an aqueduct, or organize an economy,

建造渡槽或组织经济，

and none of this relies on believing in God. 短語搭配

这些全都不需要依赖对上帝的信仰。

Aquinas discussed Jesus's injunction to do unto others 文化背景

阿奎那讨论了耶稣关于“你们愿意人怎样待你们，

as you would have them do unto you.

你们也要怎样待人”的教诲。

Jesus may have given this idea a particularly memorable formulation,

耶稣或许给了这个想法一个特别令人难忘的表达，

conceded Aquinas,

阿奎那承认，

but it's in fact been a cornerstone of moral principles 習語

但实际上它一直是道德原则的基石，

in most societies at most times.

在大多数时代的大多数社会中。

How could this be possible?

这怎么可能呢？

Well, the reason, Aquinas argued, 表達脈絡

阿奎那认为，原因在于，

is that it's an idea that belongs to natural

这是一个属于自然律的想法，

and not eternal law.

而不属于永恒律。

Aquinas conceded that in a few situations,

阿奎那承认，在少数情况下，

God does work simply through eternal law

上帝确实完全通过永恒律来运作，

outside of human reason,

超越人类理性之外，

and he cited prophetic revelations 短語搭配

他引用了先知的启示

and the visits of angels as examples.

和天使的造访作为例子。

However,

然而，

he reassured us that most useful knowledge 語氣意圖

他向我们保证，大多数有用的知识

can be found by atheists and secular-minded people

都能由无神论者和世俗心智的人

within the realm of natural law. 習語

在自然律的领域内发现。

Aquinas's ideas unfolded at a time 表達脈絡

阿奎那的思想在当时展开，

when Islamic culture was going through very similar dilemmas

当时伊斯兰文化正经历着与基督教

as Christianity

非常相似的困境，

in terms of how one can reconcile reason and faith.

就在于如何调和理性与信仰。

For a long time,

很长一段时间里，

the Islamic caliphates in Spain, Morocco, and Egypt

位于西班牙、摩洛哥和埃及的伊斯兰哈里发国

had flourished by being open to knowledge from all over the world, 語法

因对来自世界各地的知识持开放态度而繁荣发展，

generating a wealth of new scientific ideas and philosophy. 短語搭配

产生了大量新的科学思想和哲学。

However,

然而，

due to the increasing influence of fanatical religious leaders,

随着狂热宗教领袖的影响力不断扩大，

Islam had become more dogmatic and oppressive

伊斯兰教变得更加教条和压抑，

by the time Aquinas was born. 語法

就在阿奎那出生的那个时代。

It had, for example,

比如，它曾

reacted violently against the Muslim philosopher Averroes.

对穆斯林哲学家阿维罗伊产生过暴力的抵制。

Like Aquinas,

与阿奎那一样，

Averroes had been deeply influenced by Aristotle 文化背景

阿维罗伊也深受亚里士多德影响，

and had argued that reason and religion could be compatible.

并主张理性和宗教是可以共存的。

However,

然而，

the caliphates,

那些哈里发，

anxious never to depart from the literal words of God, 用詞

急于绝不背离上帝原字面的话语，

made sure that Averroes's ideas would be banned and his books burnt. 語法

确保阿维罗伊的思想被封禁、书籍被焚毁。

Aquinas knew that the Muslim world's increasingly radical rejection of reason

阿奎那知道，穆斯林世界日益激进地排斥理性，

was harming what had once been its thriving intellectual culture, 語法

正损害着其曾经繁荣的知识文化，

and it was overwhelmingly thanks to Aquinas's ideas 語法

而绝对要归功于阿奎那的思想，

that Christianity did not suffer the same process of stultification.

基督教才没有遭受同样僵化的过程。

Though Aquinas was a man of deep faith, 語法

尽管阿奎那是一位信仰深厚的人，

he provided a philosophical framework for open scientific inquiry. 短語搭配

他却为开放的科学探索提供了一个哲学框架。

He reminds us that knowledge can and should come from multiple sources,

他提醒我们，知识可以也应该来自多个来源：

from intuition but also from rationality, 表達脈絡

来自直觉，也来自理性；

from science but also from revelation,

来自科学，也来自启示；

from pagans but also from monks.

来自异教徒，也来自僧侣。

That sounds obvious 表達脈絡

这听起来显而易见，

until we notice

直到我们注意到

just how often civilization

文明到底有多少次

has been and is still being harmed 語法

曾经并仍在受到损害，

by people's refusal to take this brilliant idea on board. 短語動詞

仅仅因为人们拒绝接受这个绝妙的思想。