地上的鹽：觀看與討論《薩爾加多的凝視》（The Salt of The Earth）

地上的鹽

觀看與討論《薩爾加多的凝視》（The Salt of The Earth）

我們活在怎麼樣的一個世界？我們在這世界做了什麼？我們要怎麼繼續在這世界活下去？更重要地，我們當如何有意義地活著？或許，不是哲學家、科學家、生態學家或什麼「學家」能為我們指引解答的方向，而是以鏡頭捕捉實在的攝影家能給我們關鍵的啟發。

Sabastiao Salgado (1944 - )，一位當代寫實記錄的攝影巨人，有他凝視這世界的觀點。真的，我們非常值得一起凝視Salgado那真實、驚人、美麗又哀傷的「凝視」，思想他照片所透顯的深刻「思想」。

歡迎所有關愛這大地與嚴肅思想生命意義的朋友，與我們一起觀看並討論一部述說Salgado攝影生涯的影片：《薩爾加多的凝視》（The Salt of The Earth）。

主辦：生態人文學系「聖方濟生態神學與環境倫理研究室」（靜宜大學）

主持：柯志明教授

地點：方濟樓404室時間：2015年12月2日17:10 - 20:00

Photo: http://goodlandproject.com.au/2015/07/salt-of-the-earth-review/

敬虔守護生態：並讀《受造物頌》與《願祢受讚頌》/ 柯志明教授

敬虔守護生態
並讀《受造物頌》與《願祢受讚頌》

Piety Protects the Earth

Read Laudato Si through Canticles of the Creatures

Immanuel Chih-Ming Ke, Associate Professor of Philosophy
Department of Ecological Humanities, Providence University
3 Oct. 2015. “A Symposium on Pope Francis’ Encyclical Letter Laudato Si,” Providence University

Abstract

    Pope Francis officially published Laudato Si on 18 June 2015. It calls all people of the world to care for the Earth, “our common home,” through introspection, discussions, and taking actions. In this encyclical letter Pope Francis expects to achieve three goals: First, it assists us to recognize the grave challenges and difficulties in the present environmental crisis and the urgent need for solutions; second, it intends to go the root of the ecological degradation, and it analyzes the deepest cause; third, it provides an enlightening and guiding principles for human development based on the Christian tradition and experience of spirituality.

     Pope Francis takes its title “Laudato Si” from the reiterated eight times praising words “Laudato si, mi signore” in Laudes Creaturarum (or Cantico di frate Sole) by Saint Francis of Assisi. It is obviously evident that Pope Francis intends to continue the ecological spirit of Saint Francis who praises the Creator for the creation. Therefore, it could be said that Laudato Si is the modern interpretation and extension of the profound meaning that Canticles of Creatures implies. Accordingly, I think only through the real understanding of Canticle of Creatures and the Christian faith that it is rooted can one read and understand Laudato Si correctly and adequately, and thus can one grasp the insights and profound meanings of eco-Nature, which can be disclosed only by Christianity.

    It is just like what Laudato Si points out: creation comes about as the result of the God’s free decision and thus all things embody the God’s sublime, profundity, holiness, good will, above all the nature of His love. It is exactly as Pope says, “Creation is of the order of love. God’s love is the fundamental moving force in all created things”; moreover, in terms of the most profound meaning, Pope points out that the whole creation embodies the profound Trinity of God, and even each creature bears in itself “a specially Trinitarian structure.”
    Consequently, this is the universe that can be understood only by person who has “Imago Dei.” What Pope cares about in this encyclical letter is the created world like this, and that is also the created world that Saint Francis of Assisi calls other creatures “bothers and sisters,” but not the no transcendental sense “Nature” called by modern atheists, materialists, and naturalists. Accordingly, humans are the created beings who posses a unique nature and a peculiar ecological status, so that they are responsible for caring the environment of the Earth. Therefore, Pope clearly indicates, “The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together; we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation.” Thus, it is as Pope John Paul II states, “The ecological crisis is a moral crisis,” so that what modern people need is an “ecological conversion” that is a religious conversion related to ecological environment.
    So far as that is concerned, humans cannot solve the problems of man-made ecological crisis unless they have a right faith. This is why the last chapter of encyclical letter mentions ecological education and spiritual conversion. Obviously, Pope expects that people could cultivate “pietas” toward God, just like the life of Saint Francis of Assisi manifested; people cannot care for all creatures as Saint Francis does unless they have the same piety. Therefore, I think although Pope does not explicitly indicate, his encyclical letter tells us this implicitly: Only Christianity can clearly and completely penetrates and reveals the fundamental degradation of humans and the world. In consequence, only Christianity can penetrate into the roots of the ecological crisis and reveal the solutions; besides, only the person who is like Saint Francis of Assisi, who completely believe in and submits to our Lord Jesus Christ and who is humble and pious, can regardless and selflessly protect “our common home” —the Earth.

全文：

生態人文：一個意義的分析與闡述/ 柯志明教授

生態人文

一個意義的分析與闡述

柯志明

20150922 講於靜宜大學生態人文學系

Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and reverence, the more often and more steadily one reflects on them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.

—Immanuel Kant

        無論如何，正如哲學、文學、音樂、史學、數學、物理學、天文學等基礎人文與自然學系一樣，靜宜大學的生態人文學系肯定是一個深富意義的學系。
      「生態人文（學）」（ecological humanities）對多數人是陌生的，不解其意，或者望文生義而對之懷有一種些微浪漫但卻曖昧不明的感覺。在某個意義上，這是無可厚非的，因為「生態人文」是一個新的學術觀念，它意圖架接生態科學與諸多人文學科（或文化）之間的縫裂，其實也就是意圖以生態學為橋樑連結自然科學與人文學之間長期的分裂。可以這麼說，生態人文這個概念背負著一種期待與想像，即打破在任何意義上的科學與人文之間的分離，而意圖建構一個融合自然科學與諸人文（humanities，含學科與文化）的整全世界觀。
      在此，我要試著分析與論述「生態人文」這個複合概念的意向與意義，描繪它作為一個學術領域的可能探究內容，進而指出它的重要性與價值，還有，與人的生命意義的關係。我要特別強調，對我而言，任何學術研究或學問若不能彰顯或實現人的生命意義，那麼它對人就毫無意義。在我看來，生態人文對人當然滿富意義。

基督徒的生態職責/ 柯志明教授

基督徒的生態職責

柯志明 

20150410大肚山研經室

*The Care of Creation: Focusing Concern and Action 中文版 《關顧受造世界：基督教對環境的關懷與行動》（新北市：聖經資源中心，2015）序

        自十九世紀以來，基督信仰在生態思想史上幾乎一直無法擺脫被污名化與抹黑的命運，而且愈來愈強烈，最後在叛逆的1960年代達到高峰。1967年美國中世紀史學家Lynn White Jr.定調：基督信仰是今日生態危機的歷史根源（其實這論調早在1890年代就被Edward Payson Evans大力倡說過了）。此後，基督信仰反生態且造成生態危機已然成了今日生態學界的基調，以致想護衛生態環境的人似乎都有反基督教傾向。1977年美國堪薩斯大學（University of Kansas）著名的環境史教授Donald Worster出版了他的名著《自然的經濟：生態觀念史》（Nature's Economy: A History of Ecological Ideas, 1977），此書就是以貶抑基督信仰而高揚當代生態意識之基調寫成的，閱讀本書除了可得十八世紀以來生態思想發展的一些相關知識外，更對基督信仰「本質上」反生態與輕視自然留下深刻印象。因此，Lynn White的那篇小文章影響可謂不小，讓所有反基督信仰者甚或反西方文明者找到了今日生態災難的所謂「元凶」，並且為其罪行作了一個堂而皇之的「學術定讞」。

　　很快地，這個「是基督教以及由之產生的西方文明造成當代生態災難」的論調在1980年代就由留美歸國學者在臺灣學界散播，「學術地」武裝了臺灣某些山林保育前鋒，使此輩與美國激進生態分子一樣，好以激切口氣批判基督信仰、西方科技文明與資本主義文化，為自然山林叫屈。不幸的是，連一些基督徒學者也在不同程度上應聲付和，這當然不表示White是對的，但卻表示許多所謂的基督徒學者與White一樣對基督信仰一知半解，對聖經望文生義，強為之解，實在可悲。

　　但White的文章並非一無是處，至少他說人對待自然的態度反映著人有關自然的信仰，又認為只有宗教信仰而不是更多的科學技術才能解決當今的生態危機，並且他又認為還是要回到基督信仰本身才能從根解決這個危機。只可惜他要回歸的聖方濟被他認為是基督信仰「最激進」的「異端」，這暗示正統基督信仰還不是她自己造成之生態危機的解藥。我完全同意，只有真理的信仰才能解除今日的生態危機，我更完全相信只有建基於聖經的正統基督信仰是真理的信仰。