試論「佛教自然化」之見與不見──從《菩薩腦》一書談起

「佛教自然化」的呼聲近來在西方學界頗為盛行，此思潮不只限於西方佛學界、佛教界，亦已於哲學界掀起討論。長年以心意識哲學為研究課題的OwenFlanagan，2011 年在MIT 出版《菩薩腦：佛教自然化》，從分析哲學和自然科學的觀點來反思佛教思想，主張把佛教裡諸多「超自然」部份，如業力、輪迴、神鬼、地獄等移除，直從佛教的哲學──包括形上學、知識論及倫理學等來論究實相，藉以實現人生的幸福。此一新的佛教理解型態，有其獨到的文化或思想特色，值得漢語學界密切關注。本文即是初步思索「佛教自然化」之見與不見，可能的貢獻與局限，而分三個項目：一、略述Flanagan「佛教自然化」的論點。二、略述分析哲學界及佛學界對「佛教自然化」的相關回應。三、提出自己的觀點初評「佛教自然化」的見與不見。

關鍵字

佛教自然化； Flanagan ；超自然；自然主義

並列摘要

The voice of ＂Buddhism Naturalized＂ recently becomes more and more popular in the Western academia. This trend is not limited to the Western Buddhist academia and Buddhist community, but has set off discussions in the philosophical circle. Owen Flanagan, a renowned philosopher in the research field of mind and consciousness, published a book The Bodhisattva's Brain: Buddhism Naturalized (MIT Press) in 2011, reflecting the views of Buddhist thought from analytic philosophy and natural science. He advocates removing ＂supernatural＂ ideas such as karma, reincarnation, ghosts, hell, etc. in Buddhism, suggesting to study reality straightforward from Buddhist philosophy, including metaphysics, ethics, and epistemology, in order to achieve happiness. These new understanding modes of Buddhism have their own cultural or ideological characteristics and are worthy of close attention in Chinese academic circle. This article is aimed to explore what ＂Buddhism Naturalized＂ have been seen and unseen, its possible contributions and limitations, and have three items: First, briefly introduce Flanagan’s ideas in the claim of ＂Buddhist naturalized＂. Second, briefly discuss the relevant responses to ＂Buddhism naturalized＂ in the philosophy and Buddhist circles. Third, put forward my own points of view and briefly comment what ＂Buddhism Naturalized＂ have been seen and unseen.