“神”出現在運動員裡面：從梅露·龐蒂及“道”的觀點

自從狄佛德的著名文章〈運動裡的宗教〉一文於一九七六年發表以來，「運動與宗教」的議題即廣被討論，尤其是體育運動學術領域。總括不同學者的論點，分別代表了下列三種立場：(1)運動是宗教的一種形式。(2)運動與宗教本質上的區別。(3)運動與宗教是文化的實作。此外，卡普托曾提出的形上學問題：上帝之後誰會來？有一些研究者認為此問題的可能答案是「運動」。本文並不想捲入上述議題的紛爭裡，相反的，本文意圖從梅露•龐帝的觀點以及「道」的徑路，作為了解「運動與宗教」議題的新途徑，並做出一個大膽的假設，也就是神已經化身為一個運動員的話，結果會如何？研究者或是運動員如何辨識出神喬裝的這個運動員？經由梅露•龐帝提出的「可見與不可見」觀點之對照，以及從東方「空性」及「道」的存有論立場抒發，本文提出欲辨識出神喬裝的運動員，須先從認識自己著手。本文發現，「認識你自己」！這句古老的格言，對於當代跨國的社會，特別是運動與宗教的研究來說，也就具備了一層新的意義。循此，也可以找到神如何出現在運動員裡，此疑問的哲學式答案。

關鍵字

神；運動員；宗教；道；可見與不可見

並列摘要

Since Frank Deford's famous article ”Religion in Sport” was published in Sports Illustrated in 1976, there has been active discussion over the topic of ”sports and religion”, especially in research fields related to sports studies. Much of this existing work takes one of three thematic approaches: 1) sports as a form of religion; 2) essential differences between sport and religion; and 3) religions and sports as cultural practices. Additionally, drawing from Caputo's question: ”who comes after the God of metaphysics?” some researchers indicate that ”sport” seems to be an answer. My own work does not enter the boundaries of the above views and arguments concerning sport. Instead, I use an approach building upon Merleau-Ponty and my knowledge of Taoism to explore a new way of understanding sport and religion. My specific concern is with individual athletes and the notion of God present in them. Overall, using these concepts of Merleau-Ponty's ”Visible and the Invisible” and the Eastern thoughts of ”Tao” or ”Emptiness”, I argue that we need to return to the traditional wisdom of ”know yourself” in order to recognize the athlete who embodies the spirit of God. Hence, this old proverb has new meaning in contemporary transnational society and especially in studies of sport and religion. Using a framework that illuminates the importance of ”know yourself”, we can philosophically articulate an answer as to why God shows up among athletes.