世界的文学性与文学的世界性

On the Literary Nature of the World and the Universal Nature of Literature

世界是人的世界,是文化世界。哲学代表理性精神,文学代表人文精神,二者共同构成文化的两个最基本因素。文就是事物的纹理,文学代表一种具体表达内部状态的形式。文学和人性有内在关联。无论从自身来讲,还是从社会功能来讲,文学都是用语言表现和传达具体事实、事态,包括人性事实、状态,即人性之真。而人性之真本身就有追求善的能力。文学的目的,就在于经过感性的经验把人生的问题表达出来。文学不仅是透过人对世界的表达,也是通过这种表达显现为文学作品之后,成为人生与世界的一部分。因此,伟大的文学作品,也可以向人们灌输哲学的概念,哲学也可以用文学的语言来表达。世界有文学性,而文学也构成了一个世界性。这个世界是以虚构的方式,或者把真实故事进行改造,直接影响人的感受和对世界的认识。文学的世界,假设了世界文化的活动。但是,今天文学本身还未传达出哲学所要求的本真人性,世界文化本身没有发展出丰富融通的状态。这既是文学家的问题,更是哲学家的问题。哲学还需要努力,到达融通,以启蒙文学。

The world is a world of people and cultures. Philosophy represents rational spirit, and literature represents humanistic spirit. They constitute the two most basic elements of culture. The Chinese character "文(wen)"means "texture", and literature is an expression of people’s inner state. Literature is intrinsically related to human nature. Whether in terms of itself or in terms of social function, literature expresses and conveys specific facts and situations with language, including the facts of human nature and state, namely, the truth of human nature. And the true human nature includes the ability of pursuing good. The purpose of literature is to expose problems in real life through experience. Literature is not only people’s expression of the world, but also a part of life and the world. Therefore, great literary works can also infuse people with the concept of philosophy, and philosophy can also be expressed in literature.The world has literary nature, and literature has universal nature. The world in literature is fictional or based on true stories. It has direct influence upon people’s feeling and understanding of the world. The world of literature assumes the activities of world culture. However, up to now literature has not yet revealed the true human nature in a philosophical sense, and the world culture has not developed into a state of rich harmony. This is as much a question of philosophers as of literature. More work is required of philosophy to make it inclusive and comprehensive so as to enlighten literature.