一种古典的逆向因果关系理论——以说一切有部的众贤为中心

An Analysis of Samghabhadra’s Retrocausality Theory

逆向因果关系指的是在时间上结果先于原因的因果关系。它是当今哲学界与物理学界中的一个非常活跃且重要的议题,引发了诸多学者的关注与讨论。从哲学史的视角来看,对逆向因果关系的讨论可以追溯到更早的阶段。以讨论因果关系见长的佛教哲学曾提出过两种关于逆向因果关系的理论,它们分别属于说一切有部与唯识学派。本文以说一切有部学者众贤为中心,考察他在《顺正理论》一书中对逆向因果关系的探讨。众贤在为《大毘婆沙论》中的"于未来有作用"理论辩护时,以明确的作用、功能之分为基础,解释苦法智忍、光明与生相三个案例。在这一过程中,他阐发了一种逆向因果关系的理论。厘清众贤所代表的说一切有部的逆向因果关系理论,首先,可以为学界提供关于逆向因果关系理论的哲学史材料;其次,可以帮助我们更好地理解说一切有部的时间论与三世实有的学说,弥补以往研究的不足。

Retrocausality(backwards causation),the concept of cause and effect in which an effect precedes its cause temporally so that a later event affects an earlier one,has sparked off intense debate in both philosophy and physics in recent years. Yet it is not a revolutionary idea when considered with respect to the history of philosophy. In Buddhist philosophy, two theories of retrocausality were proposed, belonging to the Sarvāstivāda School and the Yogacāra School respectively. But unfortunately, the former’s theory of retrocausality has long been neglected by modern scholars. In order to provide the contemporary scholarly community with material on the theory of retrocausality,as well as to better understand the ontology of the Sarvāstivāda School,this paper introduces this school’s theory of retrocausality,focusing on Sasghabhadra,and discusses the philosophical background that allowed the theory to be established. In brief,the theory of retrocausality proposed by the Sarvāstivāda School relies strictly on its teleological conception of entity,as well as on unique metaphysical principles such as the notion that"real entities exist throughout the three periods of time". Taken as a whole,it is a patchwork doctrine bearing on the general causality model with a view to upholding the entirety of natural teleology.