当“形”范畴遇到“可供性”概念:一种技术哲学阐释

When the Category of “Natural Shape” Encounters the Concept of “Affordance”: the Illumination on Philosophy of Technology

“形而上者谓之道,形而下者谓之器”是中国哲学中罕见的直言技术来源的观点之一。“形”范畴作为人参“象”悟“道”、制“器”造“物”的关节点,却未得到更为深入的探究。20世纪初,在人-外部世界界面--这个技术的缘起之地--出现了“可供性”范畴,可供性作为环境中蕴含的行动可能性,表明了物体与其所处环境之间存在着某种互补关系,彰显了“形”范畴的深刻内涵。将“形”作为研究技术起源的逻辑起点,展开对技术本体的哲学追问,不仅可以开辟新的技术哲学追问之路,也将有可能就此开启中西方关于技术的更广泛的、超越各种思维传统的思考与对话。

Chinese philosophy rarely discusses the origin of technology except the phrase“what beyond natural shape is Tao(道),what beneath natural shape is(artifacts).”Traditional philosophy uses natural shape as a medium and demonstrates the essence and relationship between intangible Tao and visible Qi(器).However,the philosophy of natural shape itself and using it as a connection to Tao and Qi are not explicitly discussed.In the early 20th century,at the human-nature interface,where technology originated,the category“affordance”emerged.Affordance refers to the possibility contained in the environment for action and indicates the complimentary relationship between a living being and its environment,which also manifests profound connotations to natural shape.If we assume natural shape as the logical starting point to study the origin of technology,technological ethics,and other issue,it is possible to open the dialogue between China and the West about technology by breaking the boundaries of various disciplines and transcending different kinds of philosophical traditions.