上帝的超越性与近代动力世界的形成

The Transcendence of God and the Formation of Modern Efficient World

在数学与自然科学革命的带动下,诸多近代哲学家对人的本性、自然世界的运动机制、受造物与上帝的因果关系等规划上多倚重动力关系,传统亚里士多德主义的形式因和目的因,被吸纳入动力因之中。我们可以把这样一种新的人性、世界与上帝的规划称为近代动力世界。对于这一近代动力世界产生的根源,除了常见的数学与物理学革命的思路之外,还必须注意到自然科学革命背后的神学与哲学根源,其中与此最为相关的就是上帝的超越性问题。按此思路,这一革命性的发展过程可以简略地分为四个步骤:首先,阿奎那建立起受造物与上帝的形式相似性;其次,司各脱将形式因吸纳入动力因;再次,奥卡姆进一步在自然世界中排除了目的论;最后,笛卡尔与霍布斯在此基础上建构起了近代动力世界。中世纪神学与哲学的发展以及对上帝的超越性的持续捍卫为近代哲学家们最终完成近代动力世界的建构提供了必要的思想准备。

Driven by the revolution of mathematics and natural science,many early modern philosophers have focused on the efficient relationship in their reconstruction of human nature,natural world,and the causal relationship between creatures and God.As a result,the formal cause and the final cause in Aristotelianism tradition were incorporated into the efficient cause.We can call such a new planning of humanity,the world and God"the modern efficiency-world".As for the root of this worldview,besides the popular explanation in the view of mathematics and physics revolution,we must also pay attention to the theological and philosophical reasons under the revolution of natural science.Among these reasons,the most relevant one is the increase of transcendence of God.Consequently,this revolutionary development process can be roughly divided into four stages:Thomas Aquinas first established the examplarism similarity between the creature and God;thenScotus replaced formal cause with efficient cause;then Ockham further excluded teleology in the natural world;and finally Descartes and Hobbes constructed the modern efficiency-world successfully.The development of medieval theology and philosophy and the enhancement of the transcendence of God provided the preparation for early modern philosophers to finally complete the construction of the modern efficiency-world.