《易经》创化概念与怀德海歷程思想

Creativity in the Book of Changes and Process Thought: With Special Reference to Whitehead

孔子以「十翼」赞《易》，而其中〈系辞传〉曾明白昭示：「是故形而上者谓之道，形而下者谓之器」，《易》所关切者，乃形而上之道是也。根据这项哲学信念，当代中国哲学家中，方东美与程石泉二先生均以《易》为中国形上学的源头，其基本原理在於「创化生生」(creativity and unceasing generations)。他们并且认为西方哲学家中怀德海(A. N. Whitehead)的机体哲学与古易智慧最为接近。而怀德海，一位当代歷程哲学家，也曾在他的《歷程与真际》(Process and Reality)一书中提到：不同於一元論者以「绝对」(The Absolute)或者「神」是终极的，他的机体哲学乃以「创化」是终极的(ultimate)；就这点而言，他所采取的立场似乎更接近某些印度或者中国的思想，而不接近西亚或欧洲的思想。本文将根据方程二先生这项洞見，促进中西歷程思想在「创化」议题上的文化交流与对话。文中将說明怀德海的创化思想与当代西方歷程哲学对於吾人了解《易经》可作的贡献，以及《易经》本於中国人本主义发展出创化宇宙观与天地人三才之道說，不受有神論与唯物論的思想限制，对於西方歷程哲学家应有的启示。

”Ten Wings” attributed to Confucius are the philosophical expositions of the Book of Changes or I Ching. Among them, ”Hsitz'u Ch'uan” (The Conspectus) has once pronounced that ”What is metaphysical, supersensible, is Principle or Tao; whereas what is concrete, sensible, is Material, Artifact, or Ch'i.” Evidently what the authors of the Book of Changes concerned is the metaphysical principle-Tao. Contemporary Chinese philosophers Thome Fang (189-1977) and Shih-chuan Chen(1909-2005) following this archaic dictum are convinced that the Book of Changes is the metaphysical fountain of Chinese philosophy and its fundamental notion is ”creativity with unceasing generations.” They consider A. N. Whitehead, one of the modern process philosophers, the most appealing to Chinese mind since he has made the concept of ”creativity” the major theme of his philosophy. As Whitehead says in his Process and Reality that ”In the philosophy of organism this ultimate is termed 'Creativity'……In this general position the philosophy of organism seems to approximate more to some strains of Indian, or Chinese thought, than to western Asiatic, or European, thought.” Following Fang and Chen, the present paper is an attempt to promote the cross-cultural dialogue between the Eastern and Western process thought on the issue of creativity. We believe this can be done by showing that Whitehead's concept of creativity and modern Western process thought, especially Whitehead, are in great help for our understanding the Book of Changes. On the other hand, the philosophy of creativity in the Book of Changes will also help Western process philosophers to see how the view of a creative universe and its organic relation with humankind can be developed from comprehensive synthesis of human experience, untrammeled either by theistic or by materialistic frame of thought.