本文着重探索后东方学理论与比较文学、文化批评及全球化理论关系的来龙去脉。如果形式主义文论侧重美学形式,而继后的文化批评侧重文学的文化/政治含义,那么,后东方学理论则是对二者的兼容,从而避免了观念与实践的极端性,让我们有可能...本文着重探索后东方学理论与比较文学、文化批评及全球化理论关系的来龙去脉。如果形式主义文论侧重美学形式,而继后的文化批评侧重文学的文化/政治含义,那么,后东方学理论则是对二者的兼容,从而避免了观念与实践的极端性,让我们有可能超越仍充满活力、仍富有挑战性的文化批评理论和后殖民主义理论,去迎接后东方学理论的新时期。作者以贝克特小说《梦幻中的美女与庸妇》(Dream of Fair to Middling Women)为例,阐述了如何从后东方学理论角度去揭示中国音乐与文化对贝克特小说美学观(元小说)及伦理观的影响。纯粹的美学批评和纯粹的文化批评都只能顾此失彼。由于该小说尚无中译本及其它原因,贝克特与中国文化的内在关系在国内,甚至国际,还鲜为人知,而这个古老的文化正是贝克特小说创作灵感的发源/缘地。可见,揭示这个源/缘文化对贝克特小说的影响不仅能够确立东方文化在其小说创作中占有的重要地位,而且能更准确、更客观地评价他小说创作的历程和他对戏剧传统的接受。展开更多
One of the main challenges in consciousness research is widely known as the hard problem of consciousness. In order to tackle this problem, I utilize an approach from theoretical physics, called stochastic electrodyna...One of the main challenges in consciousness research is widely known as the hard problem of consciousness. In order to tackle this problem, I utilize an approach from theoretical physics, called stochastic electrodynamics （SED） which goes one step beyond quantum theory and sheds new light on the reality behind matter. According to this approach, matter is a resonant oscillator that is orchestrated by an all-pervasive stochastic radiation field, called zero-point field （ZPF）. The properties of matter are not intrinsic but acquired by dynamic interaction with the ZPF, which in turn picks up information about the material system as soon as an ordered state, i.e., a stable attractor, is reached. I point out that these principles apply also to macroscopic biological systems. From this perspective, long-range correlations in the brain, such as neural gamma synchrony, can be interpreted in terms of order phenomena induced and stabilized by the ZPF, suggesting that every attractor in the brain goes along with an information state in the ZPF. In order to build the bridge to consciousness, I employ additional input from Eastern philosophy. From a comparison between SED and Eastern philosophy I draw the conclusion that the ZPF is an appropriate candidate for the substrate of consciousness, implying that information states in the ZPF are associated with conscious states. On this basis I develop a conceptual framework for consciousness that is fully consistent with physics, neurophysiology, and Eastern philosophy. I argue that this conceptual framework has many interesting features and opens a door to a theory of consciousness. Particularly, it solves the problem of how matter and consciousness communicate in a causally closed functional chain, it gives a physical grounding to existing approaches regarding the connection between consciousness and information, and it gives clear direction to future models and experiments.展开更多
文摘本文着重探索后东方学理论与比较文学、文化批评及全球化理论关系的来龙去脉。如果形式主义文论侧重美学形式,而继后的文化批评侧重文学的文化/政治含义,那么,后东方学理论则是对二者的兼容,从而避免了观念与实践的极端性,让我们有可能超越仍充满活力、仍富有挑战性的文化批评理论和后殖民主义理论,去迎接后东方学理论的新时期。作者以贝克特小说《梦幻中的美女与庸妇》(Dream of Fair to Middling Women)为例,阐述了如何从后东方学理论角度去揭示中国音乐与文化对贝克特小说美学观(元小说)及伦理观的影响。纯粹的美学批评和纯粹的文化批评都只能顾此失彼。由于该小说尚无中译本及其它原因,贝克特与中国文化的内在关系在国内,甚至国际,还鲜为人知,而这个古老的文化正是贝克特小说创作灵感的发源/缘地。可见,揭示这个源/缘文化对贝克特小说的影响不仅能够确立东方文化在其小说创作中占有的重要地位,而且能更准确、更客观地评价他小说创作的历程和他对戏剧传统的接受。
文摘One of the main challenges in consciousness research is widely known as the hard problem of consciousness. In order to tackle this problem, I utilize an approach from theoretical physics, called stochastic electrodynamics （SED） which goes one step beyond quantum theory and sheds new light on the reality behind matter. According to this approach, matter is a resonant oscillator that is orchestrated by an all-pervasive stochastic radiation field, called zero-point field （ZPF）. The properties of matter are not intrinsic but acquired by dynamic interaction with the ZPF, which in turn picks up information about the material system as soon as an ordered state, i.e., a stable attractor, is reached. I point out that these principles apply also to macroscopic biological systems. From this perspective, long-range correlations in the brain, such as neural gamma synchrony, can be interpreted in terms of order phenomena induced and stabilized by the ZPF, suggesting that every attractor in the brain goes along with an information state in the ZPF. In order to build the bridge to consciousness, I employ additional input from Eastern philosophy. From a comparison between SED and Eastern philosophy I draw the conclusion that the ZPF is an appropriate candidate for the substrate of consciousness, implying that information states in the ZPF are associated with conscious states. On this basis I develop a conceptual framework for consciousness that is fully consistent with physics, neurophysiology, and Eastern philosophy. I argue that this conceptual framework has many interesting features and opens a door to a theory of consciousness. Particularly, it solves the problem of how matter and consciousness communicate in a causally closed functional chain, it gives a physical grounding to existing approaches regarding the connection between consciousness and information, and it gives clear direction to future models and experiments.
