儒學研究在韋伯作品中之地位

On the Place of the Study on Confucianism in Max Weber's Work

馬克斯‧韋伯（1864-1920）關於儒學的研究，初刊於一九一五年一份期刊中，後經擴充，收入出版於一九二○年的《宗教社會學文集》第一冊裡。這當中五年，實際上體現了從《經濟與社會》到《宗教社會學文集》的觀點發展，以及兩者間之關聯。在韋伯的整體作品中，儒學研究具有雙重目的。從系統的觀點來說，儒學可作為關於宗教理性主義之社會學及形態學的個案；從發展式的歷史觀點來說，儒學適足以提供一個背景，藉以突出西方的獨特性。據韋伯觀察，儒學與希臘學說有某些相似之處，即兩者都缺乏救贖和預言的概念。然而在西方，希臘哲學後來與救贖式宗教的基督教相結合，中國卻始終未受到救贖觀念影響。因此，儒學對世界持肯定而非棄絕的態度，西方卻由於俗世和超越界的衝突形成獨特的歷史動力。

Max Weber's (1864-1920) study on Confucianism, dealt with in this essay, was first published in a journal in 1915, then, in an extended version, as a chapter in volume 1 of the Collected Essays on the Sociology of Religion in 1920. It is here embedded in the development of Economy and Society and the Collected Essays on the Sociology of Religion as well as in their interrelationship. It is shown that the study on Confucianism serves a double purpose in Weber's overall writings. From a systematic point of view, Confucianism can be regarded as a border case within a sociology and typology of religious rationalism. From a point of view of developmental history, it can be regarded a backdrop, against which the uniqueness of the Western trajectory is depicted. In Weber's view, Confucian scholarship shares some common elements with Greek scholarship. Both lack the ideas of salvation and prophesy. Whereas in the West Greek philosophy merged with Christianity, a salvation religion, in China Confucianism remained untouched by the idea of salvation. Therefore, Confucianism rationalized world affirmation rather than world rejection and did not create the same deep seated conflicts between this world and the world beyond, which caused a peculiar dynamic in the West.