韋伯新教倫理的核心概念及其西方中心主義疑雲

Is there an Eurocentrism in Max Weber's Protestant Ethics? What is the Key Concept of Protestant Ethics?

韋伯至今仍未擺脫西方中心主義的批評。這主要涉及到他最著名的研究，《基督新教倫理與資本主義精神》：對大多數讀者來說，他暗示西方的優越性。我們感興趣的問題不在於韋伯是不是西方中心主義者，因為我們有理由相信他不是。而是他對基督新教的研究如何會被視為一種西方中心主義的詮釋呢？這與思想的繼受有關。從韋伯本人提及路德與喀爾文在教義上的差異、同輩學者對韋伯的誤解到《新教倫理》的法語系繼受，這些案例說明想法差距有效扭曲了韋伯與讀者之間的溝通。一點也不像吾人通常所認為的那樣，入世禁慾不是開啟新教倫理的鑰匙，而是拒絕神化被造物原則。這項長期不為人察覺的原則，使一心著眼於救贖的清教徒曉得要如何適當地生活，進而與資本主義精神發生關連。韋伯確實可以把清教倫理形容為獨特的，特別是此種倫理能因褻瀆神明的理由而拒斥其它新教教派。換句話說，對「入世禁慾」概念的過度強調阻礙人們意識到韋伯本人屬意另一個概念，他將無可避免地被視為一位西方中心主義者。

Weber has not shaken off yet the criticism of Eurocentrism. This is chiefly concerned with his most famous research, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. For most readers he hints at the superiority of the West. The question we are interested in is not whether Weber holds Eurocentric beliefs, because we have reason to believe that he is not. Rather, how could his study of Protestantism is regarded as a Eurocentric interpretation? This relates to the reception of thought. From the difference between Luther's and Calvin's teachings mentioned by Weber himself, peers who misunderstand Weber and the French interpretation of Protestant Ethics, these cases show that the gap in ideas effectively distorts the communication between Weber and his readers. Not at all as we usual1y think, the worldly asceticism is not the key to opening the Protestant ethics, but the principle of refusal of the idolatry. This principle which is not noticed for a long time, allows the Puritan who focus on his own salvation to know how to live properly and thus be related to the spirit of capitalism. Weber can indeed describe Puritan ethics as unique; especially this ethics can reject other Protestant denominations because of blasphemy. In other words, the overemphasis on the concept of ''worldly asceticism'' inevitably prevents us from realizing that Weber personally prefers another concept, he will inevitably be regarded as a Eurocentrist.