Let things quietly change? : Julian on the possibility of a peaceful revolution

In this ever-changing world, "unexpected events" and "unconsciousness" are the two most common ways of changing. According to French sinologist François Jullien: Westerners pay more attention to "emergency events", emphasizing how people use and plan the freedom in their hands, hoping to change their living environment with actions; Easterners expect changes" "Unconsciously" is achieved, prepare various conditions in advance, hide behind the scenes, and induce the situation you want.

Julian published the book "Silence" in 2009. This book mainly discusses: how to borrow some experiences and remedies of the "unconscious/let it be natural" thought of the Easterners to reduce the Western-style "planning/unexpected events". ' destructive. As we all know, too strict planning and implementation often bring irreparable damage to nature. But unfortunately, Julian's "Silencieus" (Les Transformations silencieuses) has not been translated into Chinese, and I don't understand French myself, so let's switch perspectives and discuss another thinker: Benjamin (but the discussion is still is the same problem).

Change: Let go of control and pursue possibility

First of all, the most basic point of Benjamin's thought is the difference between "mechanical time" and "perfect time". Mechanical time is what we generally call time: the time during which this event may or may not have happened; like I could go and play baseball or not, but time would still pass in the same way.

"Completion time" is different. Fulfillment time and event are inseparable; because the "event" contains something that we absolutely do not want to lose. For example: I'm dating a girl, I really like her, and we walk somewhere together; then this "walking" event cannot be replaced by any other event. On the negative side: when I cry for a loved one, it's also "consummation time"; because we cry, we testify that we never want to lose that person.

Benjamin put the possibility of "change" in the perfect time. Because mechanical time is the same, there is no difference, it does not inspire our desire to change. And Benjamin paid special attention to one kind of fulfillment time: the moment of "birth". Because procreation creates the unknown person; even if parents don't know what kind of person their children will become, they still want this person to appear in the world. For Benjamin, the same is true of "change": even though it is still dark and there is no hope of going on, we will still be groping for light that we haven't seen yet.

Nature: the starting point for political action

The "birth" emphasized by Benjamin can combine the two methods of "unexpected events" and "unconsciousness" that we mentioned earlier. Fertility requires both unconsciousness, the satisfaction of natural conditions, and a quiet evolution; it also requires the support of emergencies at the beginning and in the middle. Generally speaking, the "social change" we imagine is often a meticulous plan and an implemented "revolution". It was revolutions that created new institutions and created constitutions to make society work. However, revolutions also often leave scars and hatreds that are difficult to resolve. So some people will ask: If we implement the "revolution" with "fertility" and the natural growth of plants, will there be a better chance of changing society?

Professor Xia Kejun of China wrote this book with this idea: Useless Theology: Benjamin, Heidegger, and Zhuangzi. He says:

Let Moses' exodus and Chuangzi's return to nature work at the same time, because if the losers and unfortunates of the past are not remedied, the memory of the survivors will not rest; if the Messiah is a priori of future time If the conditions are not enriched by the writing of history, if the technique of writing is not nourished by the sensibility of natural reality, if it cannot open up space from the infinite, from revolution to silence, from silence to revolution, it is impossible! (page 80)

In this book, Xia Kejun, like Julian, believes in combining "unexpected events" with "unconsciousness". Xia Kejun proposed ecologically meaningful nature: nature (and human beings) are always disappearing, but new creatures are often born. Any "revolution", any social change, is actually based on this most common natural environment that we most often ignore. Humanity must first save the "renewability" of nature and prevent any event that would cause irreversible damage. Furthermore, human beings must find a way to enter into the suffering of others and in nature, to feel that everything that is contained in them is fading away; perhaps this will make us yearn for change and make ourselves and the world a little less painful, but Minimize the damage caused by violent action.

Epilogue

For ease of understanding, we have used the words "emergency" and "unconsciously". In Julian, these two words are called "revolution" and "silent transformation". The great harm caused by the revolution to society makes us not dare to make it; however, the society has many evils and old habits that are hard to change, which have also caused very serious consequences. Then what should be done? Therefore, Julian temporarily left the West and passed through China, hoping to reduce the destructive power of the revolution with the idea of "silenting/letting it happen" in the East, but at the same time achieve social change.

Of course, this is just a solution; and it may not be successful. However, the advantage of this idea is that even if it fails to achieve the original goal, in the process of "silencing", the continuity of the natural world, the lives of others and the birth of new life that it protects are absolutely irrelevant. would be meaningless.

references

Xia Kejun: "From "Revolutionary Silence" to "Silent Revolution": Thinking about Julian's Unthinkable, Journal of Chinese Literature and Philosophy, Vol. 25, No. 1.

Xia Kejun: "Useless Theology: Benjamin, Heidegger, and Zhuangzi", Wunan.

Roland. Boer, translated by Hu Jihua and Lin Zhenhua: Criticism of the Kingdom of Heaven: On Marxism and Theology, Taiwan Christian Literature and Art.