---
title: "太虛大師全書．第二編　五乘共學 · 三　哲學說生命起源"
description: "太虚大师著《太虛大師全書·第二編 五乘共學》成书于民国时期，是近代佛教革新运动的重要文献。作者太虚为民国高僧，倡导人间佛教。本编以五乘（人、天、声闻、缘觉、菩萨）佛法为框架，系统阐述佛教基本教义，强调人乘正法为出世之基，融通世间与出世间法。该书为现代佛教教育及人间佛教实践提供核心理论依据，在近代佛教复兴中具有承前启后的重要地位，是研究中国佛教现代化转型的必读经典。"
url: "https://rushiwowen.co/en/r/cmpjj90nw00e1t1thfxprxpdr"
---

### 三　哲學說生命起源

> Three Philosophical Theories on the Origin of Life

自然哲學說生物與非生物的分界，不過是就自然現象上的分類。但研求萬物原來的本質，就是用化學分化到原子、電子等，往下再分，結果也還同普通生物學上所謂的細胞，有人叫它做生元。這自然哲學根據科學研究的結果，把生物上最簡單的東西——細胞擴充起來，以為化學分化出來的電子，還可說它有生命，因為電子有陰陽性、有生滅，故電子有生命；能子也可以說它有生命，不過很隱微。平常認為分成種種原質的時候，已是非生命的東西，其實都還有隱微的生命，不過等級不同罷了。如達到適當巧妙的化合，有生命的生物便構成出來。物質是永遠存在的，生命也是永遠存在的，這是根據科學上的自然哲學對於生命起源的說明。近人講的唯生論，即是出發於此，因為一切皆有生，故是唯生的。而各種的生命，都可同物質是無窮盡的，到某種情形便發生某種的生命；即或關係條件不足，隱微的生命還是存在的。

> Natural philosophy describes the boundary between living and non-living things merely as a classification based on natural phenomena. However, when investigating the original essence of all things, using chemistry to break them down into atoms, electrons, and beyond—and even further—the result is still the same as what ordinary biology calls cells, which some refer to as "life units." This natural philosophy, based on scientific findings, expands upon the simplest biological unit—the cell—and suggests that even electrons derived from chemical breakdown might possess life. This is because electrons exhibit positive and negative charges, as well as birth and death; thus, electrons have life. Quanta can also be said to have life, though it is very subtle. What is ordinarily considered non-living when broken down into various elementary substances actually still contains subtle life, differing only in level. When a suitable and skillful chemical combination occurs, a living organism is formed. Matter is eternal, and life is also eternal—this is the scientific natural philosophy’s explanation of the origin of life. The modern theory of "vitalism" (唯生論) originates from this, as everything possesses life, hence it is "vitalist." Different kinds of life, like matter, are inexhaustible; under certain conditions, certain kinds of life arise. Even when the necessary conditions are insufficient, subtle life still exists.

還有根據生物學來講的，如德國的杜里舒（Hans Driesch, 1867-）。他曾經來過中國。他認為一般生物的現象，非用化學的物質所能澈底說明。他主張生物都有生機——隱德來希（Entelechy），這生機是非物質的，有了此種生機，便成為一種生物，要是沒有生機，則不能成為生物，所以單據化學的解說是不充足的。生機不是物質而是精神的，但也不能與物質完全分開，恍如中國講的生氣，有生氣便有生命現象，無生氣便沒有生命現象。但生機究竟是什麼？還是難以解說。杜里舒，我從前在德國會過，并且和他討論，他以為要有生機這樣東西乃有生物，但這生機是原來就有許多的，還是原來是一而後來才變成許多的，也不能決定的說明。大抵物質分化之後，變成一個個的有生命的現象，進而有感覺、知識、思想，這只是一種假想的推論。由此來說，以生機化合物質，便成為生命的起源。

> From a biological perspective, there is also the example of Hans Driesch (1867–) from Germany, who once visited China. He believed that general biological phenomena cannot be fully explained by chemical substances alone. He argued that all living things possess a vital force—entelechy—which is non-material. With this vital force, something becomes a living organism; without it, it cannot be a living being. Therefore, a purely chemical explanation is insufficient. This vital force is not material but spiritual, yet it cannot be completely separated from matter. It resembles the Chinese concept of "life energy" (shengqi): where there is life energy, there are life phenomena; where there is none, life phenomena cease. Still, what exactly this vital force is remains difficult to explain. I met Driesch in Germany before and discussed this with him. He maintained that living things require this vital force to exist, but could not definitively say whether this force originally existed as many distinct entities or as one that later became many. Roughly speaking, after matter differentiates, individual life phenomena emerge, followed by sensation, knowledge, and thought—but this is only a hypothetical inference. According to this view, combining vital force with matter constitutes the origin of life.

還有唯心論的哲學，認為宇宙的本原，是精神的、心靈的。這種主張的派別很多，依法國柏格森（Henri Bergson, 1895-）的解說，宇宙就是生命之流。這是活動的、永遠繼續不斷而極其緊張的生命之流，純是精神的，根本沒有物質；在鬆懈停頓的地方，才產生物質現象，但還離不開生命精神的。到了人類，正是生命精神的表現，非生物不過是生命遺傳下來的散渣。無始無終永遠緊張的是生命，鬆懈散弛了便成為非生物，也可以說在緊張不同上有生物的來源，從宇宙偉大的精神生命上分化出來。中國古來的學術，如易經講到生生之謂易；生生不息，就是宇宙的本體。從這點說，似乎也近於生機或生命流的說法。

> There is also the philosophy of idealism, which holds that the fundamental essence of the universe is mental or spiritual in nature. This school of thought has many branches. According to the explanation of the French philosopher Henri Bergson (1895-), the universe is a "stream of life." This is an active, eternally continuous, and extremely intense stream of life—purely spiritual, with no matter at its core. Where this stream slackens or pauses, material phenomena arise, but they are still inseparable from the life spirit. In human beings, this is the highest expression of the life spirit; non-living things are merely the scattered residue left behind by life. What is beginningless and endless, and always intense, is life itself. When that intensity relaxes and dissipates, it becomes non-living matter. One could also say that, on different levels of intensity, living things emerge, differentiated from the great spiritual life of the universe. In ancient Chinese scholarship, such as the \*Book of Changes\*, it is said: "To produce and reproduce is called change." This endless production and reproduction is the substance of the universe. From this perspective, it seems akin to the ideas of vitalism or a stream of life.