|
西方的自由和对抗
——哈佛教授Orlando Patterson受邀在“McGill大学林炎平研究中心”演讲
文：林炎平研究中心
2016年4月13日，“McGill大学林炎平研究中心”邀请哈佛大学社会学系教授，美国科学院院士Orlando Patterson做了主题为“西方的自由和对抗——从古希腊人到今天的美国茶党”的演讲，来自麦吉尔大学的逾百名师生慕名前往聆听，气氛欢愉，反响热烈。
Orlando Patterson教授在“林炎平研究中心”进行主题演讲
出生于牙买加的Orlando Patterson 教授是世界知名的历史社会学家，他专长于奴隶制与自由的历史含义的比较研究。他学问深厚，著述颇丰：其著作Freedom in the Making of Western Culture (1991)曾荣获美国国家图书奖。他在奴隶制、种族和民族社会学、及加勒比地区的社会发展等方面均有深入研究及独到见解。曾任其母国牙买加的总理特别顾问，协助制定社会发展政策。
Orlando Patterson 教授当晚在麦吉尔大学的演讲围绕着自由和奴隶社会体制的共生关系而展开，阐述了自由的定义，自由产生的原因及过程，为什么自由只产生于西方社会，以及自由在今后的走向等议题。作为一名涉猎广博、学识丰厚的历史学家、社会学家、小说家及大学教授，Patterson高言阔论，旁征博引，纵古论今，从自由概念产生的古希腊，到奴隶制盛行、自由程度最低下的古罗马；从只有通过救赎才能获得心灵自由的基督教时期，到通过分封土地而获得相对财产自由的中世纪；再到通过争取权利而获取自由的现代社会……Patterson教授以纵向的时间轴展开来详细阐述了自由的产生、获得与其相对应的社会时代的关系，论据广泛，内容详实。
Patterson还着重讲述了美国的自由状况：其产生的根基，遭遇的危机，及美国人民为获取自由而进行的抗争与运动。他也不留情面地对美国的自由状况进行了一番批驳：他同时批判了纳粹德国、苏联和美国，指出这三个国家在推广、践行方面出现的不同形式的对自由的破坏——纳粹是从极右破坏了自由，苏联是从极左破坏了自由，而美国则是以资本破坏了自由。
林炎平研究中心教授和Patterson教授。左起：Vankeerberghen教授、Patterson教授、工程院长Nicell教授、中心主任Levy教授、林炎平、人文院长Meadwell教授、教务长Manfredi教授、建筑系Tureli教授
左起：Patterson教授、Levy教授、林炎平和McGill大学教务长Manfredi教授
其实，美国的自由之所以引领世界，正是因为有了像Patterson教授这些敢于对权利进行质疑批评的知识分子的一部分功劳。美国有很多问题，但是由于美国容得下批判，所以没有步入穷途——这是当晚很多与会者共同的感受。
“林炎平研究中心”主任Levy教授向Patterson 教授赠送纪念品
最后，作为此次活动的主办方“林炎平研究中心”的捐赠者、奠基人，林炎平先生就此研究中心的创办宗旨及未来努力方向致辞，全文如下。
附：林炎平先生的致辞
Bridges and Pillars The speech at the inauguration lecture The Yan P.Lin Research Center for the Study of Freedom and Global Ordersin the Ancient and Modern Worlds
Professor Patterson, Prof. Manfredi, Prof. Nicell, Prof. Meadwell, Prof. Levy Allthe professors, students and Friends， Ladies and gentlemen,
Today we are very happy to have Prof. Paterson here as the speaker of this inauguration lecture of The Yan P.Lin Center for the Study of Freedom and Global Orders in the Ancient and Modern Worlds.
Yan P Lin center has a quite ambitious mission, which Prof. Jacob Levy has told you. I am very happy that Jacob is leading the center as the director. He is an outstanding scholar and a star professor.
The other day,Jacob and I talked in a lunch about what and how we should do with the center.We agreed that he would concentrate on building the pillars and I would help build the bridges.
What are they,really? I, as the donor, always have the vision that academy should lead the way in building some connections and communications between some important yet disconnected parts. I summarize them as three bridges, which are my motivation to support the center. We also want to build an academic palace to which the bridges will help people and thoughts to gather.
For now, we are concentrating on 3 bridges and 5 pillars. The pillars will make the building stand and magnificent, and the bridges will extend the values of the center to the world and bring people together.
3 bridges:
1) Between West and East (the understanding must be mutual);
2) Between the past and present (we will avoid historic mistakes by understanding them);
3) Between science and humanity (the university needs this to produce better students)
5 research groups, both existing and new, have been brought in by Jacob into the center,which we call them pillars, which will eventually lead to the palace.
5 Pillars:
1) Global antiquities (coordinators Hans Beck and Griet Vankeerberghen)
2) Transitions and global modernities (coordinators Anastassios Anastassiadis and Lorenz Luthi)
3) Constitutional studies (coordinator Jacob T. Levy)
4) Global justice (coordinator Catherine Lu)
5) Democracy, space, and technology (coordinator Ipek Tureli).
I believe overtime we will probably have more pillars as the building gets bigger and taller,and more bridges as we reach farther and wider.
Jacob has been focusing on building the pillars so that one-day we will have a palace. I am trying to build bridges so that one-day people all over the world can cross the bridges to our palace.
When I talk about the bridges and pillars, I am immediately reminded the Parthenon over the Acropolis in Athens and the oration by Pericles, the first citizen of Athensthen, in 431 BCE. The magnificent temple is a ruin now, but the pillars are still standing, enduring thousand years of natural disasters and artificial catastrophe. I am sure Jacob and we want to build some pillars like them.
Time has passed faster than we can catch it. 2500 years or so have gone by, but we have not had much time to reflect properly what have happened and what we have learnt. Maybe not much, given the similar mistakes we have made over and over again.
Today, we are facing even more serious challenges. Political correctness vs. Freedom of speech as one of the dilemma among many. They are no longer coexisting but conflicting. The gap between them is getting wider and deeper by the days, so how do we bridge them?
We cannot connect the whole world with only 3 bridges, and we cannot build a palace with only 5 pillars, thus we need a lot more. Thus we need more contributors, and this evening, Prof. Patterson did this for us and I believe his works are both pillars and bridges.
Bravo! Let us work hard and make the center prosper.
| 
置顶卡
变色卡
千斤顶
