【作者】 刘绍斌；

【导师】 史志康；

【作者基本信息】 上海外国语大学 ， 英语语言文学， 2013， 博士

【摘要】 20世纪以来，在工业化和商业化这两股浪潮的影响下，人类中心主义思想在现代社会牢牢地确立起来，认为人是自然的主人，导致自然被过度地开发利用。自然由此陷入了严重的生态危机，而自然生态危机反过来威胁着人类的生存。与此同时，消费主义盛行，人们对物质财富变得无限贪恋，沉迷于金钱崇拜，在疯狂的寻欢作乐中迷失自我。但是，人们却困惑于幸福与快乐的不可得，内心充满强烈的生存危机与自我危机感，虚无主义弥漫于心中。由此，人类的精神生态遭遇了史无前例的危机。为应对现代人所面临的危机与困惑，本文试图通过对美国超验主义作家拉尔夫·沃尔多·.爱默生进行系统全面的生态批评研究，以便找到一条化解之道。在综述了前人对爱默生的研究之后，本文发现批评家及学者对爱默生的研究兴趣主要集中于其超验主义哲学思想、爱默生对美国民族精神及美国文化形成的影响、以及爱默生的自然观等方面，尽管有学者从生态的视角涉及到爱默生的自然观的研究，但很少涉及其社会生态思想，而对其精神生态思想的研究就更少。因此，从生态批评的视域对爱默生进行研究留有很大的空间。本论文以生态批评作为主要的研究方法，同时运用传记批评、解构主义及福柯的权力与话语理论等批评手段拟对12卷本的《爱默生全集》及他的其它几部作品进行解读。本论文认为基于其超验主义思想，爱默生形成了一个包含自然生态、社会生态及精神生态的整体生态思想体系，并且认为其整体生态思想能为我们提供一种解决现代嬗变下的生态危机和精神困惑的全新方法。因此，本论文将重点论证以下三个方面：1.爱默生的社会生态思想是人们通往幸福的基石；2.爱默生的精神生态思想为人们确立了生活的终极目标；3.爱默生的自然生态思想为人们提供了一条通往终极目标的道路。本论文由六个章节组成。第一章简要介绍本论文的研究背景、目标、文献综述、研究方法与途径等。第二章从四个角度探源爱默生整体生态思想形成的原因：家学渊源及成长环境、美国传统文化对其的影响、欧洲及东方文化对其的影响、19世纪美国清教运动对其的影响。第三章至第五章分别探讨爱默生的社会生态思想、精神生态思想及自然生态思想。第三章研究爱默生的社会生态思想，分析爱默生对人类社会的等级制度及美国奴隶制度的批判，对自由、民主、独立的倡导、及对现代科学方法和技术的局限性的批评。爱默生认为民主独立、富有想象力的生态社会是现代人幸福的基石。第四章研究爱默生的精神生态思想，分析爱默生对消费主义文化的评判。爱默生主张把人的物质需求降到最低限度，强调建设人的精神生态，认为只有精神自立的人才是真正完美的人，倡导加强个人的自我修养，为现代人的精神生态困惑“我是谁”寻找精神家园的终极目标。第五章研究爱默生自然生态思想。论文首先分析爱默生的自然观，在爱默生看来，人类社会之所以陷入病态和痛苦之中，乃是由于人们看不到自然隐含的价值以至于破坏自然和远离自然导致的。为此，论文从三个角度阐释爱默生所理解的自然的价值：自然是人类物用的提供者、自然是美的象征、自然是人类的语言。爱默生主张以自然来提升人的精神世界，以自然来纠正、矫治社会中出现的负面现象，并倡导以回归自然及沉浸于自然获得精神的升华来化解现代人的焦虑与自我危机，从而达到人的道德完美境界。论文最后对爱默生整体生态思想进行评价，挖掘其生态思想的现实意义，分析本研究的不足之处。本研究的现实意义在于：通过对爱默生社会生态思想的研究分析，探索人类所面临的以上诸多问题产生的原因，提供人们心中的一个永恒的人生哲学问题“幸福是什么”可选择的答案；通过系统探索研究爱默生精神生态思想—精神是第一位、精神自立的个体才是完美的人、个体的可能性是无限的，为处于精神生态危机的现代人所面临的自我危机及现代虚无主义而带来的身份认同的困惑问题“我是谁”提供一个有力的解答；通过分析爱默生自然生态思想—自然是精神的外衣，回归自然，沉浸于自然获得精神的升华，为现代人追寻人类终极目标“幸福在哪里”提供终极解决方法和途径。本研究的理论价值在于：本文突破学界对爱默生研究的传统思路和视域，从全新的视域以生态批评的方法系统研究爱默生的整体生态思想理论体系，这对学界拓展爱默生研究具有理论价值和意义，这是学界关于爱默生研究的一个创新。更多还原

【Abstract】 Since the20thcentury, influenced by the waves of industrialization and commercialization,modern people have firmly established the thought of anthropocentrism in treating therelationship between man and nature, man being the master of nature and nature being tooexcessively exploited. Thus natural environment is experiencing a serious crisis, which inturn poses a great threat to the survival of human beings. At the same time, influenced by theprevailing consumerism, modern people become insatiably avaricious for material wealth, sopeople are spiritually and morally lost in money worship, debauchery and hedonism. Theyare crazy in their “happy” merry-making on the way to seek happiness. But they feelconfused with a sense of existential crisis, crisis of self, and nihilism. Thus human spiritualecology is similarly in an unprecedented crisis.In response to the confusions and problems confronted with modern people, thisdissertation attempts to find an ecological remedy and solution through a systematic andcomprehensive ecocritical study of Ralph Waldo Emerson. After having made a literaturereview, we find that critics and scholars of Emerson study mainly focus on his philosophicalthought of transcendentalism, his legacy and influence on American culture and nationalspirit, and his ideas about nature, etc., and few of them have studied Emerson in an organicwhole way. There is little systematic and comprehensive study of Emerson’s ecologicalthoughts up to now. Therefore, there leaves much room for Emerson study from theperspective of ecocriticism. To make up the inadequacy of Emerson study, this dissertationadopts ecocritical theory, deconstructionism, Foucault’s theory of power and discourse, andbiographical criticism as the major critical strategies, attempting to make a study ofEmerson’s holistic ecological thoughts by reinterpreting his works, mainly his12volumescomplete works. This dissertation argues that based on American transcendentalism,Emerson has formed a complete and systematical holistic ecological thought which includeshis natural ecology, social ecology, and spiritual ecology. By making a thorough analysis andinterpretation of Emerson from the perspective of ecocriticism, this research intends to find aremedy and solution in response to the confusions and problems confronted with modernpeople by exploring the following three aspects: 1. Emerson’s social ecology provides people with a footstone for happiness;2. Emerson’s spiritual ecology sets up for us an ultimate goal of Life;3. Emerson’s natural ecology offers us a road to the ultimate goal.To explore the above three aspects, the dissertation makes a detailed analysis in sixchapters. Chapter one makes an introduction to the research background, the objectives ofthis dissertation, literature review, and the research approach, etc.. Chapter two makes a fulland deep survey of the origins of Emerson’s holistic ecological thoughts from four sources:his parentage, early education and living environment, the influences of AmericanPuritanism and traditional cultures, the influences from European and oriental cultures, andthe American transcendental movement of early19thcentury. Chapter three to chapter fivemakes a systematic analysis of Emerson’s holistic ecological thoughts on society, spirit andnature respectively. With regard to social ecology, we first discuss Emerson’s criticism ofsocial unfairness and injustice by condemning inhuman slavery system in America, and hisadvocacy of independence, freedom, and democracy. Then we analyze Emerson’s critique ofthe limitations of industrialization and science and technology. And finally in this part, weanalyze Emerson’s criticism on man’s material avarice and on commercialization, andexplore his affirmation that a fair society should develop a balanced harmony betweenmaterial life and spiritual life. In respect of spiritual ecology, by analyzing Emerson’scriticism of the life outlook dominated by swelling avarice for material things, and thecorresponding shriveling of people’s spiritual aspiration and his call for harmony betweenpeople’s physical and spiritual life, we explore Emerson’s view on spirit (over-soul),individualism and how individual deals with spirit. In terms of natural ecology, by discussingEmerson’s criticism of the anthropocentric world outlook of modern people and his praise ofthe inherent values of nature, the dissertation explores Emerson’s opinion that nature is thehome of spirit, road to happy life, and his advocacy of the harmony between human andnature and going back to and sinking in nature.This research is of significance practically and theoretically. In practice, by exploringEmerson’s holistic ecological thoughts, we can find a solution to the philosophicalquestions—what is happiness; who am I; and where is happiness and how to reach it, anecological remedy for anxiety and crisis of self under modern transformation. Theoretically, this dissertation does not confine Emerson study in traditional fields, but focuses on theresearch of his holistic ecological thought by employing literary theories of ecocriticalism,which is brand new and of theoretical significance for Emerson study.更多还原