Laurie Anderson

一谈到哲学好像在讲些很深奥的事情, 其实虽然哲学思想支流甚多, 但中间有其相通之处, 所谓殊途同归, 而且某些地方可以在日常生活中体味得到.

西方哲学提到人性光辉及阴暗同时存在, 中国的哲学例如《易经》的基础太极图象, 也是阳中带阴, 阴中有阳.

Laurie Anderson 的其中一个作品 《My Right Eye》的歌词 "And when the tears fall from both my eyes. They fall from my right eye because I love you. And they fall from my left eye 'cause I cannot bear you." 正透着一种看似矛盾但又却合理的情感.

其实不止音乐家会在作品里面呈现这种哲学观, 在建筑和武学都可以寻找到这种思想.

例如日本建筑家安藤忠雄用最简单的清水混凝土来作建筑材料, 充分考虑整个空间的光暗结合来带出主题, 其中光之教堂是他众多作品我最欣赏的一个.

至于武学方面, 虽然门派众多, 但甚少功夫是至刚或至柔, 多数都是刚中带柔, 柔中带刚, 甚至是刚柔相济, 刚柔并重, 这才适合人体本能结构.

回说 Laurie Anderson, 她另外一个作品《Zero and One》的歌词亦有正反阴阳的意味.

"..... Now first, let's take a look at zero. Now nobody wants to be a zero. To be a zero means to be a nothing, a nobody, a has-been, a clod.

On the other hand, almost everybody wants to be number one. To be a number one means to be a winner, top of the heap, the acme. And there seems to be a strange kind of national obsession with this particular number.

Now, in my opinion, the problem with these two numbers is that they are just too close. It leaves very little room in there for everybody else. Just not enough range. So first we need to get rid of the value judgements attached to these two numbers, and to realise that to be a zero is no better, no worse than to be number one.

Because, because what we are actually looking at here are the building blocks of the modern computer age. Everything that can be expessed in words or numbers in any language can be communicated using this simple, foolproof system. It's all here in a nutshell, the entire alpha-numerical system, the a to zee - the zero to infinity of digital intelligence......"

欣赏她的作品时, 让我想起本地哲学家李天命教授的「九一妙心」. 其意思是 「我雖然沒有別人的第一, 但是別人也沒有我的第九」. 如果能够理解每个人的独得性, 就不會將自己和別人放在同一把尺上比較, 當不及他人時自卑, 比他人強時自大.