詞匯玩賞(三)——職業(yè)的異化

字號(hào):

What is your business? Your business refers to something which makes you always busy.
    And what is your occupaton? Your occupation is something which occupies most of your time.
    首先列出我們要探討的幾個(gè)對(duì)象:calling, vocation, business, occupation.
    電影?簡(jiǎn)愛(ài)?中有這樣一個(gè)場(chǎng)景:小姑娘簡(jiǎn)愛(ài)因?yàn)樵谛W(xué)校里缺少關(guān)愛(ài),在她的好朋友海倫死后準(zhǔn)備從學(xué)校逃走。醫(yī)生瑞維特勸她留下來(lái)。
    Jane: No! I can't go back to school. I'll never go back. I'll run away!
    Dr. Rivet: You know what duty is, don't you ? Duty is what you have to do, even when you don't want to do it. I didn't want to go out in a snowstorm to visit a sick child, but…… I know I have to go because it's my duty. Now what is your duty, Jane
    Jane: I don't know.
    Dr. Rivet: Yes, you do, Jane. In your heart you know prefectly well. Your duty is to prepare yourself to do God's work in the world, isn't that true? And who can do God's work? An ignorant woman, or an educated one? Yes, you know the answer to that. And where can you get an education, Jane? Where?
    Jane: At school.
    Dr. Rivet: Precisely, so you know you have to go back to school.
    在西方基督教的觀念里,每一個(gè)人所從事的職業(yè)都是在給上帝工作。就連Jane這樣的小孩也從小被教育長(zhǎng)大后要 to do God's work in the world.每個(gè)人都要響應(yīng)上帝的感召——calling.比如護(hù)士(nurse)就是在為上帝工作,世界上原本沒(méi)有護(hù)士這個(gè)職業(yè),因?yàn)槭澜缟显緵](méi)有醫(yī)院。早期醫(yī)院的工作是由教會(huì)承擔(dān)的,教會(huì)出于上帝的仁慈收留老弱病殘,交由修女(nun)照看。后來(lái)科技發(fā)達(dá)了,醫(yī)院從教會(huì)里獨(dú)立出來(lái),修女搖身一變,成了護(hù)士。大概是變的太快,服裝都沒(méi)來(lái)得及換。大家不難發(fā)現(xiàn),護(hù)士的服裝和修女沒(méi)有大的差別,在西方的大醫(yī)院里,她們的衣服幾乎沒(méi)什么差別。
    在英國(guó),sister 既可以指護(hù)士,也可以指修女。又比如:牧羊人(pastor)是受上帝安排來(lái)牧羊的,同樣牧師(pastor)也是受上帝安排來(lái)牧人的。為什么不同的人有不同的天份,在擇業(yè)時(shí)有不同的興趣,原因是上帝對(duì)他們有不同的calling.
    有的同學(xué)把vocation和vacation 有時(shí)不能區(qū)分清楚。voc 是拉丁詞根,意思為call,所以vocation 地本意就是calling from God.而vac是empty的意思,如:vaccum (真空),vacant (空洞的),evacuate(疏散,使空)。
    由此可見(jiàn),既然工作是在響應(yīng)上帝的感召,vocation 就具有很強(qiáng)烈的使命感,與work 和 job 在意思上有很大的差別。是先有信仰,而后有工作的一種職業(yè)。西方人的職業(yè)化精神是起源于基督教倫理的,正是這種精神推動(dòng)資本主義前進(jìn)和繁榮。(見(jiàn)馬克思韋伯:?基督教倫理和資本主義精神?)。
    不妨再看一下,在現(xiàn)代社會(huì)我們對(duì)職業(yè)的稱(chēng)謂:business, occupation.
    What is your business? Your business refers to something which makes you always busy.
    And what is your occupaton? Your occupation is something which occupies most of your time.
    何等的悲慘?。∈姑袉适ТM,職業(yè)全都成了瞎忙呼。calling作為職業(yè)的意思早已被人們淡忘,盡管vocation依然在使用,也早失去了使命的意味。
    更悲慘的是,在我們的工作中,就連原始人在他們的工作中所能享受的樂(lè)趣也蕩然無(wú)存。原始人的工作將work 和recreation 結(jié)合到了一起。羅素在其 On human nature and politics 中寫(xiě)到:
    When a man spent a long day with very primitive weapons in stalking a deer with the hope of dinner and when , at the end of the day, he dragged the carcase triumphantly to his cave, he sank down in contented weariness, while his wife dressed and cooked the meat. He was sleepy, and his bones ached, and the smell of cooking filled every nook and cranny of his consciousness. …… In such a life there was neither time nor energy for boredom.
    原始人在打獵中獲得了現(xiàn)代人無(wú)法獲得的刺激和樂(lè)趣,原始人的成功也是很容易達(dá)成的,比如打到了不錯(cuò)的獵物?,F(xiàn)代人的成功由于文明的進(jìn)步而變的很難。因此工作也喪失了樂(lè)趣。就以學(xué)生考四、六級(jí)英語(yǔ)為例,辛苦了半年,四級(jí)過(guò)了,幸運(yùn)吧,可是由此而來(lái)的快樂(lè)最多持續(xù)一兩個(gè)禮拜,接下來(lái)是為六級(jí)做準(zhǔn)備的更長(zhǎng)久的痛苦,六級(jí)過(guò)了,還有更多的考試在等著你。快樂(lè)永遠(yuǎn)是短暫的,而痛苦永遠(yuǎn)是長(zhǎng)久的。
    職業(yè)之于現(xiàn)代人,的悲劇就是work 和recreation 的分離。對(duì)很多人而言,文明變成了一種負(fù)擔(dān),比如手機(jī)變成了栓狗的繩子。我的一位朋友工作十幾年了,依然拒絕使用手機(jī)。
    文明異化的結(jié)果就是:職業(yè)失去了使命感和趣味,職業(yè)也異化了。我們變成了文明的奴隸,同樣也變成了職業(yè)的奴隸。