逃避主义

by Yi-Fu Tuan, 段义孚, 周尚意 (Translator)

所有的生灵中，只有人类在残酷的现实面前选择了退却。

这是一本将地理学与自然、人文、心理、历史、社会结合的书。从上述诸方向阐述人类逃避的行为与心理本质，并推演出这种逃避心理，能推动人类物质文化和精神文化的创造与进步，所以逃避过程，也是文化创造的过程。

人文主义地理学是一门很新的学门，兴起于二十世纪七○年代后期，当时的学术背景是，欧美学术界正如火如荼地开展人文主义与科学主义的讨论。而人文主义地理学的指标性学术作品便是段义孚发表在《美国地理联合会会刊》一九七六年六月号上的文章《人文主义地理学》，这篇文章被后续的地理学读本广泛引用，也正是这篇代表性的文章使得段义孚被学术界公认为是人文主义地理学大师。

人类逃避的对象之一是自然。严酷的自然环境、突发的自然灾害都会让人们产生逃避的念头。人类逃避的对象之二是文化。逃避喧闹的城市生活，逃避猛于虎的苛政，逃避严厉的宗教禁锢，这些统统都属于逃避文化。人类逃避的对象之三是混沌。混沌的、不清晰的状态令人感到困惑与费解，人们总是试图寻找清晰与明朗。人们宁愿采纳抽象的模型，也不愿接受毫无头绪的“现实”，因为清晰与明朗会给人以“真实存在”的感觉。 人类逃避的对象之四是人类自身的动物性与兽性。人类对自身某些粗鲁的特征感到羞耻和厌恶，于是，做出种种努力，想要逃离这些本性。整容、遮羞等皆属于此类逃避。

人类逃往的目的地也发生着不断的变化。逃避暴风雨，逃回温暖的房屋中，逃避高楼林立的都市区，逃往美好的郊区植物园逃避现实的苦恼，逃往虚幻的童话世界。

“逃避”是一个看似贬义的词汇。然而正是由于人类内心与生具来的逃避心理，推动了人类物质文化和精神文化的创造与进步。在逃避的过程中，人类需要借助各种文化手段（组织、语言、工具等），所以说“逃避”的过程，也是文化创造的过程。

段义孚在本书中的研究范围横跨了地理、景观、文学、历史以及宗教信仰等诸多领域。其文字时常超过文学的极限，他的诠释将人们对现实环境的感受与似乎不太相关于地理学的哲学、心理学、都市计划与景观设计学及人类学方面的见解联系在一起。 本书不单为广大的地理学家所关注，还为建筑学、社会学、心理学等学科的学者所关注。

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Geography, Psychology, Cultural Studies, Essays, Cultural

327 pages, Paperback

First published October 7, 1998

About the author

Fu Tuan (Traditional Chinese: 段義孚, born 5 December 1930) is a Chinese-U.S. geographer.
Tuan was born in 1930 in Tientsin, China. He was the son of a rich oligarch and was part of the top class in the Republic of China. Tuan attended University College, London, but graduated from the University of Oxford with a B.A. and M.A. in 1951 and 1955 respectively. From there he went to California to continue his geographic education. He received his Ph.D. in 1957 from the University of California, Berkeley.

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books you're likely to read if you want to understand the nature of human behaviour, and why some of us felt the need and necessity to invent distractions to occupy us throughout our daily lives. On top of that, Tuan writes not only in very specific terms, but has a lovely ability to stream sentences which lends itself the ability to seem more like poetry than non-fiction.

[Chelsia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book during my final year at NUS... Somehow the title provoke me... I am someone who doesnt really like to inform people of my whereabouts and loves to run away whenever I could. Tuan looks at the notion of escapes from everyday notions of life to soul migration from physical being to something really immaterial.. not everyone's cup of tea though.. chapter 3&4 are my favs! sometimes it is just a thin line between reality and fantasy....

[kennedie · Rating 3 out of 5]

very interesting and eye-opening perspectives relating to human nature, though i didn’t enjoy how many chapters were written with a pessimistic tone. i think human beings are much kinder and more selfless than they are given credit for in many parts (maybe i am too much of an optimist) and i felt some points and the language used were outdated- of course, this was expected. tuan offered insight into religion, nature, and language that i’ve never considered before. overall loved the way it was written poetically despite how academic and philosophical the topics.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very dense and philosophical, but with very interesting statements about human nature. I'm sure I'll have to reread this at least once to understand all the points that Tuan makes.

[Boaz Frissen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Echt een heel raar boek

[Zanne D'Aglio · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dove into this book with gusto which then petered off somewhere in the middle; certain examples just didn't interest me. I picked it up again a few weeks later and voilà even those sections (about heaven for example) aroused reflections.

[Mampfwurm · Rating 5 out of 5]

So sollte man philosophische Werke verfassen!

[麗瑩 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Mr. Tuan’s writing. He is adorable.

[maha]

ما زلت في بداية الكتاب

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يفتتح المؤلف الكتاب بسرده لقصة دعوة لكتابة ورقة بحث عن لاندسكيب ديزني

ولكون تخصصه في الجغرافيا بدلا من اللاندسكيب، خصوصا لاندسكيب الملاهي، كاد أن يرفض
فلدى الاكاديميين ميل نحو القاء الملاهي الترفيهية كملهاة لذوي العقول البسيطة

لكنه استجاب للدعوة واستغرب من استمتاعه بهذا المهرب
ومن هنا ولدت فكرة الكتاب، لماذا يهرب الانسان..
وما هي وسائل هروبه؟

فكرة الهرب من شيء ما ليست جديدة علي.. ولكن ربما هي متغلغلة في لا وعينا
اجتذبتني عبارته ان الانسان هو الحيوان الذي يقفل عيناه ليهرب، ويحلم، ويتأمل.. ريثما الحيوانات لا تحلم وتشرد بذهنها بعيدا، لأن بقائها ونجاتها معتمدة على وجودها في اللحظة وفي العالم الحقيقي..
بينما الانسان هو الحيوان الوحيد الذي لا يرى الاشياء على ما هي عليه
P. 6
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تطرق بشكل سريع الى قابلية أغلبية الناس، في حال انكارهم للحياة الاخرى، بالايمان بجهنم أكثر من ايمانهم بجنة، لأنهم رأوا الكثير من الجحيم وربما لحظات من النعيم في دنياهم

يقول بأن الكثير في الثقافة الأكاديمية السائدة يميل للنظرة التشاؤمية، كيف لا ونحن نرى الاشياء كما هي عليه؟ هذا الكتاب، على العكس، ينظر الى العالم بنظرة ايجابية، لكن ما قرأته الى الن، يحلل بنظرة موضوعية البشر وثقافتهم.. اتسائل حاليا ان كان المؤلف سيفي بوعده عندما أقفل الكتاب وقد تكونت لدي فكرة ايجابية..

p. XVI
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تطرق الى تكوين المجتماعات البشرية للثقافات كمهرب ايضا

فمع أن البشر بنوا المباني واستخدموا الأدوات المعقدة للتغلب على قوى الطبيعة، فإن الكبيعة ظلت متربصة بهم، هي الأم والوحش في آن.. الأم التي تغذي البشر، والوحش الذي قد يثور عليهم قيبقلب ظواهر الطبيعة من فيضان وزلزال عليهم

ولكن ما بناه البشر من عمران ليس دوما تفوق على الطبيعة، وأعطى مثال مباني الصينيين الأثرية وثقافة الأزتك بنت المعابد ليس للتكبر على الطبيعة، ولكن لمراضاتها، فالمعابد الضخمةى بنيت لتقديم الأضاحي لهذه الطبيعة الأم..
فقدني قليلا في ارتباط هذه النقطةو بالهروب، هل هو هروب من الغضب، مثال (ففروا الى الله) أو اننا لن نفر من ذاك الذي هو أكبر منا الا بالهروب اليه؟ ربما.. وربما اسقط فهمي على ما يقوله المؤلف توان..


***
الطبيعة الحيوانية

كلما تحضر الانسان، كلما ابتعد عن طبيعته. p. XIV

نحن أيضا نهرب مما يذكلانا بأصلنا الحيواني، نهرب من رائحتنا البشرية، وننظر لى الاخرين اذا ما فاحت روائحهم بنظرة دونية، لأنهم اقرب الي الحيوانات

اننا نهرب بذلك ونوهم انفسنا بأننا افضل من سائر المخلوقات
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يتبع
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[Bill Gholson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just "discovered" Yi-Fu Tuan, although he has been around for a long time. I just finished this book and have begun another, Who Am I. Also, I have purchased Topophilia, but haven't started it yet. Yi-Fu Tuan is a geographer who is interested in human relationships and geography. Escapism is a book which explores the role of escape in the evolution of cultures. Tuan writes clearly and elegantly. I am not sure I can adequately summarize what his book means to me, but I can say that it is a book that is beginning to change my thinking about so much. For Tuan, escape is a fundamental aspect of being human. Some escape is bad, especially if it becomes obsession. Other forms of escape are necessary and take us to places we need or want to be.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

This text explore the psychological/philosophical factors associated with tourism, nature, and consumption, organized around the theme of escape. The parts about people attempting to escape from the animality of their own bodies was most interesting to me. The author spends significant time discussing food, the act of eating, and the steps we've taken to distance this necessary action from its animal connections.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

My other 5 star book...I can't even begin to explain what this book really is about...it is fascinating and one of the very few books I've ever re-read parts of...a philosophical look at many cultural issues..it starts with a meditation on the human desire to escape the humdrum and goes on to astute analyses of morality, ideas of heaven and earth, Christianity...not one bit dry...very global thinker.

[Erin Mccarty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been (slowly) reading this book for a couple months now. The depth to which it explains modern human behavior is impressive. It outlines how we try and escape our animal selves in such ways as using utensils to separate ourselves from the gruesome act of eating. (Still haven't gotten to the other "selves" yet...will update ;)

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea this is what "Geographers" wrote about. Maybe it isn't. Tuan looks at what it means to be human, with all its weirdness, contradictions, and possibility. What is imagination? Culture? Sex? Violence? Art? Escape? It's the smartest, plainest, most earnest book I've read in years.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting viewpoint - how humankind's essential nature is to escape whatever situation we are in: brutal nature to civilized society, civilization's "back to nature" movement, etc. While I agree with the premise, I thought the author ultimately got carried away with, and over-extended, his subject matter, research and observations. I am frankly surprised by all the raving reviews.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells you a lot about how we humans layer our reality with distractions, as to soften the blow of our corporal existence. Even if you disagree with some of Tuan's points - it gets you thinking.

[Jerad · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for someone looking for symmetry between disciplines in the humanities. It basically sums up human nature in a new light, and light that hopes the reader will be more thoughtful towards the real and unreal.

[Elise Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Tuan's prose is elegant yet daring, and he dives into human taboos - ranging from eating to more violent actions - with wonderfully confrontational descriptions that made me uncomfortable then in turn question my discomfort. He argues that culture IS escape, and I am convinced.

[Amir · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about a lot of things, and nothing in particular. The author --a Chinese-American-- is the definition of erudite. A mine of ideas and insights. Impressive!

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

culture as escape from facing the world "as it is"

[Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is pretty damned amazing. I left it feeling anxious and pessimistic and yet at the same time oddly comforted.

[Maryrose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting...philosophy and literature...some pyschology