從鄉土自然誌的書寫到生命網絡觀念的形成---以十八世紀英國自然學者Gilbert White的生態觀為中心

Abstract

Gilbert White（1720~1793）是英國十八世紀的自然學者，他的《Selborne 的自然史》（The Natural History of Selborne）於1789 年出版，是英文著作中的長 青樹，至今未曾絕版；而他的鄉土自然誌的書寫和生態觀，對生物學的發展卓有 貢獻，尤其是在生態學與動物的行為上，因此使他被認為是「生態學時代」的開 創者，並且在十九世紀以降的環境思想發展上，扮演著重要的角色。他的科學思 想超越他生活的時代，在人格特質上更是一個很特殊的現代與古代的混合。 本計畫以Gilbert White 為中心，將從三個研究方向出發，分別探討：（一） White 的生態觀；（二）White 和友人的自然觀察，及其和十八世紀的時代文化之關 係；（三）從White 的生命經驗，探索啟蒙運動的自然學者如何處理上帝與自然之 間的課題。這三個研究的角度和步驟，具有進階的關係，各個主題將分在三年的 三個子題之上：  第一年：Gilbert White 的自然史書寫與生態觀：對The Natural History of Selborne （1789）的分析研究。  第二年：十八世紀英國的「自然觀察」與時代的自然觀：以Gilbert White 的自 然誌與自然史書寫為主（The Natural History of Selborne, Calendar of Flora and the Garden 和The Naturalist』s Journal）。  第三年：啟蒙運動時代的「上帝」與「自然」：以Gilbert White 的生命經驗為 例

Gilbert White (1720~1793) is a naturalist in the eighteenth-century England. White, known as Gil, is a theologian. His famous bioregional writing on the ecology of Selborne, The Natural History of Seblorne, was published in 1789 and has been reprinted for more than two hundred years since then. His natural observation and Journals concludes his ecological concept as holism, which is the idea of the web of life. Gil has great influence on the development of environmental ideas in the nineteenth-century Western culture. His scientific ideas were well ahead of his time and contributed to modern biology, especially to ecology and animal behavior, ethology with concepts of niches, territory and breeding habits. He is recognized as one of the founders of the Age of Ecology, and in character he is a peculiar mix of modern and old-fashion. The research will focus on Gilbert White and be processed in three sequential years. It will tackle three themes, including (1) White』s ecological concept; (2) White and his friends』 natural observation and the relationship with the historical and cultural trends in the eighteenth century (3) the investigation on how the naturalists discoursed the issue of God and Nature in the Era of the Enlightenment through White』s life experience. The subtitles for the project will be, 1. Gilbert White』s Natural History and Ecological Concept: Focus on The Natural History of Seblorne. 2. The Natural Observation and Naturalism in the Eighteenth-Century England: Analysis on Gilbert White』s Writings of Bioregional Journals and Natural History (The Natural History of Seblorne, Calendar of Flora and the Garden, and the Naturalist』s Journal). 3. God and Nature in the Era of Enlightenment: Case Study on Gilbert White』s Life Experience.