與辛格教授合著新書The Buddhist and the Ethicist甚受好評
臉書留言錄(之一○九五)
112.10.5
剛才收到彼得‧辛格(Peter Singer)教授的來函,美國的《出版商周刊》,出現了一篇針對他與我共同撰寫的新書The Buddhist and the Ethicist之書評(https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781645472179)。
這本書的中文版名為《心靈的交會──山間對話》,但英文版則接受出版社主編的建議,改名‟The Buddhist and the Ethicist: Conversations on Effective Altruism, Engaged Buddhism, and How to Build a Better World”(佛教徒與倫理學家:關於有效利他主義、入世佛教以及如何打造更美好世界的對話)。英文本將於12月初正式發行,但新書相關資訊早在7月就已發布給了圖書行業的數千名人士。
該則書評對我較為肯定(Chao-Hwei’s perspective is more prominent throughout, and provides valuable context on Buddhism’s application to contemporary ethical debates.)對辛格教授未見公允,然而辛格教授反而非常有風度地說:As you will see, most of the review is positive, with some minor less positive remarks, but on the whole, I am very pleased with it. (正如您之所見,大多數評論都是正向的,也有一些不太正向的評論,但總的來說,我對此非常滿意。)
我收信後立即回函並告訴辛格教授:
This reviewer does not do justice to your intellectual contribution to this book. I was very inspired by my conversations with you, especially when certain dilemmas are placed in the context of the public sphere. (這段書評對您的思想貢獻未見公允之論。事實上,在與您的對話過程中,我反倒受到很大的啟發,尤其是將某些兩難議題放到公共領域的背景時。)