韋伯與奧斯華德：一個能量社會學的想像

Abstract

這篇文章針對1909年社會學家韋伯（Max Weber）和化學家奧斯華德（Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald）關於文化能量學的爭議，進行一種繞射的閱讀（diffractive reading），從中生產出切合當代人類世困局的觀點。首先，我彰顯當代社會複雜的能量地景，尤其是石化資本主義的高耗能模式。其次，我探討韋伯對奧斯華德的批判，聚焦在藝術和技術的利益群集，以及韋伯多元主義和奧斯華德統合理論之間的張力。接著，我討論晚近學界對奧斯華德能量論的重探，強調涉及技術科學的分子轉向，其促成有機體地景的多樣化。最後，我重新思考能量超有機體的概念，一種雜揉的綜合體，及其可能的方向。  This paper presents a diffractive reading of the controversy on cultural energeticism involving sociologist Max Weber and chemistry Nobel laureate Wilhelm Ostwald in 1909 to provide a relevant perspective for the Anthropocene conjunction. First, I highlight the complex energetic landscape of contemporary society, especially the high-energy-consuming model of fossil capitalism. Second, I discuss Weber’s critique of Ostwald, focusing on the clustered interests of art and technology, as well as the tension between Weber’s pluralism and Ostwald’s aspiration for a unifying theory of everything. Third, I discuss some recent revaluations of Ostwald’s energeticism, emphasizing the technoscientific molecular turn that has diversified the organismic landscape. Finally, I reassess the conception of an energetic superorganism—a hybrid synthesis— and its potential future direction.