Loneliness: A Psychological Turning Point in the Reconstruction of the Urban Order in China

Abstract

孤独是主体与对象（自然、社会、信仰）相疏离的深度心理体验，个体的孤独源 于主体需要与实现可能性、主体超越意识与超越有限性之间的悲剧冲突。孤独的作用 是多层面、多向度和辩证的，对城市秩序而言，孤独是建构性与消解性的统一。在现 代性的作用下，孤独率先在西方成为现代社会特别是现代城市社会的普遍心理现象， 在当今快速现代化的中国，城市社会的孤独不仅具有城市世界的普遍共性，其传统文 化中家宗教、家信仰的抽离必然使中国的城市孤独具有鲜明的本土化特征。因此，从 中国实际出发，探索构建心理秩序、城市秩序的具体路径十分必要。 关键词: 孤独 现代性 城市社会 心理秩序 家宗教 Loneliness can be best described as a kind of first‐hand, painful experience etched in the inner world of an individual's psyche. It arises from some degree of estrangement between the subject and the object (nature, society and beliefs). The root causes of individual loneliness lie in the unfortunate tension between the needs of the subject and the possibility of realizing these needs, the consciousness of transcendence on the part of the subject and the limited extent of this transcendence. The impacts of loneliness are multi‐layered, multi‐dimensional and dialectical. Relative to urban order, loneliness can be regarded as a unity of construction and dissolution. As a result of modernity, loneliness is, first in the West, becoming a universal psychological phenomenon in modern societies, particularly the modern urban societies. Since China is now undergoing rapid modernization, loneliness in China's urban society parallels that in urban societies around the world. The weakening of the family worship and beliefs traditionally found in Chinese society gives loneliness in urban China a localized coloration. It is thus very necessary to proceed from China's realities to explore practical measures to construct a sound psychological and urban order in contemporary China.