论老庄道家的语言哲学思想

On Laozi and Zuangzi's Taoist Philosophy of Language

先秦道家哲学的根本精神在于揭露人类文明的局限性,其语言哲学思想主要是从语言与政治效果的关系方面论证语言的局限性。老子提示了语言把握存在的局限性,但他没有完全否定言,而是提出了"善言"的思想,并据此得出"行不言之教"的救治社会的策略。庄子从言意观、名实观等方面发展了老子的语言哲学思想,并以"三言"说化解老子哲学中言与道的紧张关系。庄子及其后学对于语言意义的认识,完全转向了言说主体上面,消解了语言达意的社会性及其评价的客观性。

Taoism, in essence, aims at revealing the limitations of human civilization. As to its philosophy of language, Taoist thinks that language only has limited political impact. Laozi suggests that language plays a limited role in the understanding of existence. Guided by his thoughts on ＂appropriate speech＂, ＂to experience without abstraction＂ is proposed as a way to cure the society. Zhuangzi developed Laozi＇s thoughts by explicating the relationship between words and meaning, between naming and objects. Zhuangzi＇s ＂three ways of speech＂ is to ease the tension between ＂speech＂ and the ＂way＂ in Laozi＇s philosophy. Viewpoints on the significance of language upheld by Zhuangzi and his disciples are marked by a drastic turn to the subjectivity of speech-makers. Social aspects of language function and objectivity of evaluation are eroded .