柏拉图《理想国》中城邦和灵魂的类比

The Analogy of City and Soul in Plato's Republic

城邦和灵魂的类比关系的论证构成了柏拉图的《理想国》一书中正义论证的一块基石,从某种意义上说,柏拉图的正义论证的成立与否完全取决于其关于城邦和灵魂的类比关系能否成立。伯纳德.威廉姆斯发表于1973年的这篇文章即是针对这一类比关系所展开的深入的逻辑分析。在这篇文章中,威廉姆斯指出,正是在城邦和灵魂的类比上,柏拉图的论证存在着基本的逻辑混乱,他交替而不加区别地使用了两种性质截然不同的类比原则,即基于内涵的一致性的类比原则,以及基于整体和部分的一致性的类比原则,结果造成了他在关于城邦的正义和个人的正义的论证上的种种自相矛盾。威廉姆斯细致地分析了柏拉图由于混用这两种不同的类比原则所带来的种种理论上的困难,从而将人们通常在阅读《理想国》时所感到的各类疑难以分析哲学的方式给予了清晰的表达。显然,威廉姆斯的这篇文章不仅有助于我们深入认识柏拉图的《理想国》中的论证,而且也有助于我们了解分析哲学作为一种哲学史研究方法的价值。

The discussion of the analogy of city and soul in Plato's Republic constitutes the basis of his philosophy of justice.In a certain sense,Bernard Williams' The Analogy of City and Soul in Plato's Republic published in 1973 gives an incisive analysis of this analogical relation.Williams points out that Plato's argument is basically illogical because Plato indistinctively uses two analogical principles different in nature,that is,the analogical principle based on the same implications and the analogical principle based on the whole sameness and partial sameness,which leads to various contradictions in his argument of the city-state justice and the individual justice.Williams' incisive analysis from the perspective of analytic philosophy helps clarify the theoretical difficulties in Plato's Republic and reveal the value of analytic philosophy as a tool in the historical study of philosophy.