公孙龙《指物论》篇悬解

An Explanation on the Unsettled Points of Gongsun Long's Work'On Referring'

对《指物论》篇的解读,可划分为传统和西学两种诠释理路。而吊诡的是,本来截然相对的这两种诠释理路却共有一个相同的思想预设,即皆以"事物"诂"物"。这个预设实际上是有问题的。在先秦语境和《公孙龙子》文本中,"物"字实有两个意义:一是"可感知的具体事物",二是"可感知的具体事物之名称"。"指"字的意义是"指谓",但亦有广狭之别。故《指物论》篇所论的指物关系,具体分为两大类:一是具体可感的事物与其指谓之间的关系,二是此类事物的名称和其指谓之间的区分、统合关系。公孙龙的这一思想,已超越了白马论、坚白论诸论所达到的思辨高度,体现出综合和辩证的新特点。公孙龙从语言、事物和主体这三个向度来论析指物关系问题,这对现代语言哲学的相关探讨有重大的启发意义。

There are two paradigms,China's traditional one and Western one,in the theoretical interpretation of referring.They both hold that the term 物(something)means objects.In fact,it is indistinct.In the context of Gongsun Long,the term 物(something)has two meanings in his work'On Referring': the perceived concrete objects and the names of these objects.The meaning of the term 指(referred)is reference which has both generalized and narrow meanings.There are two types of relationship between 指 and 物: one is the relation between the perceived concrete objects and reference,and the other is that between the names of these objects and their references.The text of'On Referring'has important significance in studying both Gongsun Long's thought and the contemporary philosophy of language.