“是”与“存在”——对西方哲学中Be动词的再考察

A Restudy of “Be” as a Verb in Western Philosophy

本文是对西方哲学中的Be动词的一个重新考察。本文指出,对Be动词的理解不是一个简单的翻译问题,而在根本上是一个对于无论汉语思维还是西方思维来说都成立的哲学的问题。本文首先针对西方哲学史中作为这一根本哲学问题的提出者的巴门尼德的相关思想,结合它的重要的研究者基尔克、拉文、肖费尔德的研究,做了具体的文本分析,表明"是"和"存在"的用法对于巴门尼德是同时成立的。在此基础上,本文通过分析柏拉图和亚里士多德的相关论述指出,这个问题在根本上不是基于哲学家的个人理解和个人认识,而是基于我们的语言和实在、思维和对象的特殊关系,Be动词除了表达一种属于语言和思维的逻辑判断关系之外,还由此表达一种确定的对象存在的所指,从而,对于Be动词来说,"是"和"存在"都是它的题中应有之义,本文因此对主张单一地从系词"是"的角度来理解Be动词的哲学内涵的观点提出了批评。

This is a restudy of 'Be' as a verb in Western philosophy because its understanding is not simply a translation problem but also a philosophical problem to either Chinese thinking or Western thinking.The paper introduces the ideas of Parmenides,who is the first philosopher to bring up this basic philosophical problem,and then gives a textual analysis of the related studies by other philosophers like Kierkegaard and Schofield with the conclusion that Parmenides uses it both as 'to be' and 'existence'.The paper also discusses the relevant ideas of Plato and Aristotle and concludes that it is not based on a philosopher's understanding but relies on the special relations between language and reality as well as between thinking and object.''Be' as a verb in Western philosophy refers both to a logical relationship between language and thinking and a signification of the definite existence of an object.Thus,''Be' as a verb in Western philosophy has the meaning of both 'to be' and 'existence' and any interpretation of its philosophical implications from one angle is no good.