城邦卫士与性情净化——亚里士多德《论诗术》中的肃剧定义试解

Polis Guards and Sentiment Purification:On the Definition of Tragedy in Aristotle's Poetics

对肃剧(悲剧)所下的定义,是亚里士多德《论诗术》中最具争议、难释读的段落。其实,识读亚里士多德诗学的最大障碍是现代西方学术自己设置的,现代西方学者把《论诗术》视为现代意义上的文艺理论,以为亚里士多德谈的是如今意义上的戏剧理论问题。论题从字义疏证入手识读肃剧定义,通过对观亚里士多德的《政治学》和《修辞术》尤其是柏拉图的《王制》,展示亚里士多德肃剧定义的政治哲学意涵:肃剧情感净化含义指向的是治邦者(政治家)的性情陶冶。

The definition of tragedy is the most controversial puzzle in Aristotle＇ s Poetics. In fact, the biggest obstacle to comprehending Aristotle＇ s poetics is established by the modem western academic circles. The modem western scholars regard Poetics as the literary theory in the contemporary sense, believing that Aristotle deals with the problem of modem drama theory. Starting from a linguistic analysis of its original meaning, the paper aims to restudy the definition of tragedy. By referring to Aristotle＇ s Politics and Rhetoric as well as Plato＇ s Republic in partieular, it displays the significance of political philosophy that lies behind Aristotle＇ s definition of tragedy. It coneludes that the sentiment purification in tragedy implies the cultivation of temperament among the statesmen.