苏格拉底方法的征候阅读

A Symptomatic Reading to Socratic Method

苏格拉底的对话方法以"产婆术"而著称。但是如果我们通过征侯式地细读文本,就会发现苏格拉底方法在诸多方面根本不同于其母所从事的"产婆术",并且他的这种"产婆术"在某种意义上也并不助产。这源于苏格拉底方法所受到的智者的影响。这种影响也导致了他的对话不仅具有很强的怀疑精神,而且在某种程度上还有着智者所擅长的那种诡辩色彩。苏格拉底所探讨的主要是德性问题,即寻求美德与相关品质的普遍定义,但是他并没有成功地从经验中得出适合于所有个体的任何定义,而后代的哲学家们也都试图以各种方式摆脱苏格拉底方法的内在困难。

Socratic Elenchus is famous as an art of midwifery. Nevertheless, if we read the texts symptomatically, we will find that this method has many contents which are different from his mother＇ s art of midwifery, and doesn＇ t help the interlocutors deliver thought. This stems from that Socrates was deeply influenced by the sophists. So, his dialogues have strong skeptical sprite and in some degree sophistical mode which the sophists were adept at. Socrates discussed mainly about moral problems, and quested the universal definitions of the virtue and characters related. But Socrates hadn＇ t triumphantly arrived at the absolute definitions that fit for all of the individuals from experience. So, the subsequent philosophers all tried to extricate their theories from the inner problem of Socratic method.