古典公民教育透析——一个目的论的视角

On Classical Civic Education——A Perspective of Teleology

目的论是古典政治哲人解释人事的基本原理,也是古典公民教育得以存在的理论基础。在古典目的论看来,人有其内在的目的;人不是抽象的存在,而是属于城邦的公民;公民内在目的的实现依赖于公民教育。在古典目的论的谱系中,苏格拉底是奠基者,他最早提出了目的论,将公民视为向善的存在,并由此规定了公民教育的目的就是培育公民德性,使公民过上幸福的生活。柏拉图是古典目的论的发展者,他明确提出了"善的理念",并认为它是理想公民的真正之爱,理想的公民教育在于引导公民转离幽暗洞穴,朝向善的理念。亚里士多德是古典目的论的最好阐释者,公民所爱欲的善不再是形而上的,而是实践的,公民教育的使命就是通过培育良好的习惯,促进公民善的实践的实现。

Teleology served as the foundation of anthropological interpretation by ancient political philosophers, which constituted the theoretical basis of civil education in ancient times. In the view of teleology, human beings were internally orientated, they were citizens belonging to polis rather than abstract beings, and civil education was for the accomplishment of the internal orientation. In the pedigree of ancient teleology, Socrates, as the founder of teleology, regarded citizens as beings orientating towards goodness and thus defined the aim of civil education as the cultivation of civil virtue, leading citizens to the life of happiness. Plato, as the developer of teleology, explicitly proposed the ＂idea of goodness＂, in which he believed was the true love of ideal citizens. Accordingly, the ideal civil education rested with the guidance of the citizens from the cave to the idea of goodness. Aristotle, as the best interpreter of teleology, contended that the goodness citizens pursued was praxis rather than metaphysics, and the mission of civil education was to promote the practice of civil goodness by cultivating good habits.