施特劳斯论德性教育与美国政制

Leo Strauss on Liberal Education and American Regime

施特劳斯在1962年发表的《自由教育与责任》一文,在美国的博雅教育中曾起到纲领性文献的作用,历史影响极为深远。以美国政制的立国原则为中心点,施特劳斯在这篇文章中展示了古典式的自由教育和现代式的公民教育与各自所属的政治制度的关系:古典式的自由教育靠贵族政制来支撑,反过来也支持贵族政制;现代式的公民教育靠民主政制来支撑,反过来也支持大众民主的统治。从教育问题入手,施特劳斯的论析激发了美国教育界乃至政界人士对美国的大众教育和精英教育的普遍关切,对于我们理解晚近20多年来的教育改革具有直接的启发意义。

Leo Strauss’ s＂ Liberal Education and Responsibility＂, which was published in 1962 and has served as a programmatic document, has profound and far-reaching historic influence on American liberal education. Centered on the founding principles of American regime,Leo Strauss in this essay has shown the relationship of classical liberal education and modern civic education with their political systems respectively： classical liberal education is sustained by aristocracy which sustains aristocracy in turn; modern civic education, which is supported by democracy, supports the rule of mass democracy conversely. Starting from the problem of education,Leo Strauss’ s discussion has aroused the general concern of the mass education and elite education in American educational circles and among politicians. A look into Leo Strauss’ s analysis may help us draw direct inspiration for understanding our educational reforms in the past decades.