哲人因何赴死——以斯东的《苏格拉底的审判》为视角

What the Philosopher Dies for? With Stone's The Trial of Socrates as a Perspective

苏格拉底的审判与处死事件,在西方思想史上有着重大而深远的意义,其中苏格拉底与雅典民主制之间的张力与矛盾亦是诸多自由派知识分子最想尝试解决的问题。作为代表人物之一的斯东,在其《苏格拉底的审判》中就试图解决这样一个棘手的问题:一个以言论自由著称的城邦雅典为何要对一位除了言论自由之外,没有犯任何错误的哲学家苏格拉底提出起诉并判死?他将思想层面的原因归结为苏格拉底与雅典城邦民之间的三个根本分歧:首先,城邦共同体应采取自治式抑或牧人式统治?其次,政治技艺可教抑或不可教?最后,应该隐退抑或积极参与城邦政治生活?而现实原因则在于雅典历史上发生的三次动乱所带来的巨大冲击和苏格拉底在法庭上有意为之的申辩态度。斯东确实为我们理解苏格拉底的审判事件提供了一种独特的视角和许多极具说服力的依据,可以为后继研究者提供某种借鉴和启发。

Socrates＇ trial and his sentence of death is of great and deep significance in the history of Western thought, in which the tension and contradiction between Socrates and the Athens democracy is the problem that many intellectuals of liberals strive to solve. Stone is a typical representative, who discusses such a tough prob- lem in his The Trial of Socrates. Why did Athens, a polls famous for its freedom of speech accuse Socrates, a philosopher without any crime except his free speech？ Stone attributes the causes to three fundamental discrepan- cies in thought between Socrates and citizens in the polls of Athens, namely whether the community of polls should rule by autonomy or the shepherd style, whether the political skills can be trained or not, as well as whether people should retire from or actively participate in the political life of the potis. The causes in reality, for Stone, lie in the huge impact resulting from the three upheavals in the history of Athens as well as Socrates＇ attitudes towards defending himself in court. Stone really provides one unique perspective and plenty of convinc- ing evidence for the understanding of the trial of Socrates, which can be used for reference and inspiration for the further study.