从知识论转向实践论:民主实践中代表问题研究范式的转型

From Epistemology-oriented to Practice-oriented:Transition of Research Paradigms of Representation Issue in Democracy

当下对代表及其相关问题的研究主要从两个方面展开:一是分析哲学进路,主要关注的是代表的定义,侧重以"代表"来解释"代表";一是史学进路,主要关注的是代表实践的历史传统,侧重展现代表实践的历史多样性。综合来看,这些研究普遍以知识论为取向、以求知为目的。然而,为了有效反映时代的民主精神、积极回应时代的民主要求,更有必要从民主实践论的角度、以求治为目的来对代表问题进行研究。这首先意味着应该从"选择"而不是"选举"的视角来理解民主实践中的代表。此外,还意味着:一方面,与"代表的定义是什么""代表实践有哪些历史传统"等知识论问题相比,有效解决民主实践中"代表身份的失真"以及"代表实践的质量"等实践论问题更为迫切和重要;另一方面,合理的代表实践不是基于代表的定义以及传统的代表实践经验,而是基于代表与民主实践的长期互动。在这些互动中,代表实践的有效性不仅能促进代表实践的合理性,而且能使代表实践与民主实践得以协调和统一。

The current research on representation and related issues is mainly carried out in two aspects： One is the analytic philosophy approach, which focuses on the definition of representation, explaining ＂representation＂ with ＂ representatives＂. The other is the historical tradition, whose main concern is the historical tradition of representation practice, focusing on the historical diversity of representation practice. On the whole, these studies are generally epistemology-oriented with the purpose of knowledge quest. However, in order to effectively reflect the democratic spirit and respond positively to the democratic demands of the times, it is even more necessary to study the representation issues from the perspective of democracy theory with the purpose of seeking governance. This first means that representation in democracy should be understood from the perspective of ＂selection＂ rather than ＂election＂. In addition, it also means, on one hand, compared with the epistemological issues such as ＂what is the definition of representation＂ and ＂what are the historical traditions of representation practice＂, effectively solving the problems of ＂distortion of representative identity＂ and ＂the quality of representation practice＂ in democracy are more urgent and important, on the other hand, reasonable representation practice is not based on the definition of representation and traditional representation practice experience, but on the long-term interaction between representation and democracy, in which the effective representation practice can not only promote the rationality of representation practice, but also enable the coordination and unity of representation practice and democracy.