论书写与“药”:德里达对《斐德罗》的解读

On Writing and Pharmakon:Derrida’s Reading Phaedrus

在“柏拉图的药”中,德里达对柏拉图的《斐德罗》进行了创造性解读。根据塞乌斯神话,书写是“药”(pharmakon),它作为“助忆”会导致遗忘。在古希腊语境中,药既意味着良药,也意味着毒药。书写是良药,因为它能够弥补记忆力的不足,是文化传承的重要载体。书写是毒药,因为它可能毒害记忆、背离真理。为消除书写的毒性,柏拉图诉诸辩证法以维护言谈的本源性;而德里达与斯蒂格勒则提倡“药理学”。但问题不在于消除药的毒性,而在于学会与药共存。

Jacques Derrida made a creative reading of Phaedrus in “Plato’s Pharmacy”.According to the myth of Theuth,writing is pharmakon.In ancient Greek pharmakon means both remedy and poison.Writing is remedy because it could help us recollect and play a key role in transmission of culture.But writing also functions as poison because it harms memory and causes forgetfulness.Plato proposes dialectic as a way of getting rid of poisonousness of writing.In contrast,Jacques Derrida and Bernard Stiegler insist the pharmacological thinking,which focuses on the question of how to co-exist with pharmakon.