理性与习俗:对柏拉图政治哲学的一种新视域阐释

Reason and Convention:An Interpretation of Plato's Political Philosophy from a New Perspective

《国家篇》《政治家篇》《法律篇》都是集中反映柏拉图政治哲学思想的代表性对话。柏拉图的哲学是理性的,而政治又与习俗相关,理性与习俗的关系直接影响着哲学与政治的关系。为调节哲学与政治的紧张关系,柏拉图必须对理性与习俗的关系做出相应的调整。对话中,柏拉图以习俗“承载”理性,在保护哲学的同时,努力将常识世界纳入理性的规则中。其政治哲学的建构路径便分为理性“体验”和对政治生活的“表达”。两条路径分别对应了对话中的哲学家被要求的双重生活,即哲学生活和政治生活。但自始至终,在柏拉图政治哲学中,人类最高的活动依然是理性的哲学思辨,而非建基于习俗之上的政治生活。

The Republic,The Politician and The Law are representative dialogues that focus on Plato's political philosophy.Plato's philosophy is rational,while politics is related to convention.So the relationship between reason and convention directly affects the relationship between philosophy and politics.In order to adjust the tension between philosophy and politics,Plato must adjust the relationship between reason and convention accordingly.In the dialogue,Plato“carried”reason with convention,and tried to bring the world of common sense into the rules of reason while protecting philosophy.The construction path of his political philosophy is divided into rational“experience”and“expression”of political life.The two paths correspond to the dual life required of the philosophers in the dialogue,namely,philosophical life and political life.But from beginning to end,in Plato's political philosophy,the highest human activity is still rational philosophical speculation,rather than political life based on convention.