論柏拉圖對教育的兩個看法

Plato's two Viewpoints on Education

本文所謂「論柏拉圖對教育的兩個看法」，這兩個看法分別意指：一、「學習非它，就是再記憶」(ημαθησιζ ουκ αλλο τι η αναμνησιζ)。二、「教育是靈魂的轉向」(η παιδεια ουκ αλλο τι η περιαγογη τηζ ψυχηζ)第一個看法源自於柏拉圖《費都篇》(Phaidon)和《美諾篇》(Menon)這兩個對話錄，第二個看法源自於柏拉圖《國家篇》(PoUteia/The Republic)。在《費都篇》裏，蘇格拉底拿「學習就是再記憶」的理論作為一個預設條件，用它來証明靈魂不朽。也就是說，如果學習就是再記憶的話，那麼，靈魂通過學習可以回憶並且掌握永恆的知識對象，例如：善自身、美自身……等等，由於靈魂藉由學習可以擁有永恆的知識對象，因而靈魂就永恆不滅，因為對於永恆者的擁有可以保証擁有者的永恆。在《美諾篇》中，蘇格拉底討論了品德是否可以通過學習而獲得，如果品德是知識，那麼，品德可以學習；相反地，如果品德不是知識，那麼，品德不可以學習。從這樣的問題的反省出發，蘇格拉底也同樣地提出了「學習就是再記憶」的理論。在《國家篇》裏，蘇格拉底為了保障合於正義的城邦可以擁有最大的幸福，他先分析哲學家在本性上所擁有的若干特徵，作為選才的判準，然後分析人的本性和知識的等級，藉著這樣的分析，他提出「心靈轉向」的學說做為教育領導者的重點，然後有系統地將各種不同的知識安排成具有先後次序的教育內容，藉著這種教育安排，希望使具有哲學本性的衛士成為真正的哲學家，最後得以完成哲學家和統治者合一的政治理想。

Plato's two Viewpoints on Education' as the title of this paper are namely theses: 1. the learning is nothing but recollection (αναμνησιζ), 2. the education is not other thing than the soul's turn-round (περιαγογη τηζ ψυχηζ) to the world of being. The first viewpoint is asserted in Plato's Phaedo and Meno and the second is affirmed in his most impressive masterpiece, the Republic. In Phaedo, Socrates takes the theory of 'αναμνησιζ' as an essential assumption which is used to prove the immortality of soul. In other words, if learning is really the process of recollecting ideas in the soul, then by the way of the recollecting the soul can recover the knowledge of the ideas like the Good itself, the Beauty itself……etc., which were already pre-existent in the soul and lost by the unity of the soul and the body. Consequently, the soul must be immortal because of that the soul is by this assumption such a being that owns something immortal and the owner of something immortal can not be mortal-- if not so, it would exist something absurd and contradictory in this argumentation. In Meno, Socrates was asked a question by Meno: whether or not can the virtue (αρετη) be taught and learned? He answered it by a methodological hypothesis: if virtue is knowledge, then it can be taught. Conversely, virtue can not be didactic, if it is not knowable. Consequently, Socrates asserted the theory of 'αναμνησιζ'. In Republic, Socrates granted Glauco's and Adeimantus' request and founded an ideal city-state (πολιζ) in order to find the idea of justice (δικαιοσυνη). After his analysis of the original condition of human nature, he focused his discussion upon the education of philosopher who would be the governor of this ideal polis. 'The education of philosopher' means 'the soul's turn-round (περιαγογη) to the pure science and the dialectic'.