柏拉圖的死亡觀──《費多篇》的論證結構

Abstract

在柏拉圖的諸多對話錄中，當屬《費多篇》最為充斥死亡氣息。不論是對話錄結尾描繪主角蘇格拉底從飲鴆到徹底闔眼的詳細過程，亦或開篇對於死亡的探究，中間關於靈魂不朽的論辯及人死後靈魂來世旅程與相關遭遇的故事，全都不離死亡。這其中最特殊的是蘇格拉底面對自身即將死亡所抱持的態度：滿心期待、欣然迎接。但為何蘇格拉底得以如此的態度接受自己的死亡？這是本論文欲探究的議題。希望透過重組《費多篇》的論證結構，及架構各個論述彼此之間的聯繫，最終提出在一個夾心的結構底下，這個疑問可以得到適切回答的論述。 這篇論文主要由三部分構成：首先，在第二章分析了蘇格拉底以靈魂的徹底釋放不同於靈魂的移監，來對這個疑問做初步回應。此外結合死後有一個更廣大的世界，靈魂在其中各有不同的遭遇，進一步豐富、強化他的回應。然而此回應需要穩固的地基，即靈魂不會因為與身體一分離就煙消雲散，故靈魂的不朽需要獲得證成。靈魂不朽論證又分成兩個步驟去論述：第三章裡的論述先定位對話錄當中的循環論證與回憶論證，各賦予它們不可或缺的地位，這個地位也就是提供最終論證在進行推論時所需的材料；其次，在第四章中將相似性論證定位為引路人角色，引導最終論證出場，並以最終論證所持的核心觀點「生命拒絕死亡」為靈魂不朽的論辯畫上句點。四個論證的組合提供靈魂不朽的議題一個完整的論證，而這進一步也讓蘇格拉底何以選擇接受死亡的回答不會虛無縹緲。

Among Plato’s dialogues the Phaedo is mainly concerned with the idea of death. At the end of the dialogue the description of Socrates’s drinking hemlock to end his life, or the inquiry of the idea of death at the start of the dialogue, or the argument on the immortality of the soul, or the journey and experiences of the disembodied soul in the afterlife, all of those issues are related to death. Among them, the most peculiar one is the way how Socrates takes his own death: waiting for death in hope and welcoming it with pleasure. But what is the reason for Socrates to accept his own death with such a serene attitude? This is the issue which I attempt to explore in this thesis. By virtue of reconstructing the structure of argument in the Phaedo and establishing the interrelationship of each issue, hopefully the question could be satisfactorily answered. The thesis consists mainly of three parts: Firstly, in Chapter 2, the difference between the soul’s complete release from the body and its moving from one body to another will be considered in order to preliminarily respond to the question. In addition, this response will be strengthened by the discussion of the myth of the eschatological journey of the soul and the features of the world at the end of the dialogue. However this response needs a solid foundation, i.e. the disembodied soul will not perish. So the proof of the immortality of the soul is needed. Secondly, the argument in Chapter 3 will discuss two arguments about the immortality of the soul: the Cyclical Argument and the Recollection Argument. Not only will I put emphasis on the fact that they are all indispensable parts for understanding Socrates’s attitude towards death, but also show that their function is to provide the materials needed for bringing out the Final Argument. Finally, in Chapter 4 the Affinity Argument will be considered to pave the way for the entrance of the Final Argument. The argument of the immortality of the soul in this chapter will end with the core idea perspective “life doesn’t admit death”. The combination of the four arguments provides a complete proof for the immortality of the soul, which also makes Socrates’s response to his choice of accepting death more understandable.