Plato’s best (and worst) ideas - Wisecrack

翻译人员: Di SUN 校对人员: Chen Zou

Few individuals have influenced the world and many of today's thinkers like Plato.

影响了世界的人极少数 当今许多思想者都推崇柏拉图

一个20世纪的哲学家 甚至在现在

One 20th century philosopher even went so far

as to describe all of Western philosophy as a series of footnotes to Plato.

所有西方哲学都是柏拉图 思想的一系列脚注

他开创了第一个西方大学

He created the first Western university

and was teacher to Ancient Greece's greatest minds,

而且还是古希腊伟大思想家的老师

including Aristotle.

包括亚里士多德在内

但即使作为哲学的奠基人之一 他也并不是完美的

But even one of the founders of philosophy wasn't perfect.

Along with his great ideas,

伴随着他的一些伟大想法

Plato had a few that haven't exactly stood the test of time.

柏拉图也有一些想法 没能经得起时间的考验

So here are brief rundowns of a few of his best and worst ideas.

接下来就给大家简短地介绍一下 柏拉图思想的精髓和糟粕

Plato argued that beyond our imperfect world

柏拉图认为 在我们这个不完美的世界之外

was a perfect unchanging world of Forms.

是一个完美不变的世界的形式存在

这个形式是我们看到的周围 事物和概念的理想化的版本

Forms are the ideal versions of the things and concepts we see around us.

They serve as a sort of instruction manual to our own world.

它们就像我们的 世界指导手册

Floating around the world of Forms is the ideal tree,

围绕着世界的形式 飘浮的是理想树

and the ideal YouTube channel,

和理想化的YouTube频道

and even the ideal justice,

甚至理想化的公正

or ideal love.

或理想化的爱情

Our own reality is comprised of imperfect copies of ideal Forms.

我们的现实世界是由 不完美的理想化的形式的复制版组成的

Plato argued that philosophers should strive to contemplate

柏拉图认为哲学家 应该努力地思索

and understand these perfect Forms

并理解这些完美的形态

so that they may better navigate our misleading reality.

这样它们也许可以更好地 引导我们去认识困惑的现实

尽管这个想法看似愚蠢

While it may seem silly,

the disconnect between the world as it appears

呈现出来的 世界的断联

and the greater truth behind it

以及这后面更深刻的内涵

is one of philosophy's most vexing problems.

是困扰了哲学界许久的问题之一

It's been the subject of thousands of pages by theologians,

这是一个被理论家

philosophers,

哲学家

and screenwriters alike.

和编剧探讨了无数次的话题

It raises questions like should we trust our senses to come to the truth

这个问题引发了一连串的思考 比如，探索真理时，我们应该相信我们的感性认知

or our own reason?

还是我们的理性？

For Plato, the answer is reason.

对于柏拉图来说，答案是理性

It alone provides us with at least the potential to contemplate the Forms.

它至少给我们提供了 探索这些形式的可能

But reason didn't always pan out for Plato himself.

但柏拉图也有不理性的时候

When he sought to situate humankind amongst the animals,

当他在思考人类 在动物世界的位置时

he lumped us in with birds.

他把人类和鸟类混为一谈

"Featherless bipeds" was his official designation.

认为人类是 “没有羽毛的两足动物”

Diogenes the Cynic, annoyed by this definition,

犬儒派的第欧根尼 对这个定义十分不满

stormed into Plato's class with a plucked chicken,

带着一只拔了毛的鸡 冲进柏拉图的教室

announcing, "Behold. Plato's man."

大声说，“看啊，这是柏拉图眼中的人类。“

But back to a few good ideas.

但是回到柏拉图的一些好的想法

Plato is one of the earliest political theorists on record,

柏拉图是有纪录以来 最早的政治理论家之一

and with Aristotle, is seen as one of the founders of political science.

他和亚里士多德一起 被视为政治科学的奠基人之一

He reasoned that being a ruler was no different than any other craft,

他指出 统治者与其他工匠没有差别

whether a potter or doctor,

不论是制陶工人，或者医生

and that only those who had mastered the craft were fit to lead.

只有熟练掌握技能的人 才能够做好领导工作

Ruling was the craft of contemplating the Forms.

统治是一项理解形式的技能

In his Republic, Plato imagined a utopia where justice is the ultimate goal.

在他的共和国，柏拉图设想一个理想国的存在 在那里，公正是终极目标

Plato's ideal city seeks a harmonious balance between its individual parts

柏拉图理想中的城市追求 各个部分的和谐共生

and should be lead by a philosopher king.

并且应该由一个哲学家国王所统治

Millennia before his time,

在柏拉图时代的几千年前

Plato also reasoned that women were equally able to rule in this model city.

柏拉图也推测 女性也有统治这样城市的平等权利

Unfortunately, Plato was inconsistent with women,

不幸的是，柏拉图对于女性的观点 是不一致的

elsewhere likening them to children.

在其它地方，他把女性比作小孩

He also believed that a woman's womb was a live animal

他还认为女人的子宫 是一个活生生的动物

that could wander around in her body and cause illness.

这个动物会在女性身体里 游走并带来疾病

这个愚蠢的观点也曾被 被柏拉图时代的人所信奉

This bad idea, also espoused by other contemporaries of Plato,

was sadly influential for hundreds of years in European medicine.

进而非常不幸地影响了 欧洲几百年药业的发展

Furthermore, he thought that society should be divided into three groups:

他还认为社会应该 被分成三类：

producers,

生产者

the military,

军人

and the rulers,

和统治者

and that a great noble lie should convince everyone to follow this structure.

并且认为一个高贵的谎言应该 说服每一个人遵循这个结构

The noble lie he proposed

他提出的这个高贵的谎言

was that we're all born with gold, silver, or a mixture of brass and iron

是我们都出生伴有金 银，或者黄铜和铁的混合物

in our souls,

在我们的灵魂里

which determine our roles in life.

这灵魂决定了我们人生的角色

Some thinkers have gone on to credit the idea of the noble lie

有些思想家曾赞扬 这个高贵谎言的想法

as a prototype for 20th century propaganda,

作为二十世纪 政治宣传的样板

and the philosopher king as inspiration for the dictators that used them.

并认为哲学家国王能启发 雇佣他们的独裁者们

Should a few bad ideas

仅凭这几个不明智的观点

tarnish Plato's status as one of the greatest philosophers in history?

就能够动摇柏拉图 作为史上最伟大的哲学家之一的地位吗？

No!

当然不是

Plato gave the leaders and thinkers who came after him a place to start.

柏拉图给了后来的 领导者和思想家一个起点

Through the centuries,

几个世纪以来

we've had the chance to test those ideas through writing and experience,

我们有机会通过书面和实践 的形式去检验那些想法

and have accepted some while rejecting others.

我们接受了其中一些观点 同时也否定了一些

We are continuing to refine, amend, and edit his ideas

我们仍在继续提炼 改善，修正他的思想

which have become foundations of the modern world.

这些思想成为现代世界的奠基