论亚里士多德范畴理论中的符号指谓问题  

On the Problem of Denotation and Predication Involved in Aristotle's Theory of Category

作　　者：徐长福[1] 

机构地区：[1]中山大学马克思主义哲学与中国现代化研究所暨哲学系

出　　处：《中山大学学报（社会科学版）》2008年第5期119-127,共9页Journal of Sun Yat-sen University(Social Science Edition)

基　　金：教育部新世纪人才支持计划(编号:NCET-06-0738);教育部人文社会科学重点研究基地重大项目(编号:06JJD710010)

摘　　要：借助于符号的指和谓的关联以认识事物,这是人所特有的一种意识形式。异质性指事物间不同类不可比的现象,它通过符号指谓显现出来,并成为符号意识不可回避的问题。亚里士多德的范畴理论试图通过对符号指谓所涉及的所有非复合词语的分类来解决这个问题。在《范畴篇》中,他把个别事物及其属种划入实体范畴,前者为第一实体,后者为第二实体,把其余词语分别划入数量、性质、关系等偶性范畴。一方面,实体能独立存在而偶性则只能存在于实体中,另一方面,第一实体只能作主词而不能作谓词,第二实体和偶性则既可作主词也可作谓词。然而,这种划分却忽视了指和谓的根本区别。表第一实体的非复合词语其实就是专名,它只指不谓,仅仅是特定个别事物的标识。所有其他词语都是普遍性词语,它们可指可谓,为同类所有个别事物提供共同的标识和范型——此即所谓意义。符号指谓最玄妙之处就在于这两种词语的结合——把谓词的意义归给无意义的专名。可见,亚里士多德把无意义的专名和有意义的普遍性词语混杂起来分类是不对的。正确的做法是,先把范畴分为单纯指的无意义范畴和可以谓的有意义范畴,再对有意义范畴作进一步的划分。It is a mode of consciousness peculiar to human being to know things by means of the denotation and predication of symbol. Heterogeneity means a phenomenon of incomparability between different kinds which is revealed in the denotation and predication of symbol and becomes an inescapable problem for symbol consciousness. The intention of Aristotle's theory of category is to solve the problem through the division of all the non-combined words used in proposition. In Category, he takes individual and its species and genus as substance, of which the first one is the primary and the last two the secondary, and the other words as accident such as quantity, quality, relation and so on. On the one hand, substance can exist in itself and accident can exist only in substance. On the other hand, the primary substance can serve only as subject but not as predicate, while the secondary substance and accident can serve as both subject and predicate. But this division neglects the radical distinction between denotation and predication. Actually, a non-combined word used to signify a primary substance is a proper name which is merely the mark of a certain individual and whose function is merely denotation but not predication. All other words are universals, and they can be used as both denotation and predication and provide common marks and paradigms, namely meaning, for individuals of the same kind. The most occult character of symbol consciousness is just the combination of these two kinds of word, that is, to grant the meaning of predicate to meaningless proper name. So it is obviously wrong for Aristotle to mix up meaningless proper names and meaningful universal words and then separate them. The right way is to distinguish firstly between meaningless category which can merely denote object and meaningful categories which can be predicated of it, and then to make further division of the meaningful categories.

关 键 词：亚里士多德 范畴 符号指谓 异质性 是 意义 

分 类 号：B502.233[哲学宗教—外国哲学]