摘要：

“优秀者悖论”是古代政治思想中存在的普遍难题。它设定了一个人绝对优秀的地位和相应的等级政治制度的安排，但是这却和一个人在现实中的种种局限性相冲突。韩愈的《应科目时与人书》体现了这一悖论，柏拉图《理想国》中的“哲学家论证”也体现了这一悖论。现代政治思想解决这一悖论的办法是不将政治制度的安排建立在关于“优秀者”的设定上，而是建立在每一个人的能力大体平等的设定上，由此需要彼此尊重、彼此限制个体自身的权利。霍布斯的《利维坦》对现代政治架构的设计正是基于这一基本思想。面对古代政治制度由其内在的“优秀者悖论”所遗留的理论难题和现实困境，现代政治思想家也提出了自己的解决方案，这就是，承认人与人之间的平等，并基于这一平等来设置人与人之间的政治关系。

关键词:

优秀者悖论, 古代政治思想, 现代政治思想, 平等, 相对的差异, 绝对的差异

Abstract:

The “paradox of the excellent” is a prevalent puzzle in the ancient political thought. It assumes an absolute position of excellence for an individual and a corresponding arrangement in a hierarchical political system. However, this conflicts with the various restrictions which an individual faces in reality. The modern political thought resolves this paradox by not basing the arrangement of political systems on the assumption of “the excellent”, but rather on the assumption of a rough equality in everyone’s capabilities, which necessitates mutual respect and the restriction of one’s own rights. Faced with the theoretical puzzles and practical dilemmas left by the “paradox of the excellent” inherent in ancient political systems, modern political thinkers have proposed their own solutions: recognizing the equality among people and establishing political relationships among individuals based on this equality.

Key words:

paradox of the excellent, ancient political thought, modern political thought,  equality,  relative differences,  absolute differences