本文旨在探討班雅明針對翻譯的主要著作,並以「翻譯乃是一種樣式」一句為出發點,指出此句顯然的錯誤將導至哲學的謬誤。然而我們認為可以將班雅明對翻譯的看法擴大,並轉移至知識理論的範疇來理解。從班雅明另一個觀念「靈韻」為參照點。靈韻之為藝術品獨特性之所在,乃「可譯性」的同義字,提供了無論是可譯的文本或物件的獨特性。而文本或物件則都是具有互相溝通能力的獨立個體。此一可能性並非將生命簡化為形式表相,而是從中自由脫逸而出。也可以說,本文企圖從知識理論的現實主義來談班雅明。
This article is a reflection on one of the major works of W. Benjamin on translation and starts with the realization that the sentence ”translation is a mode” is obviously wrong and leads to philosophical absurdities. Nevertheless, we show that there is a possibility to expand the Benjamin piece on translation by translating it analogically into the realm of the theory of knowledge. It is done through reference to another concept of Benjamin, the concept of ”aura,” what makes a work of art unique. This aura is the equivalent of ”translability”, that is to say it gives the dignity of uniqueness to either the translatable text or the objects as they are both independent entities gifted with the possibility of communicating themselves. This possibility is not the reduction of the being to appearance, to the contrary, it is the absolute freedom from appearance that is the bedrock of communication. In a way, Benjamin's work is analogous to a realist theory of knowledge.