孔子與蘇格拉底分別為中西哲學史上具有始基意義的偉大哲學家， 他們二人在學術地位、出生年代、學術背景等諸方面均有共同之處，但二人在倫理學思想上存在本質差異。本文著重分析了二人倫理學思想的差異，分別就三個層面來論述；首先對兩種學說從總體上做了把握，他們分別解答了「應當如何」與「是什麼」兩種人生追問，這是道德規範學與道德哲學的區別；其次，從兩種學說的精神實質和內核來看，「仁」與「德」分別是二者追求的人生終極目標; 最後，從二者的道德實踐途徑來看，「修身」與「認識你自己」分明是一動一靜兩種不同途徑。基於這種比較，作者最後揭示了作這種比較研究的意義所在：上述二者的差異不僅是兩個哲學家之間的，而且是中西兩種不同倫理學傳統研究方式之間的。

　　　　　Confucius and Socrates were great philosophers who were fundamental in the development of Chinese and Western philosophy. The two philosophers lived at approximately the same time and had similar academic backgrounds. They had, however, essential differences concerning ethical thought. This article analyzes their differences in ethical thought from three aspects. The first aspect concerns their notions on what life should be. Their two theories explain two questions concerning life, “ought to be” and “to be”. This is the difference between a moral standard and moral philosophy. The second aspect concerns the spiritual essence, “humility” and “morality' are their respective ultimate goals for life. The final aspect concerns the practice of morality, namely “cultivation of moral character” and “knowing thyself”. These two approaches are obviously different, one is dynamic, the other static. Based on the above comparison, the author would like to reveal the significance of this comparative study, that the differences are not only between the two philosophers, but also in the traditional approach to two different sets of ethics.