爱因斯坦这段话如何翻译? 最近大家对如何翻译爱因斯坦的话似乎特别感兴趣。 请大家看看爱因斯坦1930年说的这句话如何翻译好呢?这句话比你们试着翻译的那句著名得多去了,可以说是除了相对论,爱因斯坦最著名的论断。 “I am convinced that degeneracy follows every autocratic system of violence, for violence inevitably attracts moral inferiors. Time has proved that illustrious tyrants are succeeded by scoundrels”.
◎译 名 终极信仰 ◎片 名 King's Faith ◎出品年代 2013 年 ◎国 家 美国 ◎类 别 剧情 ◎上映日期 2013年4月26日 美国 ◎影片级别 Singapore G13 | USA G-13 ◎IMDB链接 http://www.pipipan.com/u/2200472 ◎IMDB评分 6.8/10 (208 votes) ◎导 演 Nicholas DiBella ◎主 演 Lynn Whitfield ... Vanessa Crawford Wilson ... Brendan James McDaniel ... Mike Kayla Compton ... Natalie Brandon Correa ... Eli Nicholas Americus Marino ... Zack Michael Leadbetter ... Sheedy Edsel Q. Patterson ... Rish Mike Brownyard ... Lex Christopher Jon Martin ... Russell Andrew Bartucca ... Arresting Officer Anthony Bartucca ... K9 Officer Fiona Criddle ... Hannah Stephen Dodd ... Pastor Harper ◎内容简介 When eighteen-year-old Brendan King attempts to leave his turbulent gang life behind him, his past continues to threaten his new-found faith, family, 下载地址: http://www.400gb.com/file/56321682
冬天的下午天黑的越来越早。窗外偶尔传来的呼呼风声,屋子里电器的嗡嗡声,再加上楼下那家人跟刚开始呀呀学语的小孩子的嬉闹声,觉得挺有意思的场景。看东西看得眼睛直发花,不知道是放松还是劳累,但不管如何,从日历上,这是周六的下午。 在这样的场景里,按说挺适合窝在什么地方读些有意思的东西,比如 陈安老师的长篇小说《重大计划》 ,只可惜如一些老师说的,他第一章写了三次却还在那宾馆里。希望他的小说哪天能最终出版从而能给人一个在这样的天气里窝在哪儿捧着读的机会。 不过,我还是能够读到了点有意思的东西。在萧瑟的冬天谈科学和宗教好像是有点应景。那是Jerry Coyne于11月14日发表在Slate上的一篇文章,题目是“ No Faith in Science ”。Jerry Coyne是芝加哥大学的进化生物学家,《为什么要相信达尔文》一书的作者。 起因是这样的:亚利桑那州立大学的Daniel Sarewitz前段时间在 Nature 发表了一篇文章,谈论他对于希格斯玻色子发现的后续效应的思考,以及科学和宗教的关系,他在文章里说:“对那些不太懂数学的人来说,相信希格斯粒子就是一场信仰行动,而非理性(an act of faith, not of rationality)”,并且他文章的题目是“ 有时候科学要为宗教让路 ”。然而,Coyne不干了,出来说Sarewitz把相信希格斯粒子比作“信仰”是错的,况且意思还跟宗教里的信仰同义。 Coyne认为,科学是基于证据的,而宗教信仰却并非基于证据的,比如希格斯粒子是被证实了的(获得了2013年诺贝尔物理学奖)。这两者,一个是可以证明的,另一个则是无法证明的信仰。最精彩的地方在于他论述“科学没有信仰”。有人说做科学要有信仰,起码要信仰“冥冥中”的自然法则(unexplained set of physical laws),以及理性(reason)的价值。但这两点在Coyne看来都是错的。一方面,那些自然法则是被观察到的,并且其行为是可以预见的;另一方面理性是表现为批判、逻辑、从经验中学习的一种习惯,是做科学时的工具,而非一种先验性的假设或信仰。还是来看看他的原文吧: So scientists don’t have a quasi-religious faith in authorities, books, or propositions without empirical support. Do we have faith in anything ? Two objects of scientific faith are said to be physical laws and reason. Doing science, it is said, requires unevidenced faith in the “orderliness of nature” and an “unexplained set of physical laws,” as well as in the value of reason in determining truth. Both claims are wrong. The orderliness of nature—the set of so-called natural laws—is not an assumption but an observation . It is logically possible that the speed of light could vary from place to place, and while we’d have to adjust our theories to account for that, or dispense with certain theories altogether, it wouldn’t be a disaster. Other natural laws, such as the relative masses of neutrons and protons, probably can’t be violated in our universe. We wouldn’t be here to observe them if they were—our bodies depend on regularities of chemistry and physics. We take nature as we find it, and sometimes it behaves predictably. What about faith in reason? Wrong again. Reason—the habit of being critical, logical, and of learning from experience—is not an a priori assumption but a tool that’s been shown to work. It’s what produced antibiotics, computers, and our ability to sequence DNA. We don’t have faith in reason; we use reason because, unlike revelation, it produces results and understanding. Even discussing why we should use reason employs reason! Finally, isn’t science at least based on the faith that it’s good to know the truth? Hardly. The notion that knowledge is better than ignorance is not a quasi-religious faith, but a preference : We prefer to know what’s right because what’s wrong usually doesn't work. We don’t describe plumbing or auto mechanics as resting on the faith that it’s better to have your pipes and cars in working order, yet people in these professions also depend on finding truth. 才发现原来我之前也有多篇博文提到了科学和宗教的关系: 进化论不可以证伪(不是科学)吗? 进化论与智能设计之争 漫画之 进化论 神创论 达尔文对上帝的态度 我是猴子吗? 开放问题:盘古 女娲 上帝 科学
临近南京大学,有一家既无闪耀的吊灯也无奢华的外部装饰的雅致书店。大凡光顾过该店的读者都有这样的感受,一进店就会闻到一股纯粹的书香味,可以像在家里一样肆无忌惮地翻阅每一本书,静静待上一下午。这就是江苏南京一停车场旧址的书店。这就是被冠以〝中国大陆最美书店〞之名的“先锋书店”。 书店老板钱晓华,50多岁,还是位基督徒。他初中未毕业,经自学考上南京大学中文作家班,他于1999年买下南京五台山体育场的地下停车场创办先锋书店。创办书店后,至今仍保持阅读习惯,坚持早上看两小时小说,下午专攻文史哲,晚上看一部外国电影,听一张西方音乐碟片,为的是向读者推荐优质的书籍。 走进书店大门,首先看到的不是畅销书架,而是著名的罗丹(Auguste Rodin)雕塑〝沉思者〞的复制品,收银台则是以成百上千本书堆砌而成。在书店的主厅里,有两张长长的书桌还有超过300个座椅,以方便读者在这里停留和阅读。他的书店之所以很美是因为它有着独特的经营理念,即努力使之成为一间有人性的书店。钱晓华将他的书店看作一个公共图书馆。果真,后来它成了南大的第二图书馆,这是城市中一个人们可以有梦想的地方。钱先生说,在先锋书店,阅读是我们的信仰,这里是爱读书的人的天堂。 一位已经毕业的大学生说:“我经常来这里,因为他们藏书丰富,而且他们不歧视只想读书的人。〞她说,在校时她每周要来这里两次。书店的主厅还是举办对话和音乐会的场地,这里还有一个咖啡馆,并永久展示精美的图书设计,还为南京人制作的创意手工提供销售场地。钱晓华将他最喜欢的艺术品悬挂在书店的天花板上,书店的柱子上还雕刻着著名的诗词。 随着电子图书逐渐挤压了传统书籍的市场之际,许多书店都面临着财政困难。钱晓华说,书店代表着城市的幸福感。当一个城市失去书店,实际上它正失去灵魂中的东西。先锋书店还在南京开有两家分店,但这个特别的地下车库书店成为了南京一个著名的景点。 不久前,CNN到访了“先锋书店”,并撰文称“〝中国大陆最美的书店在停车场里〞(China`s most beautiful bookshop ... in a car park)。不少海外网友也在网页下留言,有人表示:〝这是极富创意的做法,我要为了这家书店去中国大陆!〞同时,许多南京网友也倍感自豪。先锋书店官方微博也转发了该消息,并致所有读者:〝有来读书的你,才有先锋书店。〞 如果我机会去南京一定要访一访先锋书店。你呢? 先锋书店门脸 先锋书店大厅
科学与宗教信仰的关系比你想象的要复杂得多。 美国女性史学家乔伊斯·阿普尔比( Joyce Appleby )、林 恩· 亨特( Lynn Hunt )和玛格丽 特· 雅各布( Margaret Jacob )著,刘北成和薛绚译的《历史的真相》( Telling the trath about history ),在论述科学史时提到,最伟大的科学家牛顿虽然作为理性主义者形象出现在人们心目中,但据社会学史研究,牛顿其实是位虔诚的新教徒。牛顿所知的一切绝对的、永恒的科学真理,都是出于他信仰上帝、恐惧无神论这一前提。只要上帝在其位,牛顿便知道宇宙会有秩序,社会也可能有秩序。因此,在更高的精神领域也可能有绝对的“真理”,世人只能偶尔得以窥见。如果牛顿生活中没有宗教成分,他便不可能提出万有引力定律。宗教信念促使他形成万有引力的概念:宇宙是由在真空中运行的星球组成的,起作用的引力是上帝的安排。数学定律的物理学真理终于被牛顿认识,乃是因为他的宗教信念产形而上学思想所致。大批牛顿文稿经考察后显示,牛顿将他私下进行的炼金实验看得和物理研究同样严肃,原因也是如此。 我个人认为,爱因斯坦虽然没有宗教信仰,但他有泛神论或自然神论的意思。 爱因斯坦说:“你所读到的关于我信教的说法当然是一个谎言,一个被系统地重复着的谎言。我不相信人格化的上帝,我也从来不否认而是清楚地表达了这一点。如果在我的内心有什么能被称之为宗教的话,那就是对我们的科学所能够揭示的这个世界的结构的无限的敬仰。” “我们不理解的事物存在的知识,以及我们对那些我们的意识可以接受的最深奥的推理和最美丽事物的感觉构成了我们对宗教的虔诚。在这个意义上,但仅仅在此意义上,我深信宗教。”“我相信斯宾诺莎的神,一个通过存在事物的和谐有序体现自己的神,而不是一个关心人类命运和行为的神。”
看大学之道:我为何如此喜欢伯克利 —— 从清华到港大,一路漂泊,终于在这里找到归宿 作者: 香港大学 官晴 一个人静静坐在图书馆,看着窗外熟悉的风景,禁不住感伤。过去四个月的经历,虽如流星般倏忽即逝,却在我的记忆中挥洒下一片夺目闪耀的永恒。一直很关心教育问题,也很想通过在大陆、香港、美国这三地不同教育体制中的个人经历来谈谈自己的看法。伴着对这片神奇土地的深深眷恋,终于在离别前,动情地写出这篇酝酿已久却迟迟没有阿下笔的文章。 每次在越洋电话里跟家人朋友讲起在这里的生活时我都情不自禁地手舞足蹈甚至蹦蹦跳跳,他们看到我如此滔滔不绝眉飞色舞的架势,常会纳闷地问,你们同学难道也都像你一样这么喜欢么?我说我不知道,也许不是吧。确实,身边很多同来伯克利交换的朋友也会觉得很纳闷,为什么你会这么喜欢这里。有时自己也觉得奇怪,这个地方究竟神奇在哪让我如此着魔?是接触了原来只能捧着课本赞叹仰慕的学界泰斗?还是参加了乐手和设施都堪称顶级的学生乐团,在音乐盛宴中流连往返?还是在频繁的定期旅行中尽情享受自然与生活的愉悦?还是在 international house 结识了一群来自世界各地的朋友?还是幸运地与明确了今后理想和奋斗方向的 Strait Talk 这个组织邂逅? … 太多太多的亮点,所以每当别人问起 “What do you like about Berkeley” 时,我都会非常肯定地回答 “everything” 对方听到这个回答总会露出很惊讶甚至难以置信的表情,然后我又会强调一遍 “yes, everything!” 是啊,也许这个答案听起来很夸张,但确确实实是我的心声,也是我不可救药地爱上这个地方的真情流露。 学术,音乐,生活,旅行 … 每一点,一切一切,都远远超越了原来的状态走向颠峰,带给我从未体验过的多彩与享受。然而,这些亮点的叠加,虽然已经过于耀眼,依然不能诠释伯克利的真正魅力。我为什么如此喜欢这里,最重要的在于我爱它的校风,它的文化、传统、精神,并且与之深深地融为一体。学术水准上,与伯克利旗鼓相当的牛校也不少。相似的风景,在其它地方也可以找到。 Strait Talk, 也可以去别的地方参加 … 然而校园精神,这独一无二的伯克利真正引以为豪的特质,却是任何其它学校都无法模仿搬迁复制的。在这里,我领会到一所大学的文化、校风可以多么神奇得改变一个人。有时也觉得奇怪,为什么在这个地方想法可以天天变,每天都有那么多新奇的不可思议的灵感的迸发,仿佛一场心灵的荡涤,也许真是这小小的校园,到处充满着先贤的仙气灵气吧。后来知道了,这种不可思议的只能置身于校园中才能感受到的气息,就是它独特的校风。所以真正的牛校,远远不仅仅牛在学术水准上,更别提什么排名和硬性设施,而是牛在这种好似仙气的校园风骨上 —— 这才是大学之道的精华。 转变与豁然开朗 前年,因为到香港后不习惯,处在留恋清华委培时光的精神阴影中无法解脱,我常被别人说适应能力太差;但今年初,刚来伯克利就如此之快地进入状态,确实是之前没有想到的。看来不是自己本身对新环境的适应能力差,毕竟适应不适应也要分地而论。如果我的价值观和那个社会的价值导向不一致,说到底也是无法适应的。高三一心想考港大时,看到的只是它光鲜的外表,听到的是令人迷惑的宣传和整个社会的追捧,然而到了之后才发现与原先所想相差甚远。在表达不满之前,我想有必要先澄清一下对港大的看法。尽管提起香港时,我经常会带着一种不屑甚至鄙夷的口气,尽管我确实不庆幸去了港大,但我也绝不后悔这个选择。我真心感谢港大给我提供的资源和平台,没有它我不会有去清华委培和去伯克利、台大交换的机会,这是任何一所别的学校都不能给我的资源。没有它的转专业政策,我就不会做出从经管转到社科,经过一年的泛读之后选择政治和哲学专业这个让我永远都不会后悔的明智决定。港大带我脱离了国内那种论文可以随便借鉴抄袭、没有讨论课、没有学术自由的填鸭式大学教育。没有港大,我不会感受到西方教育体制在文科教学上无可否认的先进性,不会接受超强度的读写训练,不会逐渐形成独立的思维方式,因而也不会在伯克利适应得这么快 … 等等等等。我更看到香港先进的社会规范、完善的法治,高素质的人员,和那些一步步踏踏实实勤勤恳恳 “ 打好自己这一份工 ” 的港人。香港其实是一个很单纯的社会,因为它的价值取向太单一。浮华下的单纯,功利下的简单。拎着 LV 包包和 coach 手袋的摩登女郎,其实都很友善和乐于助人。在街上东张西望找不到方向时,有人会主动过来问 “ 你需要帮助吗 ” 。我喜欢香港的井井有条,而相比之下,国内的环境不仅浮躁,而且混乱。 然而不太喜欢港大,是因为那里没有我想要的校园文化,而与它的教育体制无关。港大的体制、管理、硬件,这些能用指标衡量的东西,确实堪称亚洲甚至世界一流。我的不适应是因为自己的志向和香港整个社会的价值取向相左。一个对外宣传时选取的优秀毕业生典型差不多都是清一色的去什么什么银行工作的前辈,这确实是香港这个社会的真实反映,但我看到后心里非常不舒服。我完全不接受这个学校和这个社会对成功典范的定义,认可这种定义的人可以在香港如鱼得水,我却在压迫中日渐愤世嫉俗起来。在香港,虽然一直有种桀骜不驯冲破藩篱的愿望,但在繁忙功利的社会环境下,自己就像笼中之鸟,因为无法冲破牢笼而苦苦挣扎。我本身就是个内心不相信任何权威,不喜欢束缚,梦想一个人在广阔的天地中自由自在行走闯荡的人,但在香港,我看到的是一片太不真实的人工世界,身处蜗居,穿梭于拥挤的人流和狭窄的街道,抬起头看到的是那似乎要冲过来把我压倒的高楼大厦,和那片被建筑群轮廓切割出的小得可怜的蓝天。我不情愿地被迫跟随那个城市过快的律动和令人窒息的人潮,无暇停下脚步思考。虽然我可以独善其身,甚至有时因逆主流而动、显得和别人不一样而感到自豪,但这其实只是自我抬高以换取安慰的做法罢了。在主流外游离的边缘人群,终究心里是不好受的;而且当别人在往前走的时候,你怎么能不走呢。 这也是我为什么这么喜欢伯克利的原因,我终于能从港大的非主流在这里翻身主流,找到属于自己的地盘和一群志同道合的朋友。 虽然这么讲,但在伯克利是没有主流这么一说的,它令人惊叹的多元与包容让每一种声音都有表达的空间,任何人都不会被视为异类,所有人都是校园里的主流。 There is no such thing as a “typical Berkeley student”. 在伯克利我找到了许许多多和我一样为信仰而活着的人们(如果在港大这种人会被视为疯狂的异类吧),与他们的对话能激起我内心深处最强的共鸣与震撼。望着那些会说话的智慧的双眼,我们在阳光下席地而坐,就学术、时事、人生、理想侃侃而谈 … 寻找梦想的期望到了伯克利之后得到淋漓尽致、有过之而无不及的实现,一拍即合。一颗桀骜不驯挑战世俗的心在加州广阔的天地中尽情飞翔。 校园里无处不在的自由气息,激励着我去获得这些我所追求的所有东西:热情、勇气、智慧、心灵、梦想、信仰,这就是我为什么觉得伯克利是像天堂一般的地方。 我终于找到了自己真实的 “ 存在 ” 的意义。每每从宿舍窗外望向 Bay area 的美景,迎着清风微笑着眺望远方那横跨两片陆地的金门大桥,每每踏着清幽的钟声和暖暖的阳光在校园里漫步,上课时望向窗外那湛蓝天空下的斑驳树影与红花时,我就知道,在这里,没有什么不可以。 天天面对那片汪洋,并不觉得孤寂;很奇怪,在香港看海,却有种旷世的孤独感。但我确实感到天地间人的渺小,也更激发了内心无限的膨胀:一个人的空间可以无限小,但它的内心、信仰和生命的意义可以无限大;正因为太渺小太短暂,所以凡事更要看开些,更要去勇敢自由地追寻自己想要的生活,去努力寻求真理,而不沦为任何一种思想道德意识、一种文化、一种特定生活方式控制下的玩偶、一种为别人而活而创造利润的工具。诚然,人没有最终的自由,说到底都是奴隶,但自己选择去成为什么信仰的奴隶,这才是最终的自由。伯克利先为我打开一片广阔的视野,呈现了多彩的信仰,并在最后帮助我找到并坚定了自己的选择。 大学精神 - 伯克利不仅仅是美国大学文化的典范,更是所有大学的典范。 一所真正的大学(不论它处于何地)应该闪烁着理想主义的光辉,有自由的学术氛围与生活气息,有着勇于颠覆权威打破传统的不服于世和求变求新精神 … 所有这些都在伯克利得到了最集中最完美的呈现。早在上个世纪六十年代,它就以言论自由运动和反越战运动而闻名,自此塑造了对抗权威的自由反叛形象。伯克利的校园给人一种心间微笑常驻的满足感。像圣母一样,有着作为顶级学府的神圣高贵,又不失慈祥安逸的自然亲切。它的海,有种自然恬淡的美,加州的阳光耀眼而又不失爱抚;而有的地方,漂亮的海滩像是富人专属区,好像被金钱修饰过,阳光夺目,却感觉缺少博爱,有种隔阂 … 来了这里,才知道,原来世界上无处不在的阳光,也可以有这么大的区别。 至于我对伯克利的形容,仍然想借用自己在刚来时写下的相册导言。很奇怪,这三句话只是当时在校园中简单转了一圈之后写下的感悟,而四个月之后再看,仍然得其要旨,也许这也是我们因情趣相投而一拍即合的最好证明吧: “ 简单宽敞的街道,和暖的阳光,一切不加修饰,美得自然。 表面的安逸下,蓄积着百余年时代洪流与思潮交汇中荡涤出的历史厚重。 深思,需要百家争鸣的激烈,兼收并蓄的平和,还有一颗自由宁静的内心 —— 就像这里。 ” 所以伯克利的精神是什么?我可以如前一样清楚地说出一堆,后文也会继续讲述。那么清华的特色呢?严谨、求实, “ 自强不息,厚德载物 ” ,还有那一份充满纯净气息的令人迷醉的校园。对我个人而言,还有在清华乐队里的那一帮朋友圈,那种其他地方再也找不到的带有浓浓清华情结的纯真美好的友情 … 那么港大的精神呢?这是我大学三年迄今为止呆得最长的地方,想了半天,虽然这让我觉得很尴尬,但真的说不出来。是港大经常标榜的国际化和多元文化的融合么?肯定不是,暂且不提香港人和大陆生之间存在的种种不和,香港这个社会本身的国际化也只是表面上的国际化,而没有思想意识上的国际化的和包容性。那么是浮躁中的单纯?混乱世俗中的宁静?还是只是灯红酒绿社会的缩影?都有点,但都不是。我真的不知道。还是港大的校训 “ 明德格物 ” ?太搞笑了,压根不是。不管这是学校的问题还是我自己的问题(是因为港大太复杂,自己能力不够没有去捕捉到它的精髓呢,还是它根本就没有文化呢),一所让人说不出特质的大学,一所让我无法称之为 “ 家 ” 的母校,怎么都是有问题的。 一所大学,最重要的不是传授给人多少知识和技能,不是它的头衔和你最终拿到的那干巴巴的一纸文凭,而是它的精神文化 —— 这种润物细无声的点滴渗透,这种最无法形容却又带给人最大冲击的无形财富,看不见摸不着,遍及校园中的每一个角落,充盈于每一丝空气里 —— 它无处不在,却又最难找到。你不仅要置身其中,更要去感受体会,去全身心投入,才能领悟。在伯克利,我终于明白了为什么一定要上大学的道理 —— 不为知识,不为文凭,就为了这份文化的熏陶渐染,这份大学所独有的、社会上任何别的地方都找不到的财富。 情趣相投的归宿 之所以爱伯克利爱得如此痴狂、执迷、深沉,因为我的性格、理想、追求,和这所学校的气质和理念是完全一致的,这种最深层次的融入与契合,一旦确定,就再难分开。 This is my place, my home. 北京是我的家,这是我不能选择的从出生就有的;香港是我第二长呆的地方,但它只是一个暂时的奋斗之地栖身之所,我并不把它当 “ 家 ” ,顶多叫个居住地。而在这里,短短四个月,我就清楚地知道 this is where I belong. 与北京那个与生俱来的家不同,这第二个家,终于在苦苦寻找之后与我见面,来得不易,也要倍加珍惜。谢谢你,给了我这二十年以来最真实最快乐的日子。 大学四年,就算只有这一个学期,也已足够;一辈子若只有二十年,有这四个月,同样,也已足够。 来之前,我根本没想到这里的每一天都会那么精彩,没想到自己最后竟会被转变为一个典型的伯克利人。毕竟,当时连它久负盛名的自由叛逆传统都不了解,当初申请的目的只是因为它是大牛校,想过来拿推荐信好好学习考 GRE 而已。而现在,虽然 GRE 的书连看都没看,看来又要原封不动背回家了,但特别庆幸自己没按部就班地按这个太过功利性的计划走,庆幸没整天把自己闷在图书馆里,和那些充分多彩的体验相比,这个考试显得太过于微不足道。伯克利又再次肯定了我 “ 活在每一个当下 ” 的人生态度,不为了追求而追求,不为了未来而功利 。这个态度,如果想远点,是因为人的生命太脆弱、随时可能被天灾人祸夺去。那么过好每一个今天,就算生命在不可知的某一刻戛然而止,也没有什么好遗憾的。 有了对校园文化的认知,基本就不再看原来那些捧在手心的学校排名、学术水平、硬件设施等等这些能明确写在纸面上的学校信息了;因为更看重氛围和校风,反而更多会去 google 上找相关学校的视频和图片来自己感觉。特别很多时候,这些牛校的学术水平大致相当,排名不排名的就更无所谓了。港大亚洲第一,又怎样;斯坦福很牛,又怎样,去走了一圈就知道以后绝对不会申请过来。说来也怪,一进 S 校园就有种强烈的胸闷甚至想哭的感觉,可能它确实跟伯克利的文化太不一样(看来两所学校成为对头也是有道理的)。 S 校园好像是专门给富家子弟建的,一点也不亲近,让人想敬而远之。在 S 逗留时,一种可怕的孤独和恐惧感一直萦绕心头,随之而来的是喷涌而出的强烈思 “ 乡 ” 情绪,那时我才知道自己已经成为了一个多么不折不扣的伯克利人。 S 最著名的街道非常体面、漂亮、优雅、整洁、安静,但我不喜欢这种循规蹈矩和上流社会的感觉,当时特别想念那条很嬉皮的被称为 Berkeley 最疯狂大街的 telegraph ,那里充斥着奇装异服的人和流浪汉,那里有着张狂不羁、我行我素的自由与活力。我想念 telegraph 的吵吵嚷嚷,而非 S 高贵矜持的寂静。第二天回到伯克利,当极度的亲切和舒畅感扑面而来时,感觉自己真的就像游子归家一样。 信仰与创业,个人理想与社会责任 记得刚来伯克利不久时和一个美国同学聊天,我问他,你觉得你这一辈子最重要的东西是什么?他很坚定地说: “ 是我的信仰 ” 。当时一下觉得很震撼,愣了半天没说话。而现在,很奇特,在四个月的洗礼之后,如果别人问我一辈子最重要的东西是什么,我也可以不假思索非常坚定地给出一样的回答。甚至,我真的觉得,没有目标和理想的人生,即使活着,也像是死人一样。与其让我在信仰真空的状态下苟且偷生还不如一死。记得以前看过一句话,每一个人都会死,但并不是每一个人都真正活着。 上文说了那么多梦想之类的东西,听起来确实很忽悠,毕竟有很多人会质疑,这些东西能就饭吃么?我也经常被问:你这一个又学政治又学哲学的,以后干嘛,怎么找工作?我就觉得我为什么非要找工作,我可以自己创业么。我本来就不喜欢给别人打工做事情(志同道合的除外),为什么非要求着别人去雇我,不管那个别人是多牛 X 的大公司大银行。为别人卖力为别人去创造利润,可能到最后还不知道自己这一辈子到底是干嘛的,难道只为了从人家那拿点钱养活自己和一家老小(当然这也是直接或间接创造社会利润的过程)么?那么不去公司和企业,政府机关那些条条框框、领导概念、官场做派也能把我憋死闷死,我不喜欢给人做事更不喜欢被人管。设想一下,如果一辈子找不到目标,等结了婚生了孩子之后,还用一样的方式去按部就班地教育培养孩子,上大学找份好工作找个好对象一辈子过好,这种生活确实很惬意很稳定,但除了这种一代一代传下去的为活而活的目的,这种只满足了动物性的生存目的,作为一个 “ 人 ” ,人生难道就没有更高的目标去为弱势群体,去为整个社会、国家、世界去创造价值的意义了么?我一直相信,接受精英教育的人有义务去回馈社会。这是义务,而不是慈善。社会用那么多资源去培育精英,国家培养出这些人才不容易,他们如果都只为个人前途去奋斗了,那谁来履行作为精英的义务,甚至这些精英过几年如果变成了骑在人民头上作威作福的少爷小姐,那就更可悲了。所以自从踏入名校的那一刻起,身上摆脱不掉的就是对社会和国家的责任。 我确实是一个理想主义者,但我也立志成为一个实干家而非在象牙塔里研究学问的人,我想用自己的双手去改变去创造一些东西,去实践自己的理想,同时我也要对自己的家庭经济负责。所以也想在闯荡一两年之后,到美国读一个实用一些的研究生,从本科的通才教育过渡到研究生的专才教育。但我读研的目的并不是要那一纸文凭,而是想在这种大学的氛围里再熏陶一两年,想学真本事,掌握更高端的技能和知识去更好地闯世界。特别是在伯克利见识到了那些研究生的厉害程度,就更加坚定了出国读研这种想法。只有本科还是远远不够的。而且不是说学什么专业出来就一定要做什么,一两年高强度的专业训练给予你的能力足以让你胜任任何相关领域的工作。这种能力,而非生硬死板地印在文凭上的那几个字,才是最终打开工作领域的法宝。 放开手勇敢地去追逐梦想,去做只有这个年纪、只有热血青年才会做的事情,拒绝混日子的生活,让这份血性与理想绽放、燃烧得彻底,才不枉这人生最灿烂的年华。让智慧、能力、才华彻底展现,年轻人就要像年轻人,活得淋漓尽致一点,热烈一点。经历了专业选择上的千回百转,来到伯克利,看着事业开始起步,我更加坚定了自己在最开始决定从经管转到社科时的想法:走自己的路,有一颗坚定强大的内心,一直顺着自己最感兴趣同时也是擅长的事情走,不随波逐流,一辈子就这么走下去,肯定没有错。到那时,我的工作就是我的生活,我拥有的是一份值得奉献值得追随一生的事业,而不仅仅是香港人口中的 “ 一份工 ” 。 所以,如果别人再问我类似梦想怎么就饭吃的问题,我有一个简单的答案,就是: 梦想让现实起飞 。 仍然觉得,只要有条件,就要出去读大学 有时亲戚朋友和学弟学妹会向我咨询应该选择去哪上大学的问题。我呢,一直是出国读书(包括香港)的坚决倡导者。看到太多同窗对国内教育体制的抱怨,感觉学不到什么东西,时间就那么荒废过去了:一个极端是无所事事地混日子,另一个极端则是像在清华那样你死我活的竞争环境下苦苦挣扎。总的来说,我感觉国内的大学不教学生真本事真知识,很多时候学会的都是混社会的一种技能。用 “ 混 ” 这个词不太好听,讲培养社交能力更合适吧。但不管培养什么能力,国内大学的症结在于它没有精神、没有理想,学生不知道自己以后要做什么的情况太普遍了。而立志,这对于大学生是最重要的。一所真正的大学,起码能让它的学生明确自己的人生观价值观。而在国内,社会价值集体迷失,大学培养模式产业化功利化。尽管政府近来经常放出要教改要自由学术的风声,但没有政改的配合和根本保障,教改倡议也只是哄老百姓玩的光打雷不下雨的持续扯淡。国内的大学没有一所可以称得上世界一流,这不是学校的原因,而是体制的原因。 就个人经历而言,简单来说,在清华,我知道什么是朋友;到港大,我懂得怎么做学术。在伯克利,我同样拥有这些,但更为重要的是,我终于看到了什么是自我与世界,有了目标和志向,形成了自己在离开清华时给自己的大学生活暗暗定下的最重要目标:在本科毕业前找到一套基本定型的人生观价值观,有理想有方向地走毕业之后的路。来伯克利之前我仍然在迷茫中探寻,而现在,很幸运的是这个任务在大三结束时提前一年完成了。 要上大学就要上真正的大学。真正的大学能帮你找到自我,能激励你不断去探寻反思自身而非随波逐流;它是在毕业时能让你明确今后奋斗方向的指路灯,是梦想起飞地而非职业培训所。遗憾的是国内的大学基于体制和社会氛围的原因都没有这样的特质,香港的体制一流,但我个人并不喜欢那里的社会价值导向和文化氛围。从这个意义上讲,出国上大学是最好的选择。爱国和出国本身就是两码事,自己在走的也是一条曲线救国的道路。所以这绝不是什么崇洋媚外,而是对自己负责。那些对国家对社会有强烈责任感的人,通常是首先找到自我的人。毕竟,如果连自己的路都没找到,怎么去给他人和社会引路呢。我相信,只有先为个人信念和自由去奋斗,才能作为一个真正的拥有独立精神的人,自如挥洒抱负,从而推动整个社会、国家、人类的发展。 当然我的答案并不绝对,如果别人只想在离家近的地方拿个文凭踏踏实实过日子,那当然也是一种生活方式,毕竟个人的选择没有好坏只有不同,但不管怎么说,最好选择去那种自己能找到归属感的、和主流氛围相容的地方。 只是个人经历,个人观点 这篇文章带有不可避免的主观和偏见,因为它讲述的只是一段个人经历。而且对于清华和港大,因为没有充分融入,也只是以一个看客的身份去发表观点。特别是作为一个清华经管教育体制下落荒而逃的失败者,因为在激烈的竞争中败下阵来才转了专业学了社科,也许发言权就更弱了吧。对于香港,我更是从始自终只把它当做一个跳板, year 1 天天留恋清华生活,那时好好学习的目标是申请出国交换; year 2 努力的目标是为了出国读研,但来了伯克利发现申研也就那么回事,自己先闯荡一两年再读,所以又申请去台大交换,反正在香港呆的时间越少越好; year 3 和以后呢,办好该办好的,然后做好准备离开香港。作为一个港大生,着眼点却一直在香港之外的地方,要不就回头看清华,要不就眺望美利坚,从来就没想过要低下头认认真真看看脚下的土地。大学四年,只有一半在母校度过,是该庆幸呢还是惭愧呢,有时想想明年一月底从台湾风风火火赶回来,毕业前的最后一个学期,几年的朋友还没来得及好好相处好好坐下来说个话,大家就又匆匆打点行装各奔东西,也好不凄凉。但不管怎样,我不能去迎合我不喜欢的体制和环境,我不需要在畸形的竞争中,在一套我不认可的价值观中摸爬滚打自我糟践以求胜出。况且我曾经努力过,而最后落到一个局外人和看客的结果,也是迫不得已的无奈吧。失败者又怎样,我只需要离开,去到自己认可同时又认可自己的地方做一个强者就好了。幸运地,伯克利给了我这样的认可和充分发挥的环境。同样幸运的,短短四个月,就能得其精华。 但大学三年这么走来,回望每一步,都不曾后悔,毕竟不顺也是在为之后的改变做铺垫。不同的学校,不同的阶段,不同的体验,从未停止过追寻的步伐,生活在五彩中穿梭,还算是一段精彩旅程吧。 我是伯克利人 回顾这一段与伯克利的故事,真的很有意思。从最开始申请时那种高不可攀的向往与仰慕,到后来竟然不可思议地梦想成真。当时在港大为激励自己而设为桌面背景的那幅远眺金门大桥的壮美图片,后来竟成了宿舍窗外天天相伴的熟悉风景。从对这里文化的一无所知,到开始接触并为之震撼(当时还对那种自由持怀疑态度),进而到现在的完全接受、融入、内化,让伯克利式的自由精神成为自身最珍视的财富。 校园里立着一面主题为 “Thanks to Berkeley” 的学生 “ 笑脸墙 ” 。它以人像拼贴的方式来显示这里文化的亲切随和以及多元包容。作为校园里一道独特抢眼的风景,它早已远远超越其宣传目的而成为伯克利精神最真实生动的表现。每次看到港大宣传品上写有的 “diversity” 之类的字眼,我都会一笑而过;而站在这面墙前,细细品着照片上那一句句话语,强烈的共鸣令我心潮澎湃、感动不已。每一句话,都从不同角度,简单而深刻地诠释了这里的精神。以下的摘录,不仅表达了我和这些伯克利学子的共同心声,更饱含着自己对这里发自心底的永远的爱与感激,和离别前的极度不舍与深情眷恋。 Be led by your dreams, not pushed by your problems. Berkeley is like a maze, but you always find your way. Learned how to be a big fish in a big pond. Berkeley- you have challenged me like no other. Bring it on! Everyday… is EXTRORDINARY! I’m redefining myself, again and again and again and… I found I’m not too small for anything. I am now more than ever. Berkeley taught me to listen better and scream louder. Play the game, be the one to change the rules! Cal has affirmed my passion to give back to the community. Berkeley is not just a university, it’s a home. When I came I didn’t know what Cal was, now I don’t know what Cal isn’t. Cal made my life WHOLE. ------------------ 文中已强调,这篇文章讲述的只是个人经历、个人观点,并带有不可避免的偏见和主观。尊重别人的选择,同时执着于自己的生活方式 —— 这是我向来崇尚的原则。但如果自己的故事真的能给别人在选择时提供多一层维度的思考,本人也十分荣幸。 不偏执不夸张,只是比较坚持己见。充满热情的表达与冷静理智的思考,都是本我最珍视的特质,却也难免在冲撞中有所偏颇。毕竟感性与理性这对矛盾的调和,是我们一生都在寻找的平衡。 注:非常喜欢文中“ 一所大学,最重要的不是传授给人多少知识和技能,不是它的头衔和你最终拿到的那干巴巴的一纸文凭,而是它的精神文化 —— 这种润物细无声的点滴渗透,这种最无法形容却又带给人最大冲击的无形财富,看不见摸不着,遍及校园中的每一个角落,充盈于每一丝空气里 —— 它无处不在,却又最难找到 ”这句话。这才是真正的大学精神,即使它没有高楼大厦,没有先进的设备,没有宏伟的办公楼,没有漂亮的校园,但是它给了我最珍贵的东西-大学精神。一所大学有了自己的精神才有了自己的灵魂,才会有自己独特地凝聚力,这才是我们热爱的。当国内现在的大学臣服于金钱、权利,而丧失了自己的本性,让我们很难说爱你啊,我的母校!!! 本文不是针对清华、港大和伯克利大学,只是很喜欢作者的经历与精神,与大家分享!
最小努力原理与宗教信仰 武夷山 美国华盛顿大学心理学与人类学系的 Pascal Boyer ( Religion Explained (宗教之解释)一书的作者)在 2008 年 10 月 23 日出版的《自然》周刊上发表短文, Religion : Bound to believe? (非信不可的宗教?),文章说: 有朝一日,也许我们能找到有力的证据表明:宗教(不是指现代形态的、社会政治设制意义上的宗教)思维的能力对古人的适应性作出了贡献。我们现有的证据只能支持一个平和的结论:宗教思维似乎是我们的标准认识能力的一个突现特征。 某些形态的宗教思维对于我们的认知系统来说似乎是最小阻力路径,反之,不信仰宗教则一般来说是对我们的天然认知倾向( disposition )进行对抗的结果,是需要付出有意识的努力才能实现的。“不信仰宗教”绝不是最容易传播的意识形态。 博主:这就是说,宗教信仰是符合最小努力原理的“自然”行为。从这个角度来理解宗教对我来说很新鲜,故做个笔记。 相关阅读: 武夷山, 知识组织中的最小努力原理, http://blog.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=spaceuid=1557do=blogid=384548 。 Pascal Boyer 的原文如下( http://www.godlessgeeks.com/LINKS/Bound.htm ): Religion: Bound to Believe? by Pascal Boyer Atheism will always be a harder sell than religion, Pascal Boyer explains, because a slew of cognitive traits predispose us to faith. Is religion a product of our evolution? The very question makes many people, religious or otherwise, cringe, although for different reasons. Some people of faith fear that an understanding of the processes underlying belief could undermine it. Others worry that what is shown to be part of our evolutionary heritage will be interpreted as good, true, necessary or inevitable. Still others, many scientists included, simply dismiss the whole issue, seeing religion as childish, dangerous nonsense. Such responses make it difficult to establish why and how religious thought is so pervasive in human societies — an understanding that is especially relevant in the current climate of religious fundamentalism. In asking whether religion is one of the many consequences of having the type of brains we come equipped with, we can shed light on what kinds of religion 'come naturally' to human minds. We can probe the shared assumptions that religions are built on, however disparate, and examine the connection between religion and ethnic conflict. Lastly, we can hazard a guess at what the realistic prospects are for atheism. In the past ten years, the evolutionary and cognitive study of religion has begun to mature. It does not try to identify the gene or genes for religious thinking. Nor does it simply dream up evolutionary scenarios that might have led to religion as we know it. It does much better than that. It puts forward new hypotheses and testable predictions. It asks what in the human make-up renders religion possible and successful. Religious thought and behaviour can be considered part of the natural human capacities, such as music, political systems, family relations or ethnic coalitions. Findings from cognitive psychology, neuroscience, cultural anthropology and archaeology promise to change our view of religion. Based on assumption One important finding is that people are only aware of some of their religious ideas. True, they can describe their beliefs, such as that there is an omnipotent God who created the world, or that spirits are hiding in the forest. But cognitive psychology shows that explicitly accessible beliefs of this sort are always accompanied by a host of tacit assumptions that are generally not available to conscious inspection. For instance, experiments reveal that most people entertain highly anthropomorphic expectations about gods, whatever their explicit beliefs. When they are told a story in which a god attends to several problems at once, they find the concept quite plausible, as gods are generally described as having unlimited cognitive powers. Recalling the story a moment later, most people say that the god attended to one situation before turning his attention to the next. People also implicitly expect their gods' minds to work much like human minds, displaying the same processes of perception, memory, reasoning and motivation. Such expectations are not conscious, and are often at odds with their explicit beliefs. Research has shown that unlike conscious beliefs, which differ widely from one tradition to another, tacit assumptions are extremely similar in different cultures and religions. These similarities may stem from the peculiarities of human memory. Experiments suggest that people best remember stories that include a combination of counterintuitive physical feats (in which characters go through walls or move instantaneously) and plausibly human psychological features (perceptions, thoughts, intentions). Perhaps the cultural success of gods and spirits stems from this memory bias. Humans also tend to entertain social relations with these and other non-physical agents, even from a very young age. Unlike other social animals, humans are very good at establishing and maintaining relations with agents beyond their physical presence; social hierarchies and coalitions, for instance, include temporarily absent members. This goes even further. From childhood, humans form enduring, stable and important social relationships with fictional characters, imaginary friends, deceased relatives, unseen heroes and fantasized mates. Indeed, the extraordinary social skills of humans, compared with other primates, may be honed by constant practice with imagined or absent partners. It is a small step from having this capacity to bond with non-physical agents to conceptualizing spirits, dead ancestors and gods, who are neither visible nor tangible, yet are socially involved. This may explain why, in most cultures, at least some of the superhuman agents that people believe in have moral concerns. Those agents are often described as having complete access only to morally relevant actions. Experiments show that it is much more natural to think "the gods know that I stole this money" than "the gods know that I had porridge for breakfast". In addition, the neurophysiology of compulsive behaviour in humans and other animals is beginning to shed light on religious rituals. These behaviours include stereotyped, highly repetitive actions that participants feel they must do, even though most have no clear, observable results, such as striking the chest three times while repeating a set formula. Ritualized behaviour is also seen in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorders and in the routines of young children. In these contexts, rituals are generally associated with thoughts about pollution and purification, danger and protection, the required use of particular colours or numbers or the need to construct a safe and ordered environment. We now know that human brains have a set of security and precaution networks dedicated to preventing potential hazards such as predation or contamination. These networks trigger specific behaviours such as washing and checking one's environment. When the systems go into overdrive they produce obsessive-compulsive pathology. Religious statements about purity, pollution, the hidden danger of lurking devils, may also activate these networks and make ritual precautions (cleansing, checking, delimiting a sacred space) intuitively appealing. Finally, studies of social and evolutionary psychology demonstrate a specifically human coalitional capacity, which has an impact on religion. Humans are unique among animals in maintaining large, stable coalitions of unrelated individuals, strongly bonded by mutual trust. Humans evolved the cognitive tools to achieve this. They know how to gauge others' reliability. They can recall episodes of interaction and infer what people's characters are like. They can emit and detect costly, hard-to-fake signals of commitment. This coalitional psychology is involved in the dynamics of public religious commitment. When people proclaim their adherence to a particular faith, they subscribe to claims for which there is no evidence, and that would be taken as obviously wrong or ridiculous in other religious groups. This signals a willingness to embrace the group's particular norm for no other reason than that it is, precisely, the group's norm. Cognitive cache So is religion an adaptation or a by-product of our evolution? Perhaps one day we will find compelling evidence that a capacity for religious thoughts, rather than 'religion' in the modern form of socio-political institutions, contributed to fitness in ancestral times. For the time being, the data support a more modest conclusion: religious thoughts seem to be an emergent property of our standard cognitive capacities. Religious concepts and activities hijack our cognitive resources, as do music, visual art, cuisine, politics, economic institutions and fashion. This hijacking occurs simply because religion provides some form of what psychologists would call super stimuli. Just as visual art is more symmetrical and its colours more saturated than what is generally found in nature, religious agents are highly simplified versions of absent human agents, and religious rituals are highly stylized versions of precautionary procedures. Hijacking also occurs because religions facilitate the expression of certain behaviours. This is the case for commitment to a group, which is made all the more credible when it is phrased as the acceptance of bizarre or non- obvious beliefs. We should not try to pinpoint the unique origin of religious belief, because there is no unique domain for religion in human minds. Different cognitive systems handle representations of supernatural agents, of ritualized behaviours, of group commitment and so on, just as colour and shape are handled by different parts of the visual system. In other words, what makes a god-concept convincing is not what makes a ritual intuitively compelling or what makes a moral norm self-evident. Most modern, organized religions present themselves as a package that integrates all these disparate elements (ritual, morality, metaphysics, social identity) into one consistent doctrine and practice. But this is pure advertising. These domains remain separated in human cognition. The evidence shows that the mind has no single belief network, but myriad distinct networks that contribute to making religious claims quite natural to many people. The findings emerging from this cognitive-evolutionary approach challenge two central tenets of most established religions. First, the notion that their particular creed differs from all other (supposedly misguided) faiths; second, that it is only because of extraordinary events or the actual presence of supernatural agents that religious ideas have taken shape. On the contrary, we now know that all versions of religion are based on very similar tacit assumptions, and that all it takes to imagine supernatural agents are normal human minds processing information in the most natural way. Knowing, even accepting these conclusions is unlikely to undermine religious commitment. Some form of religious thinking seems to be the path of least resistance for our cognitive systems. By contrast, disbelief is generally the result of deliberate, effortful work against our natural cognitive dispositions — hardly the easiest ideology to propagate. FURTHER READING: Religion Explained: Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought , by Boyer, P. (Basic Books, 2001) Behav. Brain Sci. 29, 1–56, by Boyer, P. Lienard, P. (2006) Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, by Wilson, E. O. (Little Brown Co., 1998
我同意科学主义 的盛行是科学的悲哀。 对于芸芸众生而言, 科学几乎就是取代了宗教的新的信仰。 对于有慧根的人, 自然能看到其中的问题。 科学 能解决一切的想法的确是错误的, 但是科学的确对社会和文化思想有所裨益。重贴我以前的旧文: 一位科学家的生日 http://blog.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=spaceuid=3468do=blogid=48084 Richard Klausner 的 Science in a Dangerous World Richard Klausner 是前任的美国癌症研究协会的主席。他做的不是一场学术讲座,而是将在我们这样一个充满经济动荡、政治纷争的危险世界,科学将对这个社会有什么样的作用。他讲到,既然人类会因为利益的不同,而彼此的纷争将永在。而科学和技术的最大贡献,将是因为其中立性,将逐渐填平这些由于不同利益而造成的沟壑,使人类在“异中求同”,因而有一个更加公正和机会均等的社会。比如印刷术的发明,将阅读和获取知识的机会从贵族和僧侣中普及到社会大众中任何一个像捧起书本的人。近代工业化的发展,将充裕的物质生活从少数人普及到大多数。医学的发展,让治疗疾病的方法,使得社会大众都获得好处。而 InterNet 的发展,将出版权从专业媒体普及到网络的每一个角落。现代科学和技术的发展,应该让社会中的每一个人,都拥有获取知识和技能,接受教育,享受包括医疗等种种社会福利。 同时,科学的好处不仅在于技术化以后,给社会所带的好处,其思想方法也使得我们的社会向良性发展。比如,科学中不崇尚权威,权力不来源于你的职位,而来源于占得住脚的证据。 最后,他以自己的亲身经历来说明科学不仅仅是关心发现自然奥妙的“自了汉”,科学可以改变我们的社会。 90 年代初,巴以 Oslo 谈判破裂,两方终止任何接触,“以血换血”的杀戮一时弥漫。如何让已经杀红眼的对手坐下来谈判,这几乎是不可能的事情。然而 Richard 负使命于危局,作为总统特使出访中东。他想出了一个好主意,提议建立一个泛中东癌症研究中心。以促进癌症研究交流的名义,邀请以色列、巴列斯坦、埃及、约旦等国的卫生部长和相关的癌症研究科学家们开一个圆桌会议。担心会冷场的他,一开场不是谈组织使命,而是谈他的家庭,有几个孩子,做什么样的研究。于是,大家就纷纷谈起各自的家庭和科研。然后大家才发现,一位卫生部长的妻子正在与乳腺癌抗争,另一位大使的儿子正由于白血病而夭亡。在人类第一杀手“癌症”的面前,人们发现除去宗教、政治的分歧,大家还有这么多相同的经历和遭遇。于是,出乎意料的是,中东癌症研究中心成为唯一一个在这个战火纷飞的地区成立的多国合作组织。而由于科学家们需要在各个国家往来合作,推动了外交上的往来,货币汇兑,推动了彼此金融领域的接触。真是想不到,一个分裂和厮杀的地区和人们,会由于科学,而重新走到一起。 或许,这就是在这个经济的阴云逐渐笼罩全球的时候,科学,还能给与我们信心。
作者: RidgeWalker 发表于最热闹的华人社交网络--贝壳村 独立也是信仰 1 经常当一个人需要放松的时候,头脑就会冒出来个想法。有一天在镇里走路,路过教堂,布告板上写着:膜拜时间,上午10:00。咣当一声,膜拜这个词就地粘上了我,陪我走了一路。天哪,试问天上宫阙,今夕是何年?锻炼身体走了四个小时,而这个疑问也就一直跟随着我。 从来不反对任何形式的个人信仰,只是没法令人信服而已。也许个人形象令人起疑,就像我对膜拜这个词严重过敏一样。从政治狂热的年代走来,有些反应已属本能,不经过头脑。那是一场浩劫呀,却有个好听的名字,文化革命。一场噩梦延续了整整十年哪,有人一辈子两辈子都忘不了那些场景,人们疯狂了,把别人的头颅砸碎了,那都是些实实在在的头颅啊。这些暴力为同一种信仰而爆发,一个个的都在捍卫自己的政治信仰。可笑,可悲而凄惨哪,斗争的各方都忠于同一个毛主席。社会各阶层的人都要表忠心。问题不在忠与不忠,而忠于的程度差异就能造成生命的悲剧。太不可思议,太离奇古怪了。 打破了头颅也打碎了所有的信仰。很明显嘛,任何信仰都不能高于生命。生命珍贵,必须珍惜。人应该追求自己的独立思想,远离愚蠢和狂热。这就是求生的本能。保存珍惜生命的原始能量,不可盲信。 后来,在书本上了解到西方大规模的战争都是宗教狂热分子发动的,就一点也不感到惊讶。战争是反人类的罪行,有些伤疤至今依然能感觉绞痛,有些屈死的鬼魂还在坟墓里痛哭。所以,一个人必须学会坚强,不论谁来拉你加入他们组织,都要保持独立。 2 学生年代,国家摆脱了文化革命的噩梦。一夜之间宣传机器不停地鼓噪科学这个词,听上去仿佛一剂科学的魔方就可以治愈所有的社会沉疴。信仰披着不同的外衣沉渣泛起。试问科学能安抚人的灵魂吗?打砸抢结束了,但是疼痛依还在,愈合需要时间呐。 这个国家等不及了,让一帮十几岁的孩子去学科学。作为捷径,十一二岁的少年被选进了天才班。每天都在绝地反扑;日子被挂上了超速挡;狂热还在延续。无法否认刚刚恢复的高考改变了我的人生,同时上了大学也让我对科学失望。对许多人来说科学仅仅是谋生的手段。而今,如果有人拉起科学那五颜六色的大旗,包自己,吓别人,只能令人感到恶心。人要诚实噢,科学仅仅是一种思维方式,而不是真理本身。一个科学家可以努力发现真理,但决不能以真理的代言人自居。 要说就把话说清楚,不管我们的时代里科学技术如何成功,人的头脑,思维,想法,感觉,感受,欲望,梦想,幻觉不论如何解说永远都不会科学。把人类的头脑换算成一串串数字,符号,然后放入一个怪异的方程式,只有脱离常人思维的书呆子可以分解的方程式,那是犯罪。今天,我们还能说我们是人,我们还有权利说我们不是小数点,不是数字,不是符号,不是科学为所欲为的任何缩写? 科学是人类活动,从而不能喧宾夺主的。大部分科学命题从假设开始。任何假设都是先入为主从而需要大量的资金和资源去证实其真伪。科学对人类生活贡献不小,因为科学始终不渝地在寻找证据,从而有别于于与编撰故事的信仰。真正的科学家是谦逊的,因为真理令人谦逊。 3 八十年代就来到美国,那时大部分中国籍的留学生来自台湾,香港,印度尼西亚和马来西亚,从大陆来的学生寥寥无几。在一起久了,有人就评论说我表现得比较无我。也许人家言之有理,经年的革命和口号已经令我不自觉地失去了自我。那一刻我似乎读懂了诗人王小滨的,“中国,我的钥匙丢了。“那个年代压抑人性,直至最后完全失去自我。到了最后连我们自己都自豪地宣布甘当大机器的螺丝钉。我们不再是人了,所以那个自我也就没有必要了嘛。 独立自主是美德。坚持不结盟表现了一个人的智慧和勇敢。看不起那些把自己内心的惧怕,不安甚至无能交给一个比如上帝那样比较托大的概念,从此不再努力,满足于现状。人还是要有一些自尊的。一个人必须站着生活,成为对社会有贡献的一员。不幸啊,太多的人甘当乘客,还不断地哭喊这个世界给他的不够。置世界于身外了,嘿,您生活在这个世界上,请不要把自己当成邀来之客。同时我也看不惯那些把自己的惧怕和不安传给孩子的父母。外面的世界不可怕,那只是你的狭隘与偏见,放开手让孩子们自己去探索吧。 独立不是自恋。自恋是一种心理疾病。对立需要努力,坚持不懈。一个人必须学习,足够坚强,走下去。独立是个信仰。 2011年10月5日 ——————————————————(英文原文)————————————————————— Independent Is Faith 1. This happens quite a bit, I think. Often, when one wants relaxation, certain thought pops up unannounced. The other day, I was taking a walk through town. A church’s announcement board said: Worship Hours: 10:00AM. Bang, just like that, the word "Worship" stuck with me for the rest of the way. Wow, what do they do there? It was a thought that refused to depart as I continued to walk for a total of four hours, my form of good exercise. Through the years, I've had a hard time convincing others that I am not against personal faith of any shape and form. Maybe it has something to do with my persona, for I have a strong allergy towards the word worship. This reaction may have stemmed from the fact I grew up in a political frenzy, a horrid event with a pretty name, cultural revolution. The nightmare lasted ten years. It will take a lifetime or two to forget how folks had gone crazy and smashed each others' skulls open, literally. All of them claimed that their violence erupted from strong faith, defending the integrity of political loyalty. It was almost comic but ultimate tragic that the hostile sides were loyal to one Chairman Mao. It was a forced exhibit, from all corners of the society. The difference of the same faith could result in life and death struggle. That was absurd and unbelievable. Smashing human skulls apiece also smashes my faith in any belief. The logic is so painfully obvious: no faith should reign supreme to human existence. Life is more precious and should be cherished. I must seek my own independent mind, for stupidity and frenzy should be avoided by all means. It had become a survival instinct. I shall not invest one ounce of energy into any blind belief. Later, I learned that quite a few wars of epic scale were instigated by religious fanatics. That was no surprise to me at all. World Wars were criminal and anti-humanity. And the scars remain painful till this day. Some ghosts are still crying in their graves. One must remain adamant and cherish one’s independence amidst all kinds of calls for affiliation. 2. When I was still a youngster in school, the country finally shook off the nightmare of the cultural revolution. Almost overnight the propaganda machine started to spew out the word science at an alarming rate, as if all the social ills could and would be cured by a magic portion of science. Faith of a different kind was rearing its ugly head. Could science comfort human soul? The smashing may have ended but suffering hadn’t. Healing needed time. The country decided to move on. For one thing, they rushed many of us teens into science. They even rounded a few 11 year olds and 12 year olds into genius camps in the hope of a quick fix. Desperation was our life; life was put on overdrive; and the crazy feeling was prolonged. I admit the newly restored national examination changed my life. But it was in college I become disillusioned with science. Many folks were in science just to make living. Today it repulses me when someone wraps him or herself in the over-sized and multi-colored flag of science. Let's be honest. Science is just a paradigm, not absolute truth. As a scientist you may work to find truth but you don't represent truth. Let's make this clear once for all. No matter how successful science and technology are in our time, our minds, our ideas, our thoughts, our feelings, emotions, desires, impulses, dreams, fantasies, are not entirely scientific, no matter which way you cut it. It is a crime, really, to reduce human minds into numbers, a series of cute symbols in a complicated equation which only the nerdiest nerds can figure out. Can we say this, or do we still have the right to say, that we are humans, not dots, numbers, symbols or whatever you scientific attitude likes to render us? Science is human activity, not the other way around. Most scientific research starts with an assumption. An assumption is always subjective and needs a lot of funds and resources to prove it, right or wrong. Science contributes a great deal to life, because it makes a practice to seek evidence as opposed to make up stories. True scientists always feel humbled because truth humbles. 3. I came to America in the 1980s. Most of the Chinese students here were either from Taiwan, Hong Kong or Indonesia and Malaysia, only a few of us came from the Mainland. After spending some time together, I was accused of being selfless. Maybe they were right. I didn’t notice that I had lost myself in endless revolution and slogan shooting. That was the moment when I suddenly understood when a poet named Yang Xiaobin wrote, "China, I lost my key." The society forced us to first reduce then lose ourselves completely. Eventually we were proud to be screws and bolts of a large machine. We were no longer human thus self wasn’t necessary. Independence or self-reliance is a virtue. Non-affiliation has its wisdom and courage. I dislike those who pass their fear and insecurity or even inability to something bigger, see God, and become self-content with no effort in life. We are talking about self-respect here. One must lead one's own life and become a contributing member of the society. Unfortunately there are too many bus riders who constantly whine that they didn't get enough from the world outside. What world outside? You are in it; so, don't count yourself as an invited guest. I also look down on those who pass their fear and insecurity to their children. The world isn’t as frightful as your little minds perceive. Let the child find out by herself, will you? Independence has nothing to do narcissism which is a psychological disorder. Independence requires work, dedication. One must learn and study to have the strength to endure on. Independence is faith. October 5, 2011 http://my.backchina.com/home.php?mod=spaceuid=279140do=blogid=127117
“入”和“信”的映像 一天老 A 看见老 B 入教堂, 第二天老 A 问老 B : “老 B 你信教?” 一天老 A 看见老 C 入佛堂, 第二天老 A 问老 C : “老 C 你信佛?” 一天老 A 看见老 D 入道观, 第二天老 A 问老 D : “老 D 你信道?” 一天老 B 、老 C 和老 D 看见老 A 入厕所, 第二天老 B 、老 C 和老 D 问老 A : “老 A 你信……?”
一、我的世界观序言: ① 叔本华这句话的德文原文是:“EinMenschkannzwartun,waserwill,abernichiwollen,waserwill.”—编译者 ② 第二次世界大战期间,爱因斯坦承认他在战前很长一段时期受了反苏宣传的影响,以后他对这个问题的看法有一些改变。参见他1942年10 月25日在美国“犹太人支援俄国战争公会”一次宴会上的演讲和1950年3月16日给美国反共“理论家”胡克的一封信。——编译者 ③ 指1918年第一次世界大战结束时建立,1933年被希特勒推翻的“魏玛(Weimar)共和国”。本文最初发表时用的不是“德国的政治制度”,而是“我们的政治制度”。——编译者 ④ 爱因斯坦由于目睹了德国军国主义的泛滥和法西斯瘟疫的蔓延,对群众和群众运动产生了非常错误的看法,这种错误看法也常在别的文章中流露出来。——编译者 ⑤ 1933年7月以后,爱因斯坦改变了这种绝对的反战态度,积极号召反法西斯力量武装起来,以打击法西斯的武装侵略。参见1933年7月20日给A.纳翁的信。——编译者 附英文: “TheWorldAsISeeIt” "How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people -- first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy. A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving... "I have never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves -- this critical basis I call the ideal of a pigsty. The ideals that have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. Without the sense of kinship with men of like mind, without the occupation with the objective world, the eternally unattainable in the field of art and scientific endeavors, life would have seemed empty to me. The trite objects of human efforts -- possessions, outward success, luxury -- have always seemed to me contemptible. "My passionate sense of social justice and social responsibility has always contrasted oddly with my pronounced lack of need for direct contact with other human beings and human communities. I am truly a 'lone traveler' and have never belonged to my country, my home, my friends, or even my immediate family, with my whole heart; in the face of all these ties, I have never lost a sense of distance and a need for solitude..." "My political ideal is democracy. Let every man be respected as an individual and no man idolized. It is an irony of fate that I myself have been the recipient of excessive admiration and reverence from my fellow-beings, through no fault, and no merit, of my own. The cause of this may well be the desire, unattainable for many, to understand the few ideas to which I have with my feeble powers attained through ceaseless struggle. I am quite aware that for any organization to reach its goals, one man must do the thinking and directing and generally bear the responsibility. But the led must not be coerced, they must be able to choose their leader. In my opinion, an autocratic system of coercion soon degenerates; force attracts men of low morality... The really valuable thing in the pageant of human life seems to me not the political state, but the creative, sentient individual, the personality; it alone creates the noble and the sublime, while the herd as such remains dull in thought and dull in feeling. "This topic brings me to that worst outcrop of herd life, the military system, which I abhor... This plague-spot of civilization ought to be abolished with all possible speed. Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism -- how passionately I hate them! "The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed. It was the experience of mystery -- even if mixed with fear -- that engendered religion. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, our perceptions of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which only in their most primitive forms are accessible to our minds: it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute true religiosity. In this sense, and only this sense, I am a deeply religious man... I am satisfied with the mystery of life's eternity and with a knowledge, a sense, of the marvelous structure of existence -- as well as the humble attempt to understand even a tiny portion of the Reason that manifests itself in nature."
城隍庙里拜清官,看似奇崛实平常 http://www.hebnews.cn 2010-11-06 08:57 凤凰论坛 http://wyreport.hebnews.cn/2010-11/06/content_1197984.htm 订阅河北手机报,新闻天气早知道!详情 http://mobile.hebnews.cn var flvfile=document.getElementById('flvdiv').innerHTML; if (flvfile){ document.write(' Get the Flash Player to see this player. '); document.write(' '); document.write(' '); }