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大学英语精读(第三版) 第五册: unit5A Science and the Scientific Attitude(6)

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Away from their profession, scientists are inherently no more honest or ethical than other people. But in their profession they work in an arena that puts a high premium on honesty. The cardinal rule in science is that all claims must be testable --- they must be capable,at least in principle, of being proved wrong. For example, if someone claims that a certainprocedure has a certain result, it must in principle be possible to perform a procedure that will either confirm or contradict the claim. If confirmed, then the claim is regarded as useful and a stepping-stone to further knowledge. None of us has the time or energy or resources to test every claim, so most of the time we must take somebody's word. However, we must have some criterion for deciding whether one person's word is as good as another's andwhether one claim is as good as another. The criterion, again, is that the claim must be testable. To reduce the likelihood of error, scientists accept the word only of those whose ideas, theories, and findings are testable -- if not in practice then at least in principle.Speculations that cannot be tested are regarded as "unscientific." This has the long-run effect of compelling honesty --- findings widely publicized among fellow scientists are generallysubjected to further testing. Sooner or later, mistake (and lies) are bound to be found out; wishful thinking is bound to be exposed. The honesty so important to the progress of science thus becomes a matter of self-interest to scientists.

在他们的职业之外,科学家们并不比其他人生来更诚实或更讲道德。但是,在他们的职业之内,他们却是在一个极为重视诚实的活动场所内工作。科学的基本规则是,所有的断言都必须是可以检验的——它们至少在原则上必须能够被证明是错误的还是正确的。例如,如果某人声称某一程序具有某种结果,那么在原则上,就必须能完成某一程序来证实或推翻这一断言。如果得到证实,这一断言便被认为是有用的,可以作为一块踏脚石去获取更多的知识。我们谁也没有足够的时间、精力和财力去验证每一个断言,所以在大多数情况下,我们必须相信某些人的话。不过,在决定某人的话是否跟另一个人的话一样可靠、某个断言是否跟另一个断言一样正确的时候,我们必须有一个标准。这个标准同样是:断言必须是可以检验的。为了减少犯错误的可能性,科学家只相信那些其观点、理论和研究成果——即使不能在实践中至少也要在原则上——可以得到检验的人。无法被检验的推测被认为是“不科学的”。这种做法具有迫使科学家保持诚实的长远效果——在科学家同行中间广为宣传的研究成果一般都会受到进一步的检验。错误(和谎言)迟早会被发现,痴心妄想注定要被揭穿。因此,对科学的进步极为重要的诚实就成了与科学家的自身利益息息相关的事情。

重点单词   查看全部解释    
principle ['prinsəpl]

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n. 原则,原理,主义,信念

 
honesty ['ɔnisti]

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n. 诚实,正直

 
claim [kleim]

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n. 要求,要求权;主张,断言,声称;要求物

 
compelling [kəm'peliŋ]

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adj. 强制的,引人注目的,令人信服的

 
cardinal ['kɑ:dinl]

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n. 红衣主教,鲜红色,基数,北美红雀
adj

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procedure [prə'si:dʒə]

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n. 程序,手续,步骤; 常规的做法

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unscientific ['ʌn,saiən'tifik]

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adj. 不科学的,不符合科学原理的;非学术的;无科学知

 
confirmed [kən'fə:md]

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adj. 习惯的,积习的,确认过的,证实的 动词conf

 
arena [ə'ri:nə]

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n. 竞技场

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certain ['sə:tn]

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adj. 确定的,必然的,特定的
pron.

 

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