散文 Universities and Their Function --- Whitehead

UniversitiesandTheirFunctionAlfredNorthWhiteheadAbouttheauthor•AlfredNorthWhitehead(1861–1947)wasaBritishmathematician,logicianandphilosopherbestknownforhisworkinmathematicallogicandthephilosophyofscience.IncollaborationwithBertrandRussell,heauthoredthelandmarkthree-volumePrincipiaMathematica《数学原理》(1910,1912,1913)andcontributedsignificantlytotwentieth-centurylogic,philosophyofscienceandmetaphysics形而上学.AshortchronologyofthemajoreventsinWhitehead’slife•1861—BornFebruary15inRamsgate,IsleofThanet,Kent,England.•1880—EntersTrinityCollege,Cambridge,withascholarshipinmathematics.•1884—ElectedaFellowinMathematicsatTrinity.•1891—MarriesEvelynWade.•1903—ElectedaFellowoftheRoyalSocietyasaresulthisworkonuniversalalgebra.•1910—MovestoUniversityCollegeLondon.•1914—AppointedProfessorofAppliedMathematicsattheImperialCollegeofScienceandTechnology.•1924—AppointedProfessorofPhilosophyatHarvardUniversity.•1931—ElectedaFellowoftheBritishAcademy.•1937—RetiresfromHarvard.•1945—AwardedOrderofMerit.•1947—DiesDecember30inCambridge,Massachusetts,USA.workedprimarilyonissuesinmathematicsandlogicconcentratedmainlyonissuesinthephilosophyofscienceandthephilosophyofeducation.workedonmoregeneralissuesinphilosophy,includingthedevelopmentofacomprehensivemetaphysicalsystemwhichhascometobeknownasprocessphilosophy.Whitehead’sInfluence•Whitehead’sphilosophicalinfluencecanbefeltinallthreeofthemainareasinwhichheworked(i.e.,logicandthefoundationsofmathematics,thephilosophyofscienceandmetaphysics)aswellasinotherareasincludingethics,educationandreligion.Whitehead’sStyle•Bacon’sstyle•Forceful•Aphoristic•Parallelism•Antithesis•Forceful•Auniversitywhickfailsinthisrespecthasnoreasonforexistence.•Imaginationisnottobedivorvedfromthefacts.•Youthisimaginative.•Aphoristic•Thetragedyoftheworldisthatthosewhoareimaginativehavebutslightexperience,andthosewhoareexperiencedhavefeebleimaginations.Foolsactonimaginationwithoutknowledge;pedantsactonknowledgewithoutimagination.Thetaskofauniversityistoweldtogetherimaginationandexperience.•Parrallelism•Paragraph6•Antithesis•Craftymencontemnstudies,simplemenadmirethem,andwisemenusethem.•Foolsactonimaginationwithoutknowledge;pedantsactonknowledgewithoutimagination.NotestotheLanguagePoints•(P2)Afactisnolongerabarefact:itisinvestedwithallitspossibilities.Itisnolongeraburdenonthememory:itisenergizingasthepoetofourdreams,andasthearchitectofourpurpose.•Iftaughtimaginatively,studentswillbeabletoassociateapurefactwithvariousmeaning,seeingafactasanagentthatcanbringoutourdreamsinapoeticfashionandhelparrangeourpurposeintoorderlystructure.•(P3)Itenablesmantoconstructanintellectualvisionofanewworld,anditpreservesthezestoflifebythesuggestionofsatisfyingpurposes.•Peoplewithimaginationwillbeabletoformanewoutlookwhichisdifferentfromthatofpeoplewithoutimagination.Imaginationiscapableofpreservingpeople’senthusiasmforlifebecauseitcanshowpeoplethatlifehasmanypurposeswhichcanbepleasing.•(|P6)Itrequiresthatdisciplineofcharacterwhichcansay“yes”and“no”toothermen,notbyreasonofblindobstinacy,butwithfirmnessderivedfromaconsciousevaluationofrelevantalternatives.•Afirmcharactershouldbeabletodecidetosay“yes”or“no”toother’spointofviewaftertakingallrelevantchoicesintocarefulconsideration.Suchadecisionisnotmadeoutofunreasonablestubbornness.•(P7)Theconductofbusinessnowrequiresintellectualimaginationofthesametypeasthatwhichinformertimeshasmainlypassedintothoseotheroccupations.•Inthepast,intellectualimaginationwasrequiredforprofessionalssuchasthepriests,thelawyers,thestatesmen,thedoctors,themenofscienceandartsasmentionedaboveintheirwork.Nowbusinesspeopleshouldbeabletoapplythiskindofimaginationintotheirwork,too.•(P11)Thereisnoreasonwhybusinessmen,andotherprofessionalmen,shouldnotpickuptheirfactsbitbybitastheywantthemforparticularoccasions.•Imaginationandfactsarenotmutuallyexclusive.Peopletrainedinimaginationshouldbeabletopickupfactswhennecessary.ReadingComprehension•1.Accordingtotheauthor,themostimportantfunctionofauniversityisA)totrainstudentsintheirfieldsB)toprovideopportunitiesforresearchC)todevelopstudents’imaginationsD)toconveyknowledgetostudents•2.Astothecombinationofimaginationandexperience,theauthorstatesthatA)itdependsonthestudentsthemselvesB)it’sthejoboftheuniversityC)itcanbeachievedthroughlearningD)itisnolongeraprobleminuniversities•3.Intheauthor’sopinion,themainfunctionofabusinessschoolis_______.A)topassonbusinessknowledgetostudentsB)toprovidestudentswithenoughcasestudiesC)todisciplinestudents’charactersD)topromotestudents’interestsinbusiness•4.WhichofthefollowingisNOTrequiredoftoday’sbusinessorganizations?A)animaginativegraspofpersonalexperienceB)animaginativeunderstandingofthesocialeffectsproducedbytheconditionsofthefactoriesC)animaginativegraspofpeople’smindD)animaginativeunderstandingoftheconditionsindifferentregions•5.Forayoungmanwhoworksinalargecompany,thenegativeeffectmightcomefromA)alackofimaginationB)alengthenedroutinejobC)strictdisciplineD)alackofexperienceStudyQuestions•1.Howshouldknowledgebeconveyedtostudentsaccordingtotheauthor?•2.Whatis