☆ 「愚公移山、精衛填海」的精神
科學重視「穩紮穩打」及「按部就班」,
從來都沒有意圖一步登天;
科學的目的只是一步一步地「迫近真理」。
從「迫近真理」的角度來看,科學重視的,
其實就是中國傳統裡「愚公移山、精衛填海」的精神,
科學的成功亦證明了如果人類倚靠理性、
倚靠懷疑和批判的精神,和倚靠集體智慧,
「愚公移山」的精神有永恆的價值。
☆ 「累積」的精神
科學重視「累積」智慧,重視站在巨人的肩膀上向前望。
一代不能夠達到的理想就由下一代接手,
而每個有腦的人都可以為科學盡一分力,作出貢獻。
It is not in the nature of things for any
one man to make a sudden violent discovery;
science goes step by step, and every man
depends on the work of his predecessors.
When you hear of a sudden unexpected discovery
──a bolt from the blue, as it were──
you can always be sure that it has grown up
by the influence of one man on another,
and it is this mutual influence which makes
the enormous possibility of scientific advance.
( Ernest Rutherford )
☆ 實事求是
科學對從事科學的人在理性方面的要求,只是起碼的條件。
現代從事科學的人,如果要有所成就的話,
還需要擁有若干其他方面的能力。
The scientific process of inquiry is cognitively demanding
because vision, creativity and intuition come into play
in the construction of theories.
表面上看來,尖端的科學家似乎極為「好高鶩遠」,
然而面對眼前的問題,科學家卻是異常地「務實」:
The scientist is a practical man
and his are practical aims.
He does not seek the ultimate but the proximate.
He does not speak of the last analysis
but rather of the next approximation.
( Gilbert N. Lewis, 1926 )
其實這也是「科技的精神」:
1. 改變可以改變的。
2. 暫時接受暫時不能改變的,並將之放在心上。
3. 追求進步。
☆ 奮鬥精神
科學家除了要有思考能力和批判精神之外,
耐性性和不屈不撓的奮鬥精神,
是性格方面有利於從事科學研究的條件。
perseverence and courage in the face of
repeated setbacks and frustration.
☆ 拒絕承認「唯物主義」Scientism 是宇宙唯一真理
Science is an activity that seeks to explore
the natural world using well-established,
clearly-delineated methods.
Given the complexity of the universe,
from the very big to the very small,
from the inorganic to the organic, there is
a vast array of scientific disciplines,
each with its own specific techniques.
The number of different specializations is
constantly increasing, leading to more questions
and areas of exploration than ever before.
Science expands our understanding,
rather than limiting it.
Scientism, on the other hand, is a speculative
worldview about the ultimate reality of the
universe and its meaning. Despite the fact that
here are millions of species on our planet,
scientism focuses an inordinate amount of
attention on human behavior and beliefs.
Rather than working within carefully constructed
boundaries and methodologies established by
researchers, it broadly generalizes entire fields
of academic expertise and dismisses many of them
as inferior. With scientism, you will regularly
hear explanations that rely on words like “merely,”
“only,” “simply,” or “nothing more than.”
Scientism restricts human inquiry…
it is, in a word, unscientific.
( Thomas Burnett )
http://www.aaas.org/page/what-scientism