AGameofCards
?诺曼·卡曾斯 / NormanCousins
EvensinceIwasoldenoughtoreadbooksonphilosophy, , whetherheisprimarilyaltruisticorselfish, co-operativeorcompetitive, gregariousorself-centered, whetherheenjoysfreewillorwhethereverythingispredetermined.
AsfarbackastheSocraticdialoguesinPlato, andevenbeforethat, , butthenheisoppressedwiththeevidenceofgreatwrongdoing.
’’, overfreewillanddeterminism, andoveralltheothercontradictions—, , buthecan’tchangehischemistryorhisrelativesorhisphysicalendowments—, hemightdowelltoconsiderwhatthecontradictionsandcircumstancesarethattendtobringoutthegoodorevil, , , Iwastold, .
Nowwheredoesallthisleavesus? , forexample, thattheexistenceoffearandman’.I’mafraid, -threehundredyearsago, theGreekworld, whichhadattainedtremendousheightsofcreativeintelligenceandachievement, , too, ifIhavereadthesignscorrectlyintravelingaroundtheworld, ’twanttolosethethingsthataremoreimportantthanpeaceitself—moral, democratic, andspiritualvalues.
: first, whetherwecanmakethisplanetsafeforman; second, —thatmantodayhasalltheresourcestoshatterhisfearsandgoontothegreatestgoldenageinhistory, anagewhichwillprovidetheconditionsforhumangrowthandforthedevelopmentofthegoodthatresideswithinman, .
自从能够看懂哲学书开始,有关人性的讨论就激起了我浓厚的兴趣。人性是善还是恶,是利他还是利己,是合作还是竞争,是群居还是以自我为中心,是相信自由意志还是相信宿命,这些是哲学家们多少年来一直争论不休的话题。
人类一直对自身感到困惑,这可以追溯到柏拉图与苏格拉底的对话,甚至更早时期。人类知道自己拥有做出伟大而高尚的事情的能力,然而却又被犯下大罪的证据所压迫。