這裏是哲學176課 All right, so this is Philosophy 176.這門課的內容是關於死亡 The class is on death.我的名字是雪萊·卡根 My name is Shelly Kagan.首先 The very first thing我要說的就是希望你們稱呼我雪萊 I want to do is to invite you to call me Shelly.
= = 也就是說如果我們在街上碰見了 That is, if we meet on the street,或是你來辦公室找我談話 you come talk to me during office hours,請教我問題 you ask some question;我會回應雪萊這個名字 Shelly's the name that I respond to.當然我也會回應卡根教授這個稱呼 I will, eventually, respond to Professor Kagan,不過我會反應慢一些 but the synapses take a bit longer for that.因為對於這個稱呼我並不敏感 It's not the name I immediately recognize.我發現過去這些年 I have found that over the years,喜歡叫我雪萊的同學越來越少了 fewer and fewer students feel comfortable calling me Shelly.
我年輕的時候還有不少人這麼稱呼我 When I was young, it seemed to work.現在我"德高望重"了 Now I'm gray and august.如果你們覺得這樣叫順嘴的話 But if you're comfortable with it,我還是更喜歡你們這樣稱呼我 it's the name that I prefer to be called by.現在如我所說 Now, as I say,這是一門關於死亡的課程 this is a class on death.
這是一門哲學課 But it's a philosophy class,= = 這就意味着我們在這門課 and what that means is that the set of topics要討論的一系列問題 that we're going to be talking about in this class與其它關於死亡的課程 are not identical to the topics所講授的東西截然不同 that other classes on death might try to cover.所以首先我要說的是 So the first thing I want to do is say something我們不會談論那些 about the things we won't be talking about你們可能強烈希望在 that you might reasonably expect or hope死亡課程上聽到的東西 that a class on death would talk about,如果那樣的話這不會是你喜歡的課程 so that if this is not the class you were looking for,你還有時間去選修其他的課 you still have time to go check out some other class.我想要講的東西是你們在 So here are some things that a class on death其他死亡課上聽不到的 could cover that we won't talk about.首先我想到的是一些關於 What I primarily have in mind are sort of psychological死亡本質和死亡現象的 and sociological questions about the nature of death,一些心理學和社會學問題 or the phenomenon of death.
因此一堂死亡課 So, a class on death也許要好好討論一下死亡的過程 might well have a discussion of the process of dying以便讓你們接受 and coming to reconcile yourself with the fact人終會死去的事實 that you're going to die.也許你們有人知道 Some of you may know伊麗莎白·庫伯勒·羅斯 about Elisabeth Kübler-Ross' discussion所謂的死亡五部曲論述 of the so-called five stages of dying.否認憤怒 There's denial, and then there's anger,然後是妥協 and then there's bargaining.實際上我記不清這五個步驟 I actually don't remember the five stages.
我們也不會去討論它 We're not going to talk about that.同樣 Similarly,我們也不會討論美國的喪葬行業 we're not going to talk about the funeral industry以及他們如何敲詐百姓 in America and how it rips off people,實際上就是這樣 which it does,在他們悲傷脆弱的時候 in their moments of grief and weakness對他們提供的各種服務漫天要價 and overcharges them for the various things that it offers.我們不會去討論那些 We're not going to talk about that.我們不會去討論喪失親友時悲傷的過程 We're not going to talk about the process of grieving or bereavement.
我們不會去討論在我們的文化中 We're not going to talk about sociological attitudes面對死亡的社會學態度 that we have towards the dying in our culture以及我們如何試着去避免面對死亡 and how we tend to try to keep the dying hidden from the rest of us.這些都是十分重要的話題 These are all perfectly important topics,但是如我所講它們不是 but they're not, as I say,我們在這堂課上要討論的話題 topics that we're going to be talking about in this class.那麼我們要討論什麼呢 So what will we talk about?我們要討論的是當我們思考 Well, the things we'll talk about are philosophical questions死亡本質或諸如此類的問題時所產生的 that arise as we begin to think about the nature of death,哲學疑問 like this.
大致說來 In broad scope,這門課首先會講到形而上學 the first half of the class is going to be metaphysics,你們當中熟悉哲學術語的人 for those of you who are familiar with一定知道這個詞 the philosophical piece of jargon.課程的第二部分大致會談到價值論 And roughly, the second half of the class is going to be value theory.所以課程的前半部分將會集中在 So, the first half of the class is going to be concerned死亡本質的問題上 with questions about the nature of death.我們死亡時發生了什麼 What happens when we die?
事實上要解決這個問題 Indeed, to get at that question,我們首先要考慮的是我們是什麼 the first thing we're going to have to think about is what are we?人是一種什麼樣的實體 What kind of an entity is a person?特別是我們有靈魂嗎 In particular, do we have souls,在這節課上我所說的靈魂 and for this class when I talk about a soul,是哲學中的術語 what I'm going to mean is sort of a bit of philosophical jargon.我的意思是指某些非物質的東西 I'm going to mean something immaterial,某些區別於我們身體的東西 something distinct from our bodies.
我們有非物質的靈魂嗎 Do we have immaterial souls,會有東西能夠從身體的死亡中倖存嗎 something that might survive the death of our body?如果沒有那麼死亡的本質意味着什麼 And if not, what does that imply about the nature of death?怎麼樣才稱得上死亡 What kind of an event is death?倖存對我來說是什麼 What is it for me to survive?
假如我從死亡中倖存這意味着什麼 What would it mean for me to survive my death?今晚活着對於我來說又意味着什麼 What does it mean for me to survive tonight?那就意味着 That is, you know,週四有人會在這兒講課 somebody's going to be here lecturing to the class on Thursday,可以推斷那個人就是我 presumably that will be me.但是如何證明 What is it for that person週四站在這裏講課的人 who's there on Thursday to be the same person as the person與今天在這裏給大家講課的是同一個人呢 who's sitting here lecturing to you today?
這些都是個人同一性的問題 These are questions about the nature of personal identity.顯而易見 Pretty clearly,要想弄明白死亡和生存是怎麼一回事兒 to think about death and continued existence and survival,我們必須對個人同一性瞭然於心 we have to get clear about the nature of personal identity.我們會用上半學期 These sorts of questions will occupy us來討論這些問題 for roughly the first half of the semester.之後我們會討論到價值論 And then we'll turn to value questions.
如果死亡是終結那麼它是壞事嗎 If death is the end, is death bad?當然了毫無疑問大多數人 Now, of course, most of us are immediately堅信死亡是件壞事 and strongly inclined to think that death is bad.但是有許多關於死亡到底有多糟 But there are a set of philosophical puzzles的哲學之謎 about how death could be bad.讓你們先來體會一下 To sort of give you a quick taste,如果在我死後我不存在了 if after my death I won't exist,對我來說怎麼會有壞事呢 how could anything be bad for me?
對於不存在的東西怎麼會有壞事呢 How could anything be bad for something that doesn't exist?那麼死亡怎麼會是壞事呢 So how could death be bad?所以這麼說並不是 So it's not that the result is going to be我試圖讓你相信死亡不是壞事 that I'm going to try to convince you that death isn't bad,但這的確要花點時間來準確地說清楚 but it takes actually a little bit of work to pin down precisely什麼讓死亡成了壞事和怎樣才算死亡 what is it about death that's bad and how can it be death?使得死亡成為壞事的東西是否 Is there more than one thing about death不止一件 that makes it bad?
我們可以這樣想 We'll turn to questions like that.如果死亡是件壞事 If death is bad,那麼有人也許會好奇 then one might wonder是不是永生就是件好事了 would immortality be a good thing?那就是我們要思考的問題 That's a question that we'll think about.或者更通俗地說 Or, more generally,我們擔心如果我們即將死去 we'll worry about how should the fact將這會如何影響我們的生活 that I'm going to die affect the way I live?
我應該用怎樣的態度對待不可避免的死亡 What should my attitude be towards my mortality?比如我應該害怕死亡嗎 Should I be afraid of death, for example?我該對我即將死去這個事實感到絕望嗎 Should I despair at the fact that I'm going to die?最後我們將轉入自殺問題 Finally, we'll turn to questions about suicide.
許多人認為既然生命是有價值的 Many of us think that given the valuable無比珍貴的那麼 and precious thing that life is,自殺就是毫無意義的 suicide makes no sense.你放棄了你僅有的生命 You're throwing away the only life you're ever going to have.= = 我們將通過思考 And so we'll end the semester by thinking自殺的合理性和道德性 about questions along the lines of the rationality結束這個學期 and morality of suicide.大致地講 So roughly speaking,這就是我們的課程安排 that's where we're going.
前半學期形而上學 First half of the class, metaphysics;後半學期價值論 second half of the class, value theory.下面我需要解釋一點 Next thing I need to explain is this.簡單的說 There's, roughly speaking,講課有兩種方法 two ways to do a class,特別是像這種引論課 especially an introductory class like this.方法一 In approach number one,你們簡單的列出不同的觀點 you simply lay out the various positions,正面和反面 pro and con,老師爭取保持中立 and the professor strives to remain neutral;不表明他支持哪個觀點 sort of not tip his hand about what he holds.
這是方法一 That's approach number one.有時我會在介紹課上 And sometimes in my intro classes採用這種方法 that's the approach that I take.而另一種方法 But the other approach,我要提醒你們 and the one that I should warn you這個學期在這門課上 I'm going to take this semester,我的講課方式將與平常不同 in this class, is rather different.我會始終圍繞一個觀點來談 There's a line that I'm going to be developing,並推動和論證這個觀點 pushing, if you will, or defending in this class.
也就是說 That is to say,關於我們要討論的問題 there's a certain set of views I hold我會持有自己的觀點 about the issues that we'll be discussing.而我在課堂上要做的就是 And what I'm going to try to do in this class與其它的觀點辯論 is argue for those views.說服你們並讓你們相信我的觀點是正確的 Try to convince you that those views are correct.為了讓你們先了解一下那些觀點是什麼 To help you know sort of ahead of time quickly what those views are,我想先給大家介紹幾種觀點 I want to start by describing a set of views你們中可能有人會相信它們 that many of you probably believe.
下面我就給你們介紹這些觀點 So I'm going to give you a cluster of views.按理說 Logically speaking,你們不會完全相信這些觀點 you could believe some of these things and not all of them.但有一些觀點或許你們大多數人是讚同的 But here's a set of views that many of you probably believe,我想你們至少會相信其中一部分 and I imagine most of you believe at least some of these things.這是幾種普遍的觀點 So here's the set of common views.
第一我們有靈魂 First of all, that we have a soul.那就是說我們不僅僅只是個肉體 That is to say we are not just bodies.我們不僅僅只是幾塊骨頭和肉 We're not just lumps of bone and flesh.我們身體中有一部分 But there's a part of us,可能是極其重要的 perhaps the essential part of us,比身體還重要得多 that is something more than the physical,= = 精神的非物質的部分 the spiritual, immaterial part of us,就像我在這說的靈魂 which as I say in this class we'll call a soul.
你們中的大多數人可能相信靈魂 Most of us, most of you, probably believe in souls.當然大多美國人 Certainly most people in America相信非物質的靈魂存在 believe in some sort of immaterial soul.鑑於它們的存在 And given this existence of this immaterial soul,有可能 it's a possibility,也的確是有這樣的可能 indeed a fair likelihood,讓我們能在死亡後繼續存在 that we will survive our deaths.= = 死亡會破壞我們的身體 The death will be the destruction of my body,但是我們的靈魂是非物質的 but my soul is immaterial所以能在我們死亡之後仍然存在 and so my soul can continue to exist after my death.
不論你是否相信靈魂的存在 And whether or not you actually believe in a soul,你希望它是存在的 you hope that there's a soul so如果靈魂存在你就能倖免於死 so that there'll be this serious possibility of surviving your death因為死亡不僅糟糕而且極為恐怖 because death is not only bad, but so horrible我們所希望的是 that what we would like to have happen is,= = 我們能夠永遠活着 we would like to live forever.因此擁有一個靈魂 And so, armed with a soul, as it were,至少可以擁有永生的可能性 there's at least the possibility of immortality.永生是一件很棒的事 Immortality would be wonderful.我們希望能夠永生 That's what we hope is the case,無論這是否能夠實現 whether or not we know that it's the case.
但永生無疑很棒 Immortality would be wonderful.這就是為什麼死亡是件壞事 That's why death's so bad.因為它使我們喪失了永生的機會 It robs us of immortality.如果沒有靈魂 And if there is no soul,如果死亡是完結 if death is the end,如果沒有永生 if there is no immortality,那麼在面對死亡這如此糟糕透頂的事情時 this is such an overwhelming bad thing that the only,最明顯的反應 the obvious reaction,最自然的反應 the natural reaction,最普遍的反應 the universal reaction,當然會是恐懼和絕望 is to face the prospect of death with fear and despair.
就像我之前提到的 And as I mentioned earlier then,死亡是可怕的相反生命太美好了 death is so horrible and life is so wonderful所以浪費生命是愚蠢的 that it could never make sense to throw it away.自殺當然也是不道德且毫無意義可言的 So suicide is both immoral on the one hand and never makes sense.另外這也是很不理性的 It's always irrational as well, in addition.以上我說的是一些關於死亡本質的 That, as I say, is I think a common set of views普遍觀點 about the nature of death.
我接下來要做什麼呢 And what I'm going to be doing,我準備在這兒給你們證明的就是 what I'm going to be arguing in this class,那個觀點從頭至尾 is that that set of views is pretty much mistaken都是錯的 from beginning to end.我嘗試讓你們相信靈魂是不存在的 And so I'm going to try to convince you that there is no soul.永生並不是一件好事 Immortality would not be a good thing.對死亡感到恐懼是正常的反應 Fear of death isn't actually an appropriate response to death.
自殺有時候 Suicide, under certain circumstances,也有可能是合理的在道德上也是正當的 might be rationally and morally justified.如我所言 As I say,那個普遍觀點從頭到尾都是錯的 the common picture is pretty much mistaken from start to end.那至少是我的目標 That's at least my goal.我的目的 That's my aim.
那就是我要做的 That's what I'm going to be doing.現在從這節課開始 Now, since of course,我相信這個觀點 I believe the views I believe.也希望在這個學期末你們能贊同我 and I hope at the end of the semester you'll agree with me,因為我相信那是真實的 because I think they're true我希望你們最終會相信這個事實 and I hope you'll end up believing the truth.但我得說關鍵不是 But I should say that the crucial point你們要贊同我 isn't for you to agree with me.
關鍵在於讓你們自己思考 The crucial point is for you to think for yourself.我要你們做的就是冷靜地 And so what I'm really doing is inviting you to take a good,客觀地看待死亡 cold, hard look at death,並勇於面對以一種我們從未 and to face it and think about it in a way用過的方法去思考 that most of us don't do.如果你在這個學期末 If you, at the end of the semester,= = 還是不贊同我的觀點 haven't agreed with me about this particular claim那也沒關係 or that particular claim, so be it.我也是滿意的 I'll be content.
即使我不完全滿意 I won't be completely content.但至少我基本上是滿意的 but I'll be at least largely content只要你們已經深思熟慮了 as long as you've really thought各種論證所存在的各種問題 through the arguments on each side of these various issues.卡倫現在你可以發 Karen, maybe this would be a good time for you教學大綱了 to pass around the syllabus.接下來要做的介紹是.
Next introductory remark:今天說的很多東西都是以後討論的重點 A lot of today's talk is going to be devoted to business.如果時間允許 I'll get to, if time permits,我會在最後講一點哲學 some philosophy at the end.我想再說明一下 I want to make one more remark about在這節課上我們都會做些什麼 what I'll be doing in terms of this class.這節課就像我說的是節哲學課 This class, as I say, is a philosophy class.
我們主要是坐在這裏 We'll basically be sitting here thinking用我們的推理能力來思考關於死亡 about what we can know or make sense of with regard= = 我們能知道什麼或者能弄清楚什麼 to death using our reasoning capacity.我們嘗試從理性的角度去考慮死亡 We'll be trying to think about death from a rational standpoint.有一種證據一種論證 One kind of evidence or one kind of argument我們不會在這裏用到 that we won't be making use of here那就是訴諸宗教權威 is appeal to religious authority.比如說你們中的有些人相信 So some of you may believe in, for example,有來世存在 the existence of an afterlife.
你可能相信你會在死後繼續存在 You may believe you're going to survive your death.= = 你可能相信永生 You may believe in immortality因為那是教會告訴你的 because that's what your church teaches you.這沒關係 And that's fine.我並不打算 It's not my purpose or intention here就你的宗教信仰和你爭辯 to try to argue you out of your religious beliefs或者跟它對立 or to argue against your religious beliefs.
我所要求的是 All I'm going to ask is在這節課上我們不訴諸這類宗教的論證 that we not appeal to such religious arguments,不會訴諸啟示或聖經的權威 appeal to revelation or the authority of the Bible,或是諸如此類的論證 or what have you, in the course of this argument.在這節課上我們都不會涉及 In the course of this class.如果你願意 If you want to,你可以把它想像成一個大的假設 you could think of this class as one big hypothetical.我們能從死亡的本質得出什麼樣的結論 What conclusions would we come to about the nature假如我們必須從 of death if we had to think about世俗的觀點考慮它呢 it from a secular perspective?
只用我們自己的推測 Making use of only our own reasoning,儘管與神聖的權威 as opposed to whatever answers所給出的答案截然相反 we might be given by divine revealed authority.你們中那些相信神聖權威的人 Those of you who believe in divine revealed authority,我們下次再來談 that's a debate for another day.這不是我們 It's not a debate這學期要所要進行的討論 that we're going to be engaged in here in this semester.同樣地儘管我沒有讓你們 Similarly, although I'm not going to ask you在討論組裏隱瞞你們的宗教觀點 in your discussion sections to hide your religious views,但我會讓你在這門課上 you'll be asked in the course為其辯護 of defending them,給出理由讓我們所有人都理解 to give reasons that would make sense to all of us.
以上是我順帶提到的上課方式 That's by way of sort of where the class is going.現在我們轉到其他討論上去 Let me now turn to some discussion關於這個課程的要求 about the requirements of the class,評分等等 grades and so forth and so on.教學大綱已經發下去了 The syllabus is going around the class.大多數人現在已經拿到手了 Almost all of you have it at this point.
這個教學大綱大部分並不能說明全部內容 The syllabus doesn't really say a whole lot.我已經給你們大致介紹了一下 I've already given you an overview我們將要進行的主題 of what topics we'll be going to.教學大綱的關鍵點 The crucial point about the syllabus is是指出了你們需要在製定時間內 that it indicates what reading you need to所需讀完的閱讀材料 have done for any given week.現在我已經盡力 Now, I've done my best為每週要上的內容 to peg the readings to where收集了足夠多的閱讀材料 I will be on that week's lecture,= = 但大部分時候我不按照講稿來講課 but I don't lecture with lecture notes, for the most part.
有時候我花的時間比預期的要長些 Sometimes I take a little bit longer than I anticipated.實際上 Actually,我花的時間常常要比我預期的長 I often take a little bit longer than I anticipated.毫無疑問有時我會多花些時間 No doubt at some point I'll fall behind.有時我又急着想要超前 At some point I may rush to catch up ahead.
以下這種事情不是常會發生的 It won't always be the case那就是 that the readings閱讀材料恰好與講課內容一致 will exactly coincide with where the lectures are at.儘管如此你們還是需要 Nonetheless, in any given week,在給定的時間內即每星期的開始 for the start of that week,讀完每週的清單上 you should have done所列出的閱讀材料 the readings that are listed for that week.大綱裏的讀物簡單的地列出了作者名 The readings on the syllabus simply say the author,而且很多書在書店裏 and there are a couple of books都可以找到 that are available at the bookstore.= = 大量的讀物作為教材集 There are a larger packet of readings你們可以在泰科[當地書店] that's available as a course pack那裏找到 at Tyco's [local print shop].
所以在給定的時間裏你們可以找到那些書 And so for any given week you can find the reading.或許會有一兩種情況實際上只有一種 One or two cases, maybe just one actually,我不止找到某作者的一篇文章 where I've got more than one article by the given author,我也會給出文章的標題 I've given the title of the article as well.在給定的時間裏 It shouldn't be difficult找到材料應該不難 to locate the reading for any given week.上課的模式當然 The format of the class, of course,是你們所熟悉而且直白的 is a familiar and straightforward one.
我每週會在這裏講兩次課 I'll be sitting here lecturing twice a week,上午的10:30到11:20 this time, 10:30 to 11:20.每週你們都將被分成討論小組 Once a week you will break up into discussion sections.小組討論將持續50分鐘 The discussion sections will meet for 50 minutes.你們每一個人都將有單獨的時間 Each one of you will have a single time.
但與小組討論的時間不會相衝突 But it'll be different times the discussion sections meet.這是第一次 For the first time,哲學係可以使用 the philosophy department has just switched over在線討論小組註冊系統 to the online discussion section registration system.它怎樣運作我並不十分清楚 I'm not 100% certain how that works.之前我對這個也不習慣 I've not used it before.
我想它是這麼回事 I take it the idea is something like this.現在如果你加入了這個課程 Right now, if you were to shop the class,你就能在上面找到具體的 you could find the tentative list of日程時間安排 discussion section days and times.以確保你有時間來進行討論 So be sure to find some time that works for you.實際上 You can't actually你現在還不能註冊進入討論組 register for any of those discussion section times yet.
但我想 But as of, I think,下週 next week當你能夠在線註冊時 when you're able to begin your online registration,你就能註冊任何討論小組了 you will be able to register for any discussion section實際上 In fact,你還不能註冊這門課 you won't be able to finalize your registration for your courses除非安排表上還有空餘的位置 until you've actually signed up for an available slot.一旦你註冊了 Once you have registered,如果之前一些滿額的位置 if some other slots become available現在空缺了 that weren't previously available,系統會給你發送郵件 I gather you'll be sent some sort of email by the system,看你什麼時候有空 in case some other time would be better for you.你可以把自己放進候選名單裏等等 You can put yourself on waiting lists and so forth.理論上聽起來挺不錯 It sounds pretty good on paper.
也許可以順利實現 Maybe it'll all work smoothly.我從未用過這玩意 I've never been through it before.希望我們不會有什麼問題 I hope we won't have any problems.現在你們需要確定的是 Right now what you want to make sure那些時間是否合適 is that there is a time that's available.
當然現在任何時間都可以 right now all the times are available.但必須是要你有時間 but that there is a time that works for you.因為如果你不能找到 Because if you can't find一個適合的小組 a discussion section that works for you,你就不能選這門課了 you won't be able to take this course.對此有任何問題嗎 Any questions about that?
實際上我應該問 I should actually ask,目前為止 any questions about anything對我所說的所有問題有疑問嗎 that I've asked or said so far, up to this point?讓我說說我的這些問題 Let me make a remark about questions,目前最主要的事是什麼 which is--today's mostly business.希望答案非常簡單 Hopefully, it'll be fairly straightforward.但是在今天以及整個學期裏 But both today and throughout the entire semester,在我講課時 as I'm lecturing你們可以打斷我講課向我提問 I want to invite you to jump in with questions.
打斷我講課好像有點誇張了 Well, jump in is a bit of an exaggeration.我不希望你們隨意插話但可以舉手 I don't want you to just start talking, but raise your hand.如果你們聽不懂我在說什麼 If I'm saying something that you don't understand,那極有可能是 the chances are pretty good that教室裏其他25位或50位學生 there's 25 or 50 other students in the class都沒有聽懂 who don't understand it either.我只是沒有表達清楚 I'm just not being clear.
所以我歡迎你們提問 So I want to welcome you,我真的希望你們 I really want to invite you,不管何時 whenever你們對我說的有所回應都能 you've got some reactions to the things that I'm saying,舉起你們的手我會讓你們說話 raise your hand, I'll call on you.你們就說雪萊我真不明白 Say, "Shelly, I didn't really understand你所說的靈魂問題 what you were saying about the soul.能請您再解釋一遍嗎 Could you please explain that again?"或者就某一觀點 Or, for that matter,如果你對我所說的 if you've got some quick reactions某個論證有什麼好的回應好的想法 or thoughts or responses to the arguments或是好的解答 that I'm laying out並且你想和全班同學分享 and you want to share them with the class as a whole,我會非常樂意你這樣做的 then very much I want to invite you to do this.
這個班級太大了讓我們很難會有機會 Now this class is too big for us to have some close,跟150到180個人進行親密的交談 intimate conversation between the 150-180,當然具體人數我也不是很清楚 however many students there are here.但那肯定是不可能的 That's not going to happen.可是 But小組間的詳細討論 the chance for detailed discussion ,這還是可以的 in the discussion section這些討論是必須的 that's where that should happen.儘管如此簡要回應問題的機會 But still, there is the chance for brief reactions提問的機會肯定還是有的 and definitely a chance for questions.
我很樂意你們那樣做 I very much want to invite you to do that.所以 So,任何時候如果你有想問的東西 if at any point you've got something you want to ask about或者你想要補充些什麼東西 or some two bits you want to add,請舉手搖晃起來確保我能看見 raise your hand, wiggle it around, make sure I see you.也許我想先講完我之前所講的東西 I may want to finish the particular point that I'm making,但 but隨後我會把時間留給你們接受你們的提問 I'll try to come back to you and I'll then raise your question.如果我記住你的提問 And if I remember at least,我會大聲地把問題重複一遍 I will repeat the question out loud讓所有人都可以聽到了 so that everybody can hear it.
我還想說我會試着養成一種習慣 I also want to say that I will try to have the practice of,如果課後你想繼續討論 after class ends, if you want to continue the discussion,課程結束時 towards the end,你腦子裏突然冒出了某些想法 you have some questions that occurred to you,之前卻沒有機會 we didn't have a chance拿出來與全班分享 to share them with the class as a whole,那麼平時我們可以在課外繼續交流 I will, on a normal day, meet outside and continue to talk with不管有多少人想要交流 however many of you want to do that我都會讓你們滿意 until you're done.我就是喜歡談論這些東西 I just love talking about this stuff而且我也歡迎你在答疑時間來 and I welcome you to come to my office hours.我希望你們在課上提問 I invite you to ask questions in class or,如果你願意的話課後也行 if you prefer, after class as well.再問一次你們有什麼問題嗎 Again, any questions about any of that?
請說 Yeah.我的答疑時間是什麼時候 When are my office hours?這真是個好問題 That's a great question and連我也不知道問題的答案 I don't know the answer to it.我還沒有計劃好 I haven't planned them yet.
星期四 On Thursday,一上課就問我 start the class那時再回答你吧 by asking me that and I'll give you an answer.好吧 All right.其它的事情 Other bits of business.關於分數我應該說明一下 I should say something about grades.
你們中的大多數可能聽說過 Now many of you may have heard,有人可能知道 many of you may know,如果你真的不知道 and if you don't already know this,那麼我要警告你 I should warn you,我在耶魯 that I have a reputation around Yale是出了名的嚴厲 as being a harsh grader.這是真的 I know this is true, that is,而我之所以有這樣的名聲 I know I have the reputation, both because是因為在學生定期評估時 I periodically in my student evaluations我被評為耶魯最嚴厲的人之一 get told I'm one of Yale's harsher graders,還因有時"耶魯日間新聞"的文章裏 and because every now and then the Yale Daily News會談到關於成績膨脹[平均成績上升]的事 will have an article about grade inflation然後人們總會問我 and they'll always ask me, ""卡根教授是這樣一個人. ..
" Well Professor Kagan is somebody."一旦有關於成績膨脹的故事 Once there was a story on grade inflation耶魯日間新聞會從下面這句話開始 that the Yale Daily News began by saying, ""雪萊·卡根 As Shelly Kagan耶魯最嚴厲的老師之一" (known at Yale as one of the hardest graders)."這起碼讓我知道 So I know I've got at least the reputation我有嚴厲這個名聲 of being a hard grader.我不知道這名聲是不是我應得的 I don't actually know whether it's deserved or not,因為耶魯並無明文規定 because Yale does not publish information about一般評分標準是什麼 what the grading averages are.
在其他我曾授課的學校 At other schools I've taught at卻有此規定比如人文學科 there's been information along the lines of well入門課程典型的評分標準 the typical grade in an introductory course是怎樣怎樣的 in the humanities is such and such.我剛來耶魯沒幾天 Shortly after I came here to Yale,就發現人們認為 and I started realizing that people thought我在評分上比大多耶魯教授都嚴格 I was a harder grader than most other Yale professors,我打電話問過教務處 I called the administration and asked,你們是不是有這方面的規定呢 "Do you have this sort of information?"回答是"是" The answer is "Yes.""能不能讓我看看呢" "Will you give it to me?
"回答是"不能" The answer was "No."他們不把這種規定給耶魯教員們看 They don't share this information with the Yale faculty.有點奇怪吧 Seems odd.當然這也不難解釋 The explanation, of course, actually isn't that hard to come by.
他們擔心我們這些嚴格的評分者 The worry is that those of us who are harder graders than average,在這類信息發佈後 if the information were published,會因為內疚而稍把評分提高 would feel guilty and sort of ease up on our grading.而那些評分本來就比較鬆的 But those who are easier graders根本不會覺得內疚不會因此更嚴格 than average will never feel guilty and toughen up.這樣一來結果就是分數一直往上升 So the result would be a constant push up with the grades.雖然 At any rate,不確定我是否評分嚴格 I don't know for certainty that I'm a harder grader,但相信應該就是這如此 but I believe that it's the case就我每次講課所得到的反應而言 based on reactions I get when I give the speech that I'm about to give.
就這樣吧 Okay, so.我打開那本藍皮書耶魯指導手冊 When I open the blue book, the Yale guideline,耶魯目錄有這麼一頁 the Yale catalog, it's got a page,是說耶魯每個評分字母表示什麼 as you all know, where it says what letter grades mean at Yale.我今年沒把那張紙帶過來 I didn't actually bring it this year.我有時會帶不過現在差不多背下來了 Sometimes I do, but I've got it pretty much memorized.
比方說每個字母表旁邊都註明了含義 It says, for example, next to each letter grade what it means.比如B表示好 B, for example, means good.A表示優秀 A means excellent,C表示良好 C means satisfactory,D是合格 D is passing,F是不及格 F is failing.B 我們先來說B B, let's start with B.
B表示好 B means good.現在關鍵問題是好是什麼意思 Now the crucial question then is what does good mean?我認為好就是好如此一來 I take good to mean good. Consequently,如果你給我寫了篇好論文 if you were to write a good paper for me,就會拿B that would get a B.
如果你從我這兒拿了個B And when you get a B from me.我這裏說的是我是指我本人 now, I say me, this is the royal me.因為我並不會親自給你們的論文評分 Because I won't actually be grading your papers.給你們論文評分是一小隊助教 Your papers will be graded by a small army of TAs.
但他們是在我的指導下評分的 But they will grade under my supervision,也會遵守我告訴他們的評分標準 and in keeping with the standards that I ask them to grade with.所以如果你們因為分數而憤怒 So when you're pissed off about your grade,你們要找的人 the person to take it up with.就是他們啦 well, take it up with them.但最後你會想要來找我 But eventually you'll want to take it up with me.
所以如果你從我們這兒拿了個B So when you get a B from us,B不是說你寫的東西是垃圾 B doesn't mean what a piece of crap.B是做得好你拿了B應該高興才是 B means good job! And so you should be pleased to get a B,因為你做的好啊 because it meant you were doing good work而且在哲學課上做到好可不容易 and it's not easy to do good work in philosophy.A是優秀 A means excellent.
優秀並不是說你可以拿去發表了 Now excellent does not mean publishable.優秀也不是說你是上帝賜給哲學界的禮物 Excellent does not mean you are God's gift to philosophy.所以你們要理解的是拿到A So it's crucial to understand it doesn't mean並不是唯一可以證明你就是 that the only way you're going to get an A上帝賜給哲學界的禮物的途徑 is to be God's gift to philosophy.A只是對哲學初學者而言的最大褒獎 A means excellent work for a first class in philosophy.
這只是啟蒙課 This is an introductory class.是在假設你們沒有任何哲學背景下進行的 It does not presuppose any background in philosophy.但依舊要想拿到A Still, to get an A,你們得表現出一點資質 you've got to show some flair for the subject.不只是表現出你們理解 You've got to show not only have you understood the ideas那些閱讀中的課堂上的 that have been put forward in the readings及其他內容的觀點 and in the lectures and so forth,你們還得想辦法在論文中把他們整合起來 but you see how to sort of put them together in the paper in a way顯得你們有點天分 that shows you've got some aptitude here.
要讓我們覺得值得注意並記下來 You did it in a way that made us take note.A是給這類人準備的 That's what we try to reserve As for.你們中會有些人拿A Some of you will end up getting As,即時剛開始沒有 if not at the beginning,學期末也會有 by the end of the semester.你們中會有很多人拿B Many of you will end up getting Bs,即時不是在剛開始 if not at the beginning,到學期末也會有 by the end of the semester.
很多人在剛開始時不會很棒 Many of you will not start out doing good work.很多人剛開始時只能說令人滿意 Many of you will start out doing satisfactory work or,或者說實話甚至不太令人滿意 truth be told, less than satisfactory work.我以前也是本科生 Now look, I was an undergraduate once.我也知道一般的本科生論文是怎麼寫的 And I know what it is to write a typical undergraduate paper.
交論文前一晚坐下後想出了幾個點子 You sit down the night before and you had a couple of ideas.你想了大概半個小時 You thought about it maybe for a half an hour.本來是打算早點開始準備的 And you meant to get to it sooner,但你總有很多別的事要做 but you had a lot of other things to do.你花幾個小時寫出來也許還熬夜了 And you throw it off in a couple of hours and maybe stay up late.
你知道那不是你寫過的最差的東西 You know it's not the worst thing you ever wrote,也不是最好的 and it's not the best thing you ever wrote,裏面也有幾個不錯的主意 and it has a couple of nice ideas,但也許本來可以寫得更好一點 but maybe it could be better.只能說還算令人滿意 It's sort of a satisfactory job.耶魯認為令人滿意就是C Yale says satisfactory means C.你們中很多人在學期初會把論文寫成那樣 So many of you will start off the semester writing that kind of paper.
問題是 And the fact of the matter is,有些人開始時的論文會比那更糟 some of you will start off writing worse papers than that.因為哲學論文 Because writing a philosophy paper不是那麼容易寫的 is a difficult thing to learn how to do.寫哲學論文是需要一些實力的 It's exercising a set of muscles你們很多人平時並沒有練習寫過 that a lot of you have not spent a lot of time exercising.並不是說你們從來沒有花時間做過 Now it's not as though you haven't spent any time doing it.
你們和高中朋友們 You've had bull sessions, right,大學舍友等等有過閒聊 with your high school friends or in your college dorm or what have you.但你們從未按照我們 But you haven't done it with the kind of discipline標準嚴密的要求寫過 and rigor that we're looking for here.所以正如其他事一樣 So, like anything else,這個技巧在練習中會進步 it's a skill that gets better with practice.當然這也就是說 And what that means, of course,你們剛開始時做的不會太好 is you won't do as well at the beginning我們期望你們在最後會更好一些 as you're likely to be doing toward the end.
其中有些人很遺憾 Some of you, unfortunately,在開始時表現不會很好 won't do very good jobs at the beginning.我會鼓勵我的助教們做好給D的準備 and my TAs, I'll encourage them to be prepared to give Ds.如果論文的缺點明顯比優點多 If the vices of the paper significantly outweigh the virtues,那就是D that's a D.如果論文毫無可取之處 If the vices very significantly outweigh whatever virtues there are,那大概就是F了 that's some kind of an F.
實際上你們中很多人在第一篇論文上 So the fact of the matter is many of you in your initial papers所得的分數可能比 will get lower grades than you've probably你們這小半輩子得過的都低 ever gotten before in your life.我只是想要警告你們一下 I wanted to warn you about that.我說這些不是想嚇壞你們 Now I say this not so much to depress the hell out of you,只是警告你們一下 but (a) partly to warn you,並且說清楚我認為這只是種技能 and (b) to make it clear that I believe that it's a skill.寫一篇好哲學論文是一種技巧 Writing a good philosophy paper is a skill並且你會越寫越好 and you can get better at it.
因此你們中大部分人會做得越來越好 Consequently, most of you will get better at it.所以讓我把下面的話說完 So let me make the following remark.三篇五頁長的論文每篇論文 Officially, each paper--you have three five-page papers.佔分數的百分之二十五這是規定的 Each paper is worth 25% of your grade, officially.
剩下的百分之二十五是小組討論 But--the remaining 25% is discussion section;我等一下會談這個 I'll get to that in a minute--按規定每一篇論文都佔百分之二十五 officially, 25% of your grade is for each of the three papers.但如果你在這學期的課程中 But if, over the course of the semester,進步了那麼我們會 you get better, then we will give,在學期末 at the end of the semester,當我們算出你的分數後 when we're figuring out your semester grade,我們會給之後那篇 we'll give the later,較好的論文更大的分值比重 stronger papers more than their official weight.對大部分人而言 For many of you,第一篇論文會很明顯是最差的一篇 the first paper will be clearly the worst paper you write.那麼我們會把這篇論文的分數扔到一邊 And then we'll just throw that grade away;給第二三篇論文更大比重 give greater weight to the second and third papers.
如果第三篇論文最好 If the third paper is the strongest,我們會讓第三篇論文佔更大的比重 we will give even more weight to the third paper.這沒什麼公式定律 There's no formula here,主要是看整體情況 a great deal depends on the overall pattern,也就是助教告訴我 what your TA tells me about你們這學期的學習情況 how you've done over the course of the semester.這個針對你們表現進步所給予的 But this policy of giving greater weight,更大分值比重的方針 if you show improvement,是你們可以從中受益的方針 is something that most of you will benefit from.所以如果你們最終沒有得到好成績 So if you end up not doing well,這個分數政策不是想讓你們退卻或是退課 the moral of the story is not to go running off and dropping the class,而是去思考你所做的對的事 but to figure out what you did right,和不對的事 what you didn't do right,以及怎樣讓接下來的 how to make the second paper better論文寫得更好 and the third paper stronger, again.
如果你有了明顯的進步 And if you do show improvement,那將會有很顯着地影響 that will very significantly influence並在你的分數及 and emerge in terms of the impact it has學期總評上顯示出來 on your overall semester grade.因為這個政策 Because of this policy,我其實不知道當所有都 I don't actually know when all is said按章進行後學期末的評分是否依然較低 and done whether at the end of the semester I'm any harder,分數是否偏離了平均水平 whether I depart from the average or not.我簡單介紹一下一般的績分佈情況 Let me quickly mention there's a fairly typical grade distribution對於期末的學期總評來說 for the overall grades of this, at the end of the semester.大概有百分之二十五的人 Roughly 25% of you are likely to end up學期末會拿到A with some kind of an A at the end of the semester.
百分之五十至五十五的人會拿到B fifty 55% of you or so are likely to end up with some kind of a B.百分之二十至二十五的人會拿到C Twenty,25% percent of you might end up with some sort of a C.有時少數人的分數會低於C Sometimes there's a couple of percent that end up worse than that.你有能力完成像樣的作業這不足為奇 Unsurprisingly, you've got the ability to do decent work in this class大多數人有能力完成好的作業 and most of you have the ability to do good work,絕大多數人 and some of you have, a fair chunk of you have,有能力完成優秀的作業 the ability to do excellent work,儘管這需要花一些功夫才能做到 though it may take some work on your part to get to that point.
最後我該說一下為什麼我要這樣做 The last thing I should say about the grades is why do I do this?我真的是出於對你們的尊重才這麼做的 It's really I try to do it as a sign of respect for you.我知道這聽起來很奇怪 I know that may seem like a surprising thing to say在我有些幸災樂禍地說完 when I've just sort of gone on my little gleeful amount about我會如何讓你們集體掛掉之後 how I'm going to fail all of you,但你們值得我稱讚你們非常聰明 but it's worth my saying you guys are so smart.你們非常有才 You're so talented.
你們已經通過自己的能力走到現在 You've gotten so far on your ability並且很多人已學會輕而易舉收穫成功 that many of you have learned to coast.你們可能不需要靠完成學業來獲得成功 It's not doing you any kind of service to let you continue coasting.我想要的是誠實的與你們相對對吧 My goal here is to be honest with you, right?你們大多數人也許足夠聰明 Look, you're smart enough probably most of you最終毫不費力就可以得到B to pull off some sort of B without breaking into a sweat,或是至少花點功夫 or at least not a significant sweat.
這沒關係 So be it.但是你這是在自欺欺人 But it's just lying to you to pretend你是在佯裝你精通哲學 that that's excellence in philosophy.所以我想在這門課里和你們坦誠相待 So what I want to do in this class is be honest with you= = 並告訴你們 and tell you,"你們真的是在學東西 "You've really done work here你們該為自己感到為豪" to be extraordinarily proud of yourself"而不是說"你們做的差強人意" versus "Yeah, you've done something okay"或是"你們幹的不錯 or "You've done good work.誠然雖不是優秀 Admittedly, it's not great,但也算不錯了" but you've done good work.
"百分之七十五的分數取決於論文 All right, that's 75% of your grade is the papers.剩下的百分之二十五基於小組討論 The remaining 25% of your grade is based on discussion section.小組討論可是佔了很大的分數比例 Now that's a lot of your grade to turn on discussion section.所以我和你們說的第一件事就是我是認真的 So the first thing I need to tell you is I really mean it.
如果你們不在小組討論好好表現 If you blow off discussion section,你們的分數會很低 you're grade will suffer.你們需要知道的是你們在小組討論時 So it's worth knowing in a general way what you need to do如何做才能得到比較高的分數答案是 to earn a good grade in discussion section and here the answer is,同樣這也是最明顯的 perhaps the obvious one,你需要去參與 you need to participate.你需要去參與討論 You need to come to discussion sections給出自己的想法 having thought about the lectures,去讀閱讀材料 having done the readings,去思考他們提出的問題 having thought about the questions that they raise,並且你需要去討論 and you need to come to discussion section然後準備這個星期要討論的問題 then prepared to discuss this week's set of issues.你需要去聆聽你的同學所說的 You need to listen to what your classmates are saying並說明為什麼你不同意他們 and say why you disagree with them.
不僅是說出你不同意他們 And not just that you disagree with them,還要提出反駁的理由 but to raise an objection.或者為什麼你同意他們的觀點 Or why you agree with them.當其他人攻擊他們時 And when somebody else then attacks them,你得說"我覺得約翰說得很對 say, "Look, I think that what John was saying was a good point我認為他該這樣維護他的立場" and here's how I think he should have defended his position,"或者說出你的看法 or what have you.你需要參與到哲學討論中去 You need to engage in philosophical discussion.
如果你不參與討論 If you're not participating in discussion section,那你就沒有完成討論的目的 you're not doing what the section is there for.哲學家愛談論同樣也愛辯論 Philosophers love to talk and we love to argue.只有通過通過談論哲學 The way to get better at thinking about philosophy才能讓我們更好地了解哲學 is by talking about philosophy.這就是我讓你們積極參與討論的原因 So I'm putting my money where my mouth is.
我是說"嘿 I'm saying, "Look, yeah,那是這門課很重要的一部分 that's an important part of the class.重要到要佔分數的百分之二十五" So important that it's going to be worth 25% of your grade."再次重申這不是意味着 Again, it doesn't mean.這和論文有些區別 this is slightly different from the papers.
不是說你要有淵博的哲學知識才能得到A that you've got to be brilliant philosophically to get an A.而是你需要在課堂環節上 Rather, you've got to be a wonderful class citizen成為一個很棒的學生才能得到A to get an A for discussion section.所以我把它放到了教學大綱裏 So, as I put it, in fact I think I put it this way on the syllabus,參與在這裏我是指要相互尊重的參與 participation--and here I mean respectful participation,而不是想出風頭的那種 not hogging the limelight.參與能夠加分 participation can improve your grade,而不會使你的分數變少 but it won't lower your grade.
不參與或是不出勤 Nonparticipation, or not being there,那將會扣分 that will lower your participation grade.有任何問題關於這個的嗎 Any question about any of that?那好 All right.我抱歉說了這麼冗長的規矩 So I'm sorry to have sort of the long gloom and doom,但這些可以讓你們了解 but it seems that it's only fair to let you know你們將要面對什麼 what you're getting into.
另一個關於小組討論我要強調的是 One other remark about the discussion sections.我認為這就像是 The way I think of it is like你們在外語課堂上的對話時間 the conversation hour for your foreign language class.你們中有多少人以前上過哲學課 How many of you have had a philosophy class before?謝謝也許有百分之十五 Thanks.
Maybe 15% of you.或是百分之二十 Maybe 20% of you.大多數都沒上過 Most of you have not.這很正常 That's pretty normal.
不要在小組討論上這樣想 Don't go into discussion section thinking,"我不知道說什麼我沒有哲學基礎 "Oh, I can't talk. I don't have any background in philosophy.我從來沒有做過這種事" I've never done this sort of thing before."對於大多數人來所這是事實 That's true for most of you.
你們慢慢適應的方法只有談論哲學 The way you get better is by talking philosophy.好下一件事 All right. Next remark.這應該是與你們分數相關的 I guess this is sort of just one last connection最後一件事了 with regard to grades.
這是堂哲學導論課 This is an intro philosophy class.導論課程的關鍵就是這是第一堂哲學課 The crucial point about intro is it means first class in philosophy.它並不需要任何哲學基礎 It doesn't presuppose any background in philosophy.但這不表示它簡單 It doesn't necessarily mean easy.
其中一些內容對某些人來說 Some of this material for some of you is going to be very,將會非常難 very difficult.並且儘管你們要讀的材料 And although the number of pages that you'll have to read are not.不是太多 there's not a lot.也許是一個星期內五十頁或許更少 Probably in a typical week, 50 pages, maybe less.
對大多數人來說 For many of you,你們可能會覺得這些內容很難懂 you're going to find it dense material.而且我也不認為 And although I don't really have the fantasy你們有些人會讀兩遍 that many of you will read this stuff twice,如果你們有時間的話 if you had the time to do it,那將會是非常值得去做的事 that would be a wonderful thing to do.哲學是很難讀懂的東西 Philosophy is hard stuff to read.另一件關於這門介紹課要說的是 Other remark about this being an intro class我們對一些問題的介紹 is that it's introductory in that the issues都是你們頭一回聽說的 that we're talking about are kind of first run through.
每一件我們在這討論的 Every single thing that we discuss here都有可能到一個更深的境界 could be pursued at greater depth.例如我們會花時間討論一些問題 So, for example, we'll spend whatever it is,也許用了一個半星期談論 maybe a week and a half talking about個人同一性或許花了兩星期 the nature of personal identity, two weeks.但是也有人會花一整個學期 But one could easily spend an entire semester獨自思考那個問題 thinking about that question alone.所以不管我們討論什麼 So don't come away thinking that whatever it is都不要以為那些 that we've talked about here in lecture只能在課堂上思考 is the last word on the subject.
更確切地說它只是這個問題的開始 Rather, it's something more like first words.我還想再說一點關於閱讀材料的事 Actually, one other word about the readings and the lectures.有一個例外 With one exception,我不會花很多時間討論閱讀材料的內容 I won't be spending very much time talking about the readings.而這個例外就是柏拉圖 The exception is Plato,也許我會講上兩節課 where I'll lecture, maybe two lectures,我會重現柏拉圖的主要論證 trying to reconstruct Plato's central arguments,至少這些論證和我們課程相關 at least the arguments relevant to our class.
我們將會讀一段柏拉圖的對話 We'll be reading one of Plato's dialogues.但是大部分時候 But for the most part,儘管我將不時地 although I'll occasionally,偶爾地提及課外閱讀材料 periodically refer to the readings,但我不會花很多時間談論書中的觀點 I won't spend a lot of time talking about the views in the readings.因為你應該把那些書當作是我上課的補充 The readings you should think of as complementary to my lectures.它們會比我所講的內容更為豐富 The idea is that there's more to say than what I've said.
你將會在閱讀中發現在更多的知識 And you'll find some more of what there is to say in the readings.或者我會提到其中的觀點 Or there may be positions that I mention,但我不會展開去談 but I don't develop,因為我無法與其產生共鳴 because I'm not perhaps sympathetic to them,而你可能在閱讀中 and you might find找到與其產生共鳴的人 somebody who is sympathetic to them,並得到更深入的領悟 developing them in the readings.閱讀材料是本課程最關鍵的組成部分 The readings are a crucial component of the class.只聽課無法讓你得到所需的全部知識 You won't get everything you need simply by coming to the lectures.
於此相同的是 But equally the case,我在講座中展開討論的觀點 that the views that I'll be developing in the lectures are,儘管也不全是我的個人觀點 although not necessarily unique to me,但你們也不是都能在閱讀材料裏找到 aren't all laid out in the readings.如果你只是一味地閱讀 You won't get everything I'm talking about in the lectures,你也無法了解我講課的全部 if all you do is the readings.因為閱讀與聽課都是本課程的組成部分 They're both parts of the class.好的我想以此結尾 All right.
I want to end by.我其實還沒說完 I'm not close to ending,但我想說的最後一件事 but the last thing I'm going to do是大聲念出一些學生的評價 is read aloud some student evaluations.我發現這些年來有些學生喜歡我 I have found over the years that some students like me;有些學生不喜歡我 some students don't like me.最能明確這個問題的方法就是 I don't know how to make this point any clearer和你們分享一些學生的抽樣評估 than to share with you a sampling of the student evaluations.
這些不是來自上學期的評估 These are not actually from last spring,但是它們足夠典型了 but they're typical enough我都懶得舉新的例證 that I was too lazy to make some new quotes.例一 Quote one.這些都是來自之前真實學生的原話 These are actual quotes from former actual students.一"講座十分明了並符合邏輯順序" (1) "The lectures were clear and followed a very logical order.
"二"我認為課程有時缺乏條理性" (2) "I thought the class was not always organized."三"我認為課程編排十分具有條理性" (3) "I thought it was a very well organized class."(四) "總體來說我對本課程不滿意" (4) "Overall, I was unsatisfied with this course.幾乎沒得出什麼實質性的結論" Few substantive conclusions were reached.
"五老生常談 (5) Along the same vein, ""我覺得他沒必要 I think he should avoid saying每個論證完結後都說 at the end of each segment of the class,最終你還得自己決定如何看待這個問題" Ultimately, you'll have to decide what to think for yourself."我該這麼說來結束課程 I should end the class by saying, ""你會相信的" You will believe."事實上剛上課時我就說了 Actually, I started the class by saying that.你將會相信我所相信的 You will believe what I believe.
六"更客觀地闡述一些觀點 (6) "It might be improved by presenting other views better或許會好一些 and more objectively,因為卡根總是用他獨有的論點 since Kagan always ended a particular line來駁斥他不贊同的論證 of reasoning by defeating the argument if he didn't agree with it.他可以更公正地容忍其他觀點" He could be a bit more unbiased and tolerant of other perspectives."七"上課內容有時重複或是毫無新意 (7) "Lectures were sometimes repetitive or obvious,但偶爾會提出新的觀點" but occasionally, they provided new insights."八"我知道有人認為論證過程有點慢 (8) "I know that some felt the pace of the arguments was a little slow,但我感覺這樣做還是有必要的 but I felt that this was generally necessary,不只是為了不懂哲學的同學們 not only for the unphilosophy-savvy population,也是為了能覆蓋所有內容" but also to cover all points.
"九"十分全面周到 (9) "Extremely thorough and thoughtful.接受所有提問太棒了" 我喜歡這條 Receptive to questions. Brilliant." I like that one.
"經常羅嗦冗長" "Often long-winded." Hmmm.十"他的確一遍遍重複同樣的觀點 (10) "He does go around and around the same idea a number of times,可這減少了課程的筆記 which does cut down on the notes for the class,但是會讓人感到有點無聊" but it can get a little boring."十一"儘管聽有些同學說他經常自言自語 (11) "Though I've heard students say he often repeats himself,但我認為對於哲學課而言這是一個優點 I think this is a merit in a philosophy course因為論證和思路很容易混淆" in which arguments and thoughts can quickly become confusing.
"十二"雪萊·卡根是個完美的 (12) "Shelly Kagan is a fabulous,足智多謀的讓人徹底信服的演講者" resourceful, utterly convincing lecturer."十三"他能在大家面前論證論點" (13) "He would work through arguments right in front of--"我喜歡這條 I like this one,因為這是我對自己的最低目標 because this is what I at least aim to be inside my head.這就是我一直在做的 Here's what I'm doing.十三"他能在我們面前論證論點 Thirteen: "He would work through arguments right in front of us,這樣有助於我自己對其進行論證" which then helped me work through them on my own.
"十四"雪萊是位不可思議精力充沛的老師" (14) "Shelly is an incredibly dynamic lecturer."十五"他只是在自己的世界裏胡說八道 (15) "He's just in his own world babbling on and on.我常常心不在焉" I'd zone out with regularity."十六"我不得不說雪萊·卡根很可能是 (16) "I have to say that Shelly Kagan is probably我在耶魯四年所遇到的最好的老師" the best lecturer I had in my four years at Yale.
"十七"他是那種讓人又愛又恨的老師" (17) "He's the type of teacher you either love or hate."這估計是真的 Now that's pretty clearly true.我希望能有一種簡單的石蕊測試 I wish there were some easy litmus test來給你們測試然後你們會知道 that I could just give you so you'd know你們誰上這門課是一個錯誤 which of you would be making a mistake taking this class.我不知道如何做這個測試 I don't know how to give it to you.
下一個話題分數 Next topic, grades.一"他經常用難以做到的 (1) "He tried to intimidate us too much評分標準來嚇唬我們 with his promise of impossible grading以至每個人都想去報Cr/D/F的課程 so that everyone took the class credit/D/fail,[選擇Cr/D/F的課程分數在55-100成績都是Cr 55-50是D及格 50一下就是F不及格該課程的好處是成績單上不會顯示具體的分數]但最後我們幾乎都得了A或B when we all probably ended up with As or Bs.他打分顯然不是那麼苛刻" His grading was not hard."二"我推薦這門課只是因為Cr/D/F罷了 (2) "I recommend it, but only credit/D/fail.
卡根教授的打分太嚴苛了" Professor Kagan is harsh with grading."三"當雪萊說他是全校最嚴格的評分老師時 (3) "When Shelly says he's the harshest grader on campus,他沒有撒謊 he isn't lying.我一直很驚訝 I was consistently surprised by我的論文究竟有多糟糕 how poorly I did on papers.這門課的標準和 The standards in this class are just different from所有其他的課都不同" all other classes.
"四"卡根打分嚴格的謠言純屬無中生有 (4) "Kagan's reputation as a harsh grader is unfounded.如果你付出了努力 If you put in the effort,分數就是最好的體現" the grade will reflect that."所以這就解決了我是否對打分嚴苛的問題 So that settles the question am I a harsh grader or not.評估的最後一個問題是 The last question for the evaluation is你是否來上課 should you take the class or not?
你是否向其他人推薦這門課 Would you recommend it to somebody else?一"我認為我生命中思維最開放的 (1) "I believe this class is一段經歷就是上了這門課" one of the most mind-opening experiences of my life."二"不這是在浪費時間" (2) "No. It's a waste of a course.
"三"這門課有時會令人感到失望 (3) "It gets kind of depressing at times,但我認為這應歸咎於這門課本身" but I suppose that's due to the nature of the subject."四"這門課比我在耶魯上過的任何 (4) "This course stands out as one of the more unique課程都獨一無二且令人激動" and stimulating courses I've taken at Yale."五"精彩的一門課 (5) "Excellent class.它讓我以一種全新的方式思考生命與死亡 It made me think about life and death in a new way.
你還能從一門課中要求什麼呢" What more can you ask for from a class?"六"我絕不推薦這門課 (6) "I would not recommend it.它看起來就像一場演出 The class just seemed to be a platform演出內容就是卡根隨口拋出一些觀點 for Kagan to throw out random ideas而學生們從沒被要求參與其中" and the students were never required to engage in any thought."這部分評估讀完了 Well, that clears that up.
讓我用一些其它的短評論來做結尾 Let me end with a couple of other quick remarks.這些是我早些年的最愛 One--these are some of my all-time favorites from previous years.一"不看課外閱讀對我全無影響" (1) "Not doing the reading didn't hurt me at all."這些是匿名評論 Now, these are anonymous comments.
我不知道誰寫的這條評論 I don't know who wrote this comment.但我知道 But I do know this.無論誰寫的這條評論他就是個白痴 Whoever wrote this remark is an idiot.無論誰寫的這條評論都應該銘記 Whoever wrote this remark seems to be under the impression你父母每年花費四萬美金供你在耶魯上學 that the point of being at Yale is to spend $40,000 a year of你應該盡可能地學到最多的知識 your parents' money and get away with learning as little as possible.
對於那些想要嘗試這樣做的人 Well, for those of you who want to try it,你很可能順利通過這門課 you probably could pass this class甚至可能得到一個不錯的分數 and maybe even get an okay grade即時你不看課外閱讀 without doing the readings.本課沒有期末考試 There's no final exam.但仍舊你必須知道 But still, it's crucial to understand,想要學好這門課 doing the readings is an important part of learning課外閱讀是非常重要的 what this course has to offer.不同的例證"卡根是一個自以為是的小個子" Different quote.
"Kagan is a self-righteous little man"現在我必須告訴你們 Now I've got to tell you,說我小個子真的很傷人 that bit about being little, that really hurts.另一個"偉大的課程了不起的教授 Another one. "Great course. Wonderful professor.
吸引人的課題 Fascinating subjects.令我進行了生命中最為深刻的思考" The deepest thinking I've done in my life."最後一例"這門課比耶魯大學的 Final quote. "This class taught me任何人都教會了我如何思考" how to think more than any other at Yale.
"我不知道我是否成功 I don't know whether I pull it off.很明顯 Pretty obviously,對於不少學生而言 for a number of students,我沒能讓他們收穫更多 I don't manage to pull it off,但那至少是我的目標 but that's at least what my aim is.我在試着幫助你們思考 I'm trying to help you think.歡迎並期待下星期四你們的到來 I welcome you and I hope you'll be back on Thursday.