Lesson 22 Knowledge and progress 知识和进步
Why does the idea of progress loom so large in the modern world?Surely because progress of a particular kind is actually taking place around usand is becoming more and more manifest.Although mankind has undergone nogeneral improvement in intelligence or morality, it has made extraordinaryprogress in the accumulation of knowledge.|| Knowledge began to increase assoon as the thoughts of one individual could be communicated to another bymeans of speech.With the invention of writing, a great advance was made,forknowledge could then be not only communicated but also stored.Libraries madeeducation possible, and education in its turn added to libraries: the growth ofknowledge followed a kind of compound-interest law,which was greatly enhancedby the invention of printing.All this was comparatively slow until, with thecoming of science, the tempo was suddenly raised.Then knowledge began to beaccumulated according to a systematic plan.The trickle became a stream; thestream has now become a torrent.|| Moreover, as soon as new knowledge isacquired, it is now turned to practical account.What is calledmoderncivilizationis not the result of a balanced development of all mans nature, butof accumulated knowledge applied to practical life.The problem now facinghumanity is: What is going to be done with all this knowledge? As is so oftenpointed out, knowledge is a two-edged weapon which can be used equally for goodor evil.It is now being used indifferently for both.Could any spectacle, forinstance, be more grimly whimsical than that of gunners using science toshatter mens bodies while, close at hand, surgeons use it to restore them? Wehave to ask ourselves very seriously what will happen if this twofold use ofknowledge, with its ever-increasing power,continues.||
为什么进步这个概念在现代世界显得如此突出?无疑是因为有一种特殊的进步实际上正在我们周围发生，而且变得越来越明显。虽然人类在智力和道德上没有得到普遍提高，但在知识积累方面却取得了巨大的进步。人一旦能用语言同别人交流思想，知识的积累便开始了。随着书写的发明，又迈进了一大步，因为这样一来，知识不仅能交流，而且能储存了。藏书使教育成为可能，而教育反过来又丰富了藏书，因为知识的增长遵循着一种滚雪球的规律。印刷术的发明又大大提高了知识增长的速度。所有这些发展都比较缓慢，而随着科学的到来，增长的速度才突然加快。于是，知识便开始有系统有计划地积累起来。涓涓细流汇成了小溪，小溪现已变成了奔腾的江河。而且，新知识一旦获得，便得到实际应用。所谓现代文明并不是人的天性平衡发展的结果，而是积累起来的知识应用到实际生活中的结果。现在人类面临的问题是：用这些知识去做什么?正像人们常常指出的，知识是一把双刃刀，可以用于造福，也可用来为害。人们现在正漫不经心地把知识用于这两个方面，例如：炮兵利用科学毁坏人的身体、而外科医生就在附近用科学抢救被炮兵毁坏的人体，还有什么情景比这更可怕、更怪诞的吗?我们不得不严肃地问问我们自己：随着日益增长的知识的力量，如果我们继续利用知识的这种双重性，将会发生什么样的情况呢?