Finding Enlightenment in Scotland

　　In the 1740s, the famous French philosophy Voltaire said "We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilization." That's not a bad advertisement for any country, especially when it comes to attracting people in search of a first class education.

　　Yet some people go even further than that. According to the American author Arthur Herman, the Scots invented the modem world itself. He argues that Scottish thinkers and intellectuals worked out many of the most important ideas on which modem life depends - everything from the scientific method to market economics. Their ideas did not just spread amongst intellectuals, but to those people in business, government and the sciences who actually shaped the Western world.

　　It all started during the period that historians call the Scottish Enlightenment, which is usually seen as taking place between the years 1740 and 1800, At this time, Scotland was home to a number of thinkers who made an important shift in the course of Western philosophy. Before that, philosophy was mainly concerned with religion. For the thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment, the proper study of humanity was mankind itself.

　　Their reasoning was practical. For the philosopher David Hume, humanity was the right subject for philosophy because we can examine human behavior and so find real evidence of how people think and feel. And from that we can make judgments about the societies we live in and make concrete suggestions about how they can be improved, for universal benefit.

　　Hume was not a scientist himself, but his enquiry into the nature of knowledge laid the foundations for the scientific method - the pursuit of truth through experiment. His friend and fellow resident of Edinburgh, Adam Smith, famously applied the study of mankind to the ways in which mankind does business. Trade, he argued, was a form of information. Money is the way in which people tell each other what they want, and how much people pay is the best way we have of knowing how much somebody wants something. In pursuing our own interests through trading in markets, we all come to benefit each other.

　　Smith's idea of "enlightened self-interest" has come to dominate modem views of economics. It also has wider applications. He was one of the first major philosophers to point out that nations can become rich, free and powerful more efficiently through peace, trade and invention than by means of war and plunder.

　　The original Scottish Enlightenment is thought to have ended with the lives of Smith, Hume anti the other thinkers who lived in Scotland at that time. But a wider Scottish Enlightenment can still be seen. It exists in the way that the ideas evolved at that time still underpin our theories. It also exists in Scotland itself in an educational tradition that combines academic excellence with practical orientation.

　　The Institute for System Level Integration (ISLI) is a good example. Founded in 1998 by a group of four Scottish universities, ISLI draws on the academic expertise of the university departments of computer science, electronic and electrical engineering and informatics. But though it works at the cutting edge1 of science, ISLI's ultimate aims are rooted in the needs of the real world2: to produce highly skilled design engineers and researchers to meet the needs of the rapidly changing global semiconductor industry.

　　Though only one amongst many educational institutions in Scotland, ISLI's existence shows that the principles of the Scottish Enlightenment still live on. It's a country that's still inventing, still modernizing, and still doing its best to spread enlightenment.

　　词汇：

　　enlightenment /in'laitnmsnt/ w.启蒙

　　plunder /plAnds/ n.掠夺

　　underpin /Andipin/ v.作为 的基础

　　semiconductor /isemikan'dAkto/ n.半导体

　　1.cutting edge;(科钱发展的)前沿

　　2. rodted in the needs of the real world 基于现实世界够需要

　　练习：

　　1.Scotland is thought to have made important contributions to the civilization of the Western world because of

　　A the great thinkers who were born there

　　B the methods introduced by its distinguished scholars

　　C the first-class education it provides

　　D the ideas proposed by some famous thinkers and intellectuals

　　2.Which of the following is the ultimate aim of Hume's huittamty-oriented studies?

　　A To observe and investigate humaii behaviour.

　　B To find ways to improve human society as a whole.:

　　C To find out how people think aiid feel.

　　D To judge the societies humans live iii.

　　3. Smith's idea of "enlightened self-interest" has great significance for ?

　　A the pursuit of personal interest

　　B the prosperity of all nations

　　C the improvement of international trade

　　D the study of economics only

　　4.Which of the following statements is true of the Scottish Enlightenment?

　　A It ended with the death of such thinkers as Hume and Adam Smith.

　　B It is embodied only in the way Scottish universities are run.

　　C Its influence is found only in economics.

　　D It is still alive in a broad sense.

　　5. The Institute for System Level Integration is used as an example to illustrate .

　　A the practical orientation of Scottish higher edueation

　　B the tradition of Scottish higher education

　　C Smith's application of Hume's philosophical ideas to ecoiiomics ?

　　D the high level of education Scottish universities have attiiiied

　　答案与题解：

　　1、D这道k的答案在第二段里可以找到。根据Arthur Herman,苏格兰的思想家和知识分子提出了很多现代生活引以为据的思想，这些思想不仅对知识分子来说具有学术意义,而且还流传到商业、政府和科学等领域。

　　2、B文章的第四段解释了 Hume的研究是如何以人为本的。人的行为、人的思维方式等都是他所要研究的，但他研究的最终目的是这段的最后一句话，g卩make concrete suggestions/for universal benefit.

　　3、B答案见第六段。Smith的这个想法对现代经济学固然有重要意义,但如文中所说，It also has wider applications.即下文所说的世界各国可以通过和平、贸易和创造轰明而不是通过战 争和掠夺来变得富裕、自由、强大。

　　4、D 答案的依据在第七段：A wider Scottish Enlightenment can still be seen.

　　5、B文章的倒数第二段介绍了这个被用作例子的学校，这个例乎要说明什么可以看再前一 段。最后一句说：It also exists in Scotland itself in an educational tradition that combines academic excellence with practical orientation.

　　译文：

　　苏格兰启蒙运动

　　18世纪40年代法国著名哲学家伏尔泰曾经说过：“苏格兰汇集了我们所要寻找的所有文明”。这对一个国家来说无疑是不错的广告，尤其可以吸引那些正在寻求一流教育的人。

　　然而有些人认为还不仅如此。据美国作家阿瑟·赫尔曼所说，是苏格兰人创造了现代社会的一切。他认为苏格兰思想家和知识分子提出了很多现代生活弓[以为据的思想，涵盖科学理论到市场经济等多个领域。他们的思想不仅在学术界广为流传，那些构建西方世界的商人，政府官员及科学家等也深受他们的影响。

　　各种思潮的蓬勃开始于1740年到1800年之间发生的苏格兰启蒙运动。当时苏格兰聚集了一大批使西方哲学产生巨大转变的思想家。在这之前，哲学以宗教作为它的主要研究对象。而苏格兰启蒙思想家则认为人类应以人本身作为研究对象。

　　启蒙思想家们主张分析的实用性。哲学家大卫·休谟认为哲学应把人类作为研究对象，因为这样我们可以审视人的行为从而求证人类究竟是如何思考和感知的。在此基础上我们就可以对我们居住的社会作出评价，进而提出具体的改进意见，造福全人类。

　　休谟本身不是科学家，但他对知识性质的研究为从经验中寻求真理的科学理论奠定了思想基础。他的好友也是他在爱丁堡时的室友，亚当·斯密以将人类学研究应用于经济学而著称。亚当斯密曾经说过贸易是一种信息。金钱是人们相互告知自己需求的一种方式，而人们的消费金额使我们了解一个人对某种商品的需求程度的最好途径。人们在市场贸易中寻求自身利益的过程是互利互惠的。

　　亚当斯密的启蒙性的 “自身利益”的观点不仅已成为现代经济学的主流，它在其他方面还有更广的应用。他是第一个提出世界各国可以通过和平、贸易和创造发明而不是通过战争和掠夺来变得富裕、自由、强大的哲学家。

　　最初的苏格兰启蒙运动随着亚当斯密，休谟等在苏格兰居住的思想家们的去世而衰落了。但是我们仍可以看到启蒙运动的痕迹，那时产生的思想仍是我们当今很多理论的基础。在今天的苏格兰，其教育传统仍是将学术精湛和实用目的相结合的。

　　系统水平整合研究所就是一个很好的例子。该所1998年由四所苏格兰大学创建，以计算机科学，电子工程和信息学为学术专长。虽然他的许多学科都走在科学前沿，其最终教学目的还是基于现实社会的需求，即为当今全球多变的半导体工业培养高水平的设计工程师和研究者。

　　虽然这只是苏格兰众多教育机构中的一个，但是该研究所的教育理念证实了苏格兰启蒙运动思想在今天仍有体现。苏格兰仍然在创造，发展，并努力地传播着它的启蒙思想。

【辅导招生】

【特色班】2013年职称英语“特色班”网上辅导招生方案

【精品班】2013年职称英语“精品班”网上辅导招生方案

【实验班】2013年职称英语“实验班”网上辅导招生方案

24小时开通报名咨询热线：010-82318888　4008104588