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@ 50187 人性本善
A 人之初，性本善。性相近，習相遠。苟不教，性乃遷。……
rén zhī chū, xìng běn shàn. xìng xiāng jìn, xí xiāng yuǎn. gǒu bù jiào, xìng nǎi qiān. ......
People are born good. Their natures are much the same, but their practices become very different. If, foolishly, they are not taught, their natures will diverge.
B 你在背《三字經》嗎？
nǐ zài bèi《Sānzìjīng》ma?
Are you reciting ``The Three Character Classic"?
A 對啊。今天我們上哲學課，老師提到了人性本善還是本惡的這個論題。我就想到了小時候背過的《三字經》，現在讀來還是充滿了哲理啊。
duì a. jīntiān wǒmen shàng zhéxué kè, lǎoshī tídào le rénxìng běn shàn háishi běn è de zhège lùntí. wǒ jiù xiǎngdào le xiǎoshíhou bèi guo de《Sānzìjīng》, xiànzài dúlái háishì chōngmǎn le zhélǐ a.
Yeah. Today in philosophy class, the teacher asked whether people are inherently good or evil. I thought of the ``Three Character Classic" that we read when we were young. Reading it now, it's full of philosophical meaning.
B 這麼說你是贊同人性本善的觀點?？
zhème shuō nǐ shì zàntóng rénxìng běn shàn de guāndiǎn?
So do you believe in the idea that people are inherently good?
A 很難說。關於這個話題，歷史上無數的哲學家都試圖證明過，卻爭論到現在都無法得到一個確切的答案。我又怎麼能妄下論斷呢。《三字經》裡說：“人之初，性本善”，而西方哲學家則認為人性本惡，需要通過不斷學習來改造自身。雙方似乎都很有理。
hěn nánshuō. guānyú zhège huàtí, lìshǐ shàng wúshù de zhéxuéjiā dōu shìtú zhèngmíng guo, què zhēnglùn dào xiànzài dōu wúfǎ dédào yī ge quèqiè de dá àn. wǒ yòu zěnme néng wàngxiàlùnduàn ne. 《Sānzìjīng》lǐ shuō: `` rén zhī chū, xìng běn shàn" , ér xīfāng zhéxuéjiā zé rènwéi rénxìng běn è, xūyào tōngguò bùduàn xuéxí lái gǎizào zìshēn. shuāngfāng sìhū dōu hěn yǒulǐ.
It's hard to say. Countless philosophers throughout history have tried to prove this. They've debated it to the point where it's impossible to get a clear answer today. How can I blindly make a judgment? It says in the ``Three Character Classic": People are born good. But Western philosophers think that people's nature is bad, and they need constant study to change themselves. It seems like both sides are reasonable. Frankly, the scariest thing in my opinion is talking about philosophical problems. This problem seems as hard to understand as why Oriental people like the color red, whereas Westerners like blue. It's really hard to come up with a straight answer.
B 說實話，我最怕討論哲學問題了。這個問題就像東方人喜歡紅色，而西方人喜歡藍色一樣費解，很難定論。
shuō shíhuà, wǒ zuì pà tǎolùn zhéxué wèntí le. zhège wèntí jiùxiàng dōngfāngrén xǐhuan hóngsè, ér xīfāngrén xǐhuan lánsè yīyàng fèijiě, hěn nán dìnglùn.
Yeah. But I heard that scientists have finally found an answer. German scientists researching babies' reactions discovered that young babies are all very happy to help others. From this, they've shown that people's nature is inherently good.
A 是啊。不過據說最近有科學家宣稱終於找到了答案。德國的科學家們在研究嬰兒的反應實驗中發現，年幼的嬰兒們竟然個個都是助人為樂的“好兒童”，由此證實了人性善良的本質。
shì a. bùguò jùshuō zuìjìn yǒu kēxuéjiā xuānchēng zhōngyú zhǎodào le dá àn. Déguó de kēxuéjiā men zài yánjiū yīng ér de fǎnyìng shíyàn zhōng fāxiàn, niányòu de yīng ér men jìngrán gègè dōu shì zhùrénwéilè de `` hǎo értóng" , yóucǐ zhèngshí le rénxìng shànliáng de běnzhì.
Huh? Sounds really interesting. Exactly what experiments did they use to prove this?
B 哦？聽起來似乎很有意思。他們到底是怎麼通過實驗證明的？
ó? tīng qǐlai sìhū hěn yǒu yìsi. tāmen dàodǐ shì zěnme tōngguò shíyàn zhèngmíng de?
I saw a report in the Associated Press. Apparently, they did an experiment where a scientist intentionally dropped a clothespin on the ground. There was no need to worry, though, as a child who had just learned how to walk would go over and pick it up for him, and give it back to him. During the entire process of the experiment, the scientists did not actively ask the child to help them, and didn't say anything like ``Thank you." The kids showed altruism completely on their own. They helped others without looking for a reward.
A 我是看到的美聯社的報導。據說科學家們做過這樣一個實驗，科學家故意將手裡的衣服夾子掉在地上，他不用擔心，一個剛學會走路的孩子會過去幫他撿起來，並且還給他。研究員在整個實驗過程中，從來不主動要求嬰兒幫助他，也不說“謝謝”之類的話。嬰兒則完全展現了真正的利他主義精神，助人而不圖回報。
wǒ shì kàn de Měiliánshè de bàodǎo. jùshuō kēxuéjiā men zuò guo zhèyàng yī ge shíyàn, kēxuéjiā gùyì jiāng shǒulǐ de yīfu jiāzi diào zài dìshang, tā bùyòng dānxīn, yī ge gāng xuéhuì zǒulù de háizi huì guòqu bāng tā jiǎn qǐlai, bìngqiě huángěi tā. yánjiūyuán zài zhěnggè shíyàn guòchéng zhōng, cónglái bù zhǔdòng yāoqiú yīng ér bāngzhù tā, yě bù shuō `` xièxie" zhīlèi de huà. yīng ér zé wánquán zhǎnxiàn le zhēnzhèng de lìtā zhǔyì jīngshén, zhùrén ér bù tú huíbào.
Why do I feel like that's a bit unbelievable? I guess I'll never really be able to understand these kind of profound philosophical theories. Whether people are inherently good or evil, I think that the education and training you get are much more important. I don't think it's that effective to rely just on stuff like people's inherent nature.
B 我怎麼還是感覺挺玄的啊。我大概是永遠無法理解哲學這種深奧的理論吧。無論人性本善也好本惡也好，我覺得更重要的還是後來的教育和培養。光靠本性這種東西，估計作用是不大的吧。
wǒ zěnme háishì gǎnjué tǐng xuán de a. wǒ dàgài shì yǒngyuǎn wúfǎ lǐjiě zhéxué zhèzhǒng shēn ào de lǐlùn ba. wúlùn rénxìng běn shàn yěhǎo běn è yěhǎo, wǒ juéde gèng zhòngyào de háishì hòulái de jiàoyù hé péiyǎng. guāng kào běnxìng zhèzhǒng dōngxi, gūjì zuòyòng shì bù dà de ba.
Maybe. However, philosophy can make people think. There are a lot of issues that deserve serious consideration and deep thought.
A 也許吧。不過，哲學能讓人思考，有不少問題還是很值得回味和深思的。
yěxǔ ba. bùguò, zhéxué néng ràng rén sīkǎo, yǒu bùshǎo wèntí háishì hěn zhíde huíwèi hé shēnsī de.
Ha ha. ``As soon as humans start to think, God laughs." You future-philosopher. You'd better think about how to keep God from laughing.
B 哈哈，“人類一思考，上帝就發笑”。你這個未來的哲學家，還是先想想怎麼能不讓上帝笑話吧。
hāhā, `` rénlèi yī sīkǎo, shàngdì jiù fāxiào" . nǐ zhège wèilái de zhéxuéjiā, háishì xiān xiǎngxiang zěnme néng bù ràng shàngdì xiàohua ba.
Key Vocabulary
哲學 zhéxué philosophy
哲理 zhélǐ philosophical theory
人性 rénxìng human (nature)
費解 fèijiě difficult to comprehend
利他主義 lìtāzhǔyì altruism
圖 tú diagram
玄 xuán abstruse
Supplementary Vocabulary
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