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1、Unit8KnowledgeandWisdom(abridged)BertrandRussell1Mostpeoplewouldagreethat,althoughouragefarsurpassesallpreviousagesinknowledge,therehasbeennocorrelativeincreaseinwisdom.Butagreementceasesassoonasweattempttodefine“wisdom”andconsidermeansofpromotingit.Iwanttoaskfirstwhatwis
2、domis,andthenwhatcanbedonetoteachit.2Thereare,Ithink,severalfactorsthatcontributetowisdom.OftheseIshouldputfirstasenseofproportion:thecapacitytotakeaccountofalltheimportantfactorsinaproblemandtoattachtoeachitsdueweight.Thishasbecomemoredifficultthanitusedtobeowingtotheext
3、entandcomplexityofthespecializedknowledgerequiredofvariouskindsoftechnicians.Suppose,forexample,thatyouareengagedinresearchinscientificmedicine.Theworkisdifficultandislikelytoabsorbthewholeofyourintellectualenergy.Youhavenottimetoconsidertheeffectwhichyourdiscoveriesorinv
4、entionsmayhaveoutsidethefieldofmedicine.Yousucceed(letussay),asmodernmedicinehassucceeded,inenormouslyloweringtheinfantdeath-rate,notonlyinEuropeandAmerica,butalsoinAsiaandAfrica.Thishastheentirelyunintendedresultofmakingthefoodsupplyinadequateandloweringthestandardoflife
5、inthemostpopulouspartsoftheworld.Totakeanevenmorespectacularexample,whichisineverybody'smindatthepresenttime:Youstudythecompositionoftheatomfromadisinteresteddesireforknowledge,andincidentallyplaceinthehandsofpowerfullunaticsthemeansofdestroyingthehumanrace3.Insuchwaysthe
6、pursuitofknowledgemaybecomeharmfulunlessitiscombinedwithwisdom;andwisdominthesenseofcomprehensivevisionisnotnecessarilypresentinspecialistsinthepursuitofknowledge.3Comprehensivenessalone,however,isnotenoughtoconstitutewisdom.Theremustbe,also,acertainawarenessoftheendsofhu
7、manlife.Thismaybeillustratedbythestudyofhistory.Manyeminenthistorianshavedonemoreharmthangoodbecausetheyviewedfactsthroughthedistortingmediumoftheirownpassions.Hegelhadaphilosophyofhistorywhichdidnotsufferfromanylackofcomprehensiveness,sinceitstartedfromtheearliesttimesan
8、dcontinuedintoanindefinitefuture.Butthechieflessonofhistorywhichhesoughttoinculcatewasthatfromth
