[2010.09.05]Another ungodly squabble 另一轮大不敬的争吵

luochao522

Another ungodly squabble 另一轮大不敬的争吵

Sep 5th 2010, 15:19 by J.P. | LONDON
  

WHEN a prominent man (or woman) of faith asserts the existence of God, nobody takes notice. But whenever a prominent scientist raises the opposite prospect, all hell is sure to break loose. The latest furore was provoked by Stephen Hawking, one of Britain's best known scientists and a likely future recipient of the Nobel prize in physics (if, as expected, his 1974 theory that black holes emit radiation despite their notorious all-engulfing gravitational pull is confirmed by experiments at the Large Hadron Collider in CERN). On September 2nd The Times, a British daily, published an extensive excerpt (this and other Times links gravitational pull  behind a pay wall) from The Grand Design, Dr Hawking's first major book in nearly a decade, which will hit the shelves on September 9th (reviewed here in the Financial Times by Roger Penrose, another big name in British physics).

一位杰出的善男或信女断言有上帝存在时，无人注意。但无论何时，一位杰出的科学家提出上帝是不存在的，必然惊天动地、四处一团糟。史蒂芬•霍金引发了最近的一场骚动，他是英国最闻名的科学家之一，而且是物理学领域可能性最大的诺贝尔奖得主（一切发展如愿，即如果他1974年提出的理论---尽管黑洞有臭名昭著的吞噬一切的万有引力，但黑洞释放放射线的理论---能在欧洲核子中心的大型强子对撞机上进行的几项试验上得到证实）。英国日报《泰晤士报》于9月2日刊登了一则摘录自《伟大创造》的深度报道（《泰晤士报》和其他时报将引力链接在付费网站后）。《伟大创造》是霍金博士近十年来第一本重量级的著作，将于9月9日在各大书店热销（金融时报的另一位英国物理学界大师罗杰•彭罗斯对此进行点评，请点击这里）。

[注]CERN这个词其实是历史上它的前身“欧洲核物理研究委员会（Conseil Europeen pour la Recherche Nucleaire）”的简称，一直沿用至今，今天的正式名称叫做“欧洲核物理研究组织（European Organization for Nuclear Research）”，习惯上称为“欧洲核子中心”。

Never mind the niceties of string theory and its implications for physics. What really got everybody aflutter was his contention that the Big Bang is an inevitable consequence of the laws of physics, so that "it is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper." The jury is still out on whether current theories really are enough to explain the origins of the universe. And the scientific method, with its laborious procedures and peer review, ensures we won't know for certain in the foreseeable future. But the proposition elicited an immediate if predictable response from another quarter.

不要在意弦理论的各种细微差别及其对物理学的重要影响。真正激动人心的是他坚持认为：“宇宙大爆炸”是物理学定律的必然结果，所以“没有必要恳求上帝点燃导火线。”但悬而未决的是：目前的理论是否足以阐释各种宇宙起源说。科学方法，经过劳神的各项规程与同行审查，从而确保在可预见的未来，我们不能认识某些事物。然而宗教人士会因这个命题立即引发反应，这是可以预见的。

Clerics representing the Abrahamic faiths (supported by a handful of religiously-minded physicists) weighed in, rehearsing all the tired arguments about science providing explanations and religion offering interpretations, science being concerned with "is" where faith is concerned with "ought", etc. On cue, militant atheists trotted out their own hoary lines: vacuity of the god of the gaps, meaninglessness of the questions about the meaning of it all, and so on.

What made Dr Hawking's revelation so jarring to the religious establishment, and so mellifluous to its ideological opponents, was that until now he was regarded as an ally of faith. In A Brief History of Time, the hugely popular 1988 book that cemented his fame outside academic circles, Dr Hawking seemed to acknowledge God's involvement in the creation of the universe. This made him something of a church darling.

注：rehearse:        [T] FORMAL When someone rehearses a story or an argument, they repeat it with all the details:
These are arguments that I've heard rehearsed at meetings many times before.

代表亚伯拉罕信仰（受到少数信教物理学家的支持）的教士们献计献策，并详述道：科学解释事务本质，而宗教则提供诠释，科学关注于“是”，信仰则关注于“应该”诸如此类。但是这类论据完全早已令人厌倦了。恰在此时，激进的无神论者亮出了他们那早为人熟知的观点：空洞乏味的间隙之神，探寻与其相关的所有问题的意义毫无价值，等等。霍金博士之所以能揭秘宇宙，并对宗教机构而言有如五雷轰顶，但对反宗教人士而言却非常悦耳动听，原因在于至今为止人们认为他支持宗教信仰。1988年，万众瞩目的《时间简史》巩固了他在学术界以外的名誉。书中，霍金博士似乎认可上帝参与宇宙的创造。这一观点某种程度上使他成了宗教宠儿。

Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist and arguably the world's most famous atheist, welcomed Dr Hawking's apparent apostasy, telling the Times that "Darwinism kicked God out of biology but physics remained more uncertain. Hawking is now administering the coup de grace." He quickly added that construing the physicist's past proclamations as anything more than a handy metaphor was indulging in "wishful thinking".

理查德•道金斯是进化生物学家并且可能被认为是世界上最闻名的无神论者，对霍金博士毫不掩饰的背叛拍手承欢。道金斯在《泰晤士报》上表示：“达尔文主义将上帝踹出生物界，但在物理学界前途未卜。霍金现在展开致命一击。”他又迅速补充道：阐释物理学家过去的各种宣言不只是一种轻而易举的比喻是陷入了“一厢情愿”中。

The row will peter out soon, no doubt, though not before saving Dr Hawking a pretty penny in advertising costs for his book. The broader debate, meanwhile, will rage on. After all, an important piece of knowledge is at stake. As Dr Dawkins is ever keen to stress, a reality inhabited by a sentient supernatural being is very different from a reality that isn't. In fact, they are mutually exclusive. We either live in one or the other; we can't have it both ways. Opinions vary on whether or not this is ultimately knowable, but there is little doubt that "the truth is out there". This Babbage would love to find out what it is, though he isn't holding his breath.

毫无疑问，这种争论将很快归于沉寂，但沉寂之前却可为霍金博士节省一大笔新书广告宣传费。与此同时，更广泛的争论将会愈演愈烈。毕竟，一个至关重要知识领域危如卵石。正如霍金博士一如既往地热衷于强调“居住着有感知能力的超自然生命现实世界与没有此类生命的现实世界是截然不同的。实际上，两种世界互相排斥。我们不是生活在前者，就生活在后者之中，但是不能共同拥有这两个世界。关于能否最终认识这种现象各方见解不一，但几乎都认为“真相在那边”。虽然他坦然自若，但是Babbage还是热衷于找出此乃何物。

However, another fascinating question, hitherto absent from the current palaver, may prove more tractable. It concerns not how to explain creation without God, but how to account for the persistence of human religious belief without invoking its object. Evolutionary psychologists, anthropologists and neurologists are hard at work trying to figure this out. Watch this space.

然而，至今另一个未出现在目前的故弄玄虚中，但饶有趣味的问题或许能证明事实并不那么棘手。该问题关注的不是在没有上帝参与的情况下，宇宙是如何创造的，而是如何解释在没有唤起宗教信仰目的的情况下，人类宗教信仰是如何延续的。进化心理学家、人类学家和精神病学家都努力解决这个问题。请继续关注后续报道。

wharton323

this and other Times links gravitational pull  behind a pay wall

评: 怪不得读不通。请删去 gravitational pull
http://magic.economist.com/blogs ... cience_and_religion

wharton323

published an extensive excerpt
原译：刊登了一则摘录自《宏图霸略》的纵深报道

评：粗心了。

wharton323

The Grand Design, Dr Hawking's first major book in nearly a decade
原译：。《宏图霸略》是霍金博士近十年来主要书籍的开山之作
评：
1) 原文浅显易懂，译文想说什么？
2)想来Design一字取自Intelligent design，如果译员同意的话，那么这个Design有固定译法。

wharton323

reviewed here in the Financial Times by Roger Penrose

评：这个here读来怪怪的，原来是个LINK。

wharton323

If someone lights the touch paper or lights the blue touch paper, they do something which causes anger or excitement.
http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-cobuild/light%20the%20(blue)%20touch%20paper

wharton323

But the proposition elicited an immediate if predictable response from another quarter.
评：这里的quarter指Clerics representing the Abrahamic faiths。。。

wharton323

宗教 X 科学，头痛呀！楼主辛苦啦。谢谢。

luochao522

谢谢你的耐心点评。

luochao522

回复 6# wharton323


    这个点评，我持保留意见。呵呵
If someone lights the touch paper or lights the blue touch paper, they do something which causes anger or excitement.