世界在破晓的瞬间前埋葬于深渊的黑暗

Sunday, October 29, 2006

如果所有小孩都不笨

(刊登于联合早报2006年10月29日)

由于魏老师来自台湾,因此她对于系里的华人研究生都格外关心。时不时在课堂外的走廊碰面,都会寒暄几句。除了讨论近来在系里发生的事情外,交谈的话题多数围绕着习惯中华文化的她身在美国所感受的不习惯。

女儿的教育问题是让魏老师觉得最伤脑筋的事。然而,不是因为她觉得美国学校所教的东西过于艰难,或者是女儿在学校被欺负和歧视。反而,让她伤脑筋的是她认为学校所教的东西太少了。不仅如此,多数美国校园重视所谓的自我价值感 (self-worth),对于学生作业的批改都不敢过于苛刻,因此无论作业好坏,学生都得到A的评分。对于此做法,魏老师感到非常不习惯,并且担心她的女儿们无法准确地评估自己,对自己的能力有着过高和不确实的评价,以至不知道如何改善。

我在帮忙指导教授批改大学生的考卷时就能了解魏老师的顾虑,因为有些大学生贫乏的语文和理解能力让我吃惊。尽管我的美国指导教授常笑我的批改过于苛刻,不过她也常常埋怨美国的教育制度。

问题是那些注重自我价值感的教育者都矫枉过正了!对,注重学生们的自我价值感以培育拥有不同才能的学生固然重要,不过这并不代表所谓传统的教学方法就没有用。我记得自己以前的小学教育都注重背书,尤其是数学的乘数表、语法和词汇的增加。要获得这些基础知识的不二法门就是死背。如果连这些基础知识都不行的话,还谈什么培育不同的才能嘛?如果过分注重自我价值感而不告诉学生他们什么地方必需改善,这不是帮助他们,而是害了他们。

这是我的指导教授在讨论到美国的教育制度时经常出现的怨言。

近几年来,本地的教育历经了许多改变,从较早前的少读多学到近期的因材施教,其用意是减少学生所承受的学习压力、提高学生们的自我价值感和发展学生在课堂外不同的才能。在实行分流制度和学校排名的体系下受教育的我亲身感受这其中的压力,因此赞同减少学生的学习压力。教育部所提出的普通和基础水平在某种程度上减少了EM3的负面标签 (尽管有些人会批评这只是对分流标签的重新命名),而且也更准确地针对学生们学习上的弱点。

然而,在大家对于分流制度废除欢呼时,重要的问题是有关普通和基础学平各自的程度。普通和基础学平之间的差异是否会影响学生升上中学、高中或者理工学院的学业?选择基础学平的同学,日后如果要增强在此科目的知识,或者要从基础学平转到普通学平,有关当局是否有让这些学生成功过渡的计划?

最重要的是所谓基础学平的程度是否能够让较弱的学生具备足够的知识?如果所谓的基础水平只是降低教育程度,好让较弱的学生们在没有负面标签的情况下能够培养自我价值感,这并非是帮助他们,而是在伤害他们。很多人经常用 小孩不笨做为批评有关当局所实行的分流制度给学生的自尊带来伤害。然而,如果达到 小孩不笨的目标只是透过降低教育程度和评分标准而非透过更有效方法加强较弱学生的程度,这不仅会削弱本地的人力资源,还会让这些较弱的学生在出来社会工作时处于不利的状况。

毕竟,社会根据个人成就所赋予的标签肯定会比分流制度的标签来得更负面和残酷。

Saturday, October 28, 2006


Fungi Posted by Picasa

Friday, October 27, 2006

Not because she is young and ignorant......

The hoo-hahs caused by the comments made by the RJC GEP student have even reached public radio, as my mum told me. She had been listening to 95.8 FM (radio for the aunties and uncles)... and the DJs were discussing about this incident. Apparently, one of the DJs tried to defuse this incident in the end, by saying that although what the RJC girl did was wrong, she still should be forgiven as she is still young. In other words, this was a "non-incident" due to her age.

That is the dumbest thing I ever heard. Look you asshole, the girl is 17 or 18 years old. That is not an age where you can play the naive and ignorant card. If she were 7 or 8 years old, maybe I can forgive her. But fuck she is 18 years old, or somewhere near there. That is an age where you can legally buy alcohol or cigarettes. That is an age where some of us are already training with an M16 in the army for the defence of Singapore. Heck, if there were a war, most of use at that age will be drafted into the army. That is an age where some teenagers in Singapore are already parents. Okay, maybe not so much our generation, but my mother was a mother when she was 18. That is an age where you should be able to tell right from wrong. And for fuck's sake, this is not a moment of stupidity from this girl. She is anything but dumb. SHE IS FROM THE GEP, you asshole!!! If she wrote what she wrote, this is not because something weird idea crept into her brain and caused her to act this way. It is because she meant and wanted to.

And if you are going to play the naive and ignorant card, do you know whose fault it is??? IT'S HER PARENT'S FAULT!!! For failing to educate their child! Fuck if I had a child like this, I would just slap her on her uncaring elite face to put her in her place. I mean, come on! You don't allow your child to act like a spoilt brat!!! I have my own prejudices too, and if my private thoughts actually came out in public, people will be calling me horrible horrible things. The reason you don't sprout whatever shit that is in your head into the public domain is because people out there can kick your ass! So, the parents failed big time. Not because they did not correct her views (come on, where do you think she got her views from??? TELEVISION????). I mean, elitist uncaring people are entitled to their elitist uncaring views. But you should at least act if you fucking care!!! ACT AS IF YOU CARE! In that way, I don't have to feel pissed off and spend my energy ranting at your elite uncaring ways!

It is common "knowledge" that most who are rich and powerful despise or look down on the poor and the less rich. This may not be true and for all the fuck you know this may be just a stereotype that permeates our society, but hey, thanks so much for justifying this stereotype. You fucking kidding me? If this is the type of thinking that an elite school like RJC produces, then fuck elitism. If this is the kind of shit that the elitist schools in Singapore (not only RJC, a lot of other JCs are guilty as well) produces, then they can shove their elite education policies up their ass. You see, I'll rather have a less capable goverment in the office that at least tries to do things for the people because THEY SEE THINGS FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE than an elite and capable government that thinks THEY ARE SO HIGH AND MIGHTY AND WE COMMON PEOPLE ARE IDIOTS AND DESERVE NO SYMPATHY and with this sort of thinking make policies that screws the common people.

I will get out of your elite and uncaring face. You don't need to fucking tell me. Because the mere thought that you or any of your elite uncaring peers might be one of the leaders of our society and country in the near future scares the fuck out of me.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Tuesday, October 24, 2006


Lightning Night Posted by Picasa

Monday, October 23, 2006


Squirrel! Posted by Picasa

Saturday, October 21, 2006

This report riled me......

Offers of help for family of man run over by MRT train


SINGAPORE: Members of the public have come out pledging support to help the family of the man who died after being hit by an MRT train.

46-year-old Tan Jee Suan had died after falling off the platform at the Chinese Garden station on Tuesday.

Members of the public had been coming to Mr Tan's wake since Wednesday and many were seen offering financial assistance to Mr Tan's wife and children.

The funeral operator is also offering his services for free.

Mr Tan had been an odd job labourer, while his wife works in an electronics factory earning only $500 a month.

The children's schools and the Member of Parliament of the constituency where the family lives have assured the family that they will receive whatever assistance they need.

Mr Abdul Harris Sumardi, Principal of Juying Secondary where Mr Tan's son is studying, says: "With regards to his needs in school, we have already taken care of what is needed. We will do our best to ensure that his future in the school is well taken care of both emotionally and financially."

Madam Ho Geok Choo, MP of West Coast GRC, also pledges her support.

"Other than helping them financially, we intend also to provide emotional support. For instance, I feel very strongly that there must be a mentor or befriender to the family especially for the two young children who are 13 and 15 years old," she says. - CNA/so


=================================================

Those who are familiar with Menicius will recall this story about a king. The king told Menicius that he considered himself a benevolent king, because whenever the water floods his country in the rainy season, he would deploy his own horses to fetch the common people across the river to safety. At which point Menicius told the king that if he were benevolent, he would have repaired the bridges and levees over the dry seasons, and hence if there were a flood, the common people would not be affected. The king was actually just showing off his "benevolence" in a post-hoc manner in order to mask his own incompetence.

See the similarities?

Look, the guy has already died. No matter how much "help" the govt and school are going to provide to his family, it just reeks of the odor of a cheap publicity stunt. If you were really sincere, you would have intervened a long time ago. The chinese papers are saying that the man applied for welfare aid from some govt agency, but was rejected the second time. And to top it, the MP had the audacity to claim that the man did not seek help from the grassroots, making it sound as if it were the man's fault for NOT (or that he didn't know, or that there was no record of the man applying for an aid... quite convenient huh?)

And what the fuck???? What was the school doing??? HELLO! The kids haven't been able to pay their school fees for a year... and we are NOT talking about those richy richy schools, but a public school.... DOESN'T THIS RING A FUCKING BELL ANYWHERE??? You know what??? There should be a rule written somewhere that if such a thing happens in the school, the principal ought to have his or her five-figure salary forfeited to the family concerned for a year....

The mother earned $500 per month. $500. 500 fucking dollars. This is not right. How in the world do you expect a family of four to survive on $500 a month in SINGAPORE? What do you expect them to feed on, air??? Heck, some foreign maids in Singapore might even earn more than $500 per month. Hey, maybe it is time we looked at minimum wages in Singapore. Maybe it is time for the govt to realise that there are a lot of poor people in Singapore who just cannot make ends meet. I mean, the country has prospered as a whole, but if it is at the expense of the lower strata of the society, the govt ought to have all that prosperity shoved up their fucking ass.... Hey, with the kind of salary that they are getting, maybe that is already happening....

So. This is NOT an act of kindness from either the MP or the school. THIS IS YOUR JOB!!!!! Your job is to make sure that THE PEOPLE gets adequate wages to SUPPORT THEMSELVES! Your job is to realise that something might be wrong if your students are unable to pay school fees. So don't come faking all these nice gestures after the fact. That is as good as admitting your own incompetence.

Because no matter what you guys do, the two young children have already lost a father.

My favorite Keith Jarret pieces...

(1) The Koln Concert, Part I

(2) The Vienna Concert, Part I

(3) Radiance, Part VIII

(4) Paris Concert, October 17, 1988

(5) The Koln Concert, Part IIa, IIb, IIc

(6) Solo Concert, Lausanne

(7) The Melody At Night With You, Someone To Watch Over Me

(8) Always Let Me Go, Waves

(9) Facing You, Lalene

(10) Tokyo '96, Never Let Me Go

Tuesday, October 17, 2006


Reflections on an autumn day Posted by Picasa

Saturday, October 14, 2006


Eye Posted by Picasa

Friday, October 13, 2006

Smart Aleck Remarks?

Top 5 things I really would like to say to an undergraduate taking a test, raises his/her arms, and asks me who is invigilating the test (or as they say in the states, proctoring the test) what a word on their test means... (which basically means telling them the answer...) ... but I cannot say in case I get complaints (just you wait... in my last semester before I graduate from my doctoral program... )


(5) I don't know. I'm actually not an invigilator. I am just passing by.

(4) Me no speak English.

(3) It means you should brush up on your vocabulary. Get a dictionary.

(2) It means you have not studied hard enough. You are probably going to fail.

(1) I can tell you. But I'll have to kill you.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Listening to Mark Kozelek @ 28

I had to go to his concert, even though it was going to be a busy week for me. Well, I skipped Low when they were at my college the last time around, but I was never a big Low fan, and this time it was different. It was Mark Kozelek, frontman for the Red House Painters, the group that I found salvation for all my unrequitted love and yearnings as a teenage....

And yet it was different. It could be the tiredness. I have not slept well the night before. It could be that Mark did not belt out all the hits (Grace Catheral Park? Japanese to English? Evil? Have You Forgotten?) ... or at least my favorite Red House Painters songs. Not to take anything away from his performance. I still enjoyed myself, but it did not connect with me on a personal level.

Then he was off the stage, citing tiredness. The crowd called for an encore. He duly obliged, asking us which songs we wanted him to play. There were so many that we can choose from.

"Katy Song .... Please god, YOU HAVE TO!"

Someone in the audience shouted out the thoughts in my mind.

Mark was relunctant, claiming that he had not played the song for a long time. Who could blame him? If I had written a poem that talked about the demise of my once-love, and it had somehow became popular, I would not want to deal with it to. Imagine. Everytime you read the poem at a recital, and it brings back haunted memories.

But he did play the song. And that was the first time in the whole evening when I felt a tinge of emotion. Not necessary sadness. I can't even remember the girl who had caused me to listen to this song over and over again in my teenage years. But the lyrics somehow seemed to evoke a rush of emotions inside me, something I just cannot put into words. Was it a reminensce of past follies? Or was it the warmth of knowing that I have grown up over the immaturities of youth? I didn't know... Or was it just that feeling one gets when one sees a very old friend?

I looked over at the person who shouted out for Mark to play Katy Song just now. His eyes was closed, and he seemed deeply engrossed in his thoughts and the song. Did he have a memory that was associated with that song? Did he also have someone who had left or rejected him? He must have. I think there is no way one can listen to Katy song and love it without linking it to some personal experience of theirs.... The reason why this is such a great song is not because of its nice melody or lyrics, but because it connects to people at a personal level....

At least I knew I enjoyed it, kind of a nostalgic way. A 28 years old looking back at his 18 years old self and wondering what had happened in between???

Whatever it was, it certainly made my night.

Katy Song

Lyrics: Mark Kozelek

some escape some doors to open
this path seems the blackest but i
guess it's the soonest
but there in the clearing i
know you'll be wearing
your young aching smile and
waving your hand

can't go with my heart when i
can't feel what's in it i
thought you'd come over
but for some reason you didn't

glass on the pavement under my shoe
without you is all my life amounts to

a final sleep no
words from my cutting
mouth to your ear or
taut wicked pinches
from my fingers to your bitter face
that i can't heal

i know tomorrow
you will be
somewhere in london
living with someone
you've got some kind of family
there to turn to
and that's more than i could ever give you

a chance for calm
a hope for freedom
outlet from my cold solitary kingdom
by the forest of our spring stay
where you walked away

and left a bleeding part of me
empty and bothered
watching the water
quiet in the corner
numb and falling through
without you what does my life amount to?

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

萤火虫


我们置身于仲夏的暗流

彼此情绪着对方的不愿妥协

晚霞悄悄沉默我们的刻意背对

只让风铃声谱出心中的零碎

随着初次牵手的回忆

迷失在草丛的摇摆荡漾

如果可以掏空意识

是否能够让静止于此刻

暧昧。黑暗和光明各有可能

如夏天的野花枯萎绽放

没有人愿意推翻无动于衷

奢望在草地禅般静坐

缓慢时光的指针

然而夜晚如同潮水逼近

有人选择闭眼逃避

光明渐远渐行里的黑暗

也有人愿意承受

来路不明的暗淡去路

在仲夏温柔的无常里

萤火虫如同繁星在空中飞舞

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Dreams!

This is something I wrote for a friend who was in charge for a speech competition for his secondary school. Unfortunately, they did not use this speech because it was deemed too "guai lan" and not nice enough.

大家下午好。我是来自XX中学的XX,今天我演讲的主题是梦想固然伟大,但是要量力而为。

人类因为梦想而伟大。人类史上有许多伟大的艺术作品的绽放都起源于由某个艺术梦想的播种。有许多对人类生活有重大影响的科学发明也是来自某个科学梦想的耕耘。你们有听过世界级的运动选手在奥运获得金牌后的得奖感言吗?如果你们在这些感言中没有发现梦想这两个字,请你们告诉我。

梦想。梦和想。顾名思义,就是仿佛只能在梦中或者自己的想象中才会发生的事,在现实世界里却显得遥不可及。因此,在一般人的印象中,所谓梦想应该是不平凡的,就如同一座壮观的建筑物。如果有人告诉你,他的梦想是可以在四百米跑道上跑一圈,你大概对此梦想一笑置之吧?

如果把梦想比喻成田地,一般人大概会认为只要用心在耕种这块田地、播种希望以及用汗水灌溉,就能够收获幸福。心有多大,这块田就有多大,理想有多高、目光有多远、想法有多新,自己所能展示的舞台就有多大!敢于梦想,就能成功!

嗯。如果一个人告诉你所谓梦想就是这么一回事,这大概有两个可能性。第一,这个人大概只会尽说些华而不实的话,而且从来没有为自己的梦想而努力过。这种人所说的话就如同空头支票一样值钱。第二,这个人言不由衷,因为他处心积虑地说些不切实际的话来误导你,不想让你知道实现梦想的方法。这种人是阴险毒辣的小人,最好少接近为妙。

为什么我会这么说呢?如果一个人没有考虑到自己所处于的环境,以及自己的能力的话,就不负责任地说出 只要敢于梦想就能够成功的话,那么此 梦想不能称之为梦想,而更正确的说法是痴人说梦话。

我相信大家都知道谁是比尔盖兹吧?世界首富,微软公司的创办人。盖兹当年为了创办微软,不惜从哈佛大学辍学。或者麦克乔丹,这也是个家喻户晓的名字。熟悉篮球的人都会知道乔丹原本在美国职业篮球的选拔新秀的大会不被看好,刚到芝加哥公牛队时也没有造成什么轰动。然而,他却坚持自己的篮球梦想,结果成为篮球巨星。

乍看之下,这两个故事似乎印证了 只要敢于梦想就能够成功这番话。然而,你们知道比尔盖兹原本就出身于富裕家庭,即使没有从哈佛毕业,他所得到的遗产也足以让他一辈子不愁吃不愁穿吗?或许不是世界首富,不过不会因为害怕找不到工作而生活潦倒。或者乔丹。尽管他在美国职业篮球当新秀时不被看好,不过他在大学篮球界早已有所成就,只是因为当时的美国职业篮球只注重中锋球员而非后卫球员。这些鲜为人知的事迹是否让各位重新评估以上的两个故事呢?比尔盖兹在追求微软的梦想时就少了许多普通老百姓所面对的困扰,所以才能毫无顾忌地追求梦想。至少他不需要害怕因为无法缴交房租而被赶出来吧?麦克乔丹原本就是个有过人天赋的天才型运动员,成功只是迟早的事。

你们知道吗,每一个麦克乔丹的背后,就有上千个上万个无法实现梦想的黑人青年。这些青年无法成为职业选手,却又因为练球而荒废了学业,结果多数在毕业后都很难找到工作。每一个比尔盖兹的成功故事,就有许多为了创业而辍学,结果因为生意失败导致负债累累的插曲。因为我们的视线总是被梦想成功的例子所散发出的光芒吸引,所以很多时候都无法看到光芒背后的辛酸故事。

各位不要误会。我并不是鼓励大家都放弃自己的梦想。如果观众席里有立志当医生的同学,因为听了我刚才的话而正在认真考虑放弃报考医学系,稍安勿躁,请继续听我把话说完。我觉得梦想其实是很重要的东西,因为它能够鞭笞人们去完成伟大的事。然而,我认为大家在追求梦想时应该量力而为,不只要考虑到自己的生活环境,还要衡量自己的先天能力。空谈着一些自己永远无法实现的遥远梦想叫做好高骛远,能够量力而为地实现一些可及的梦想叫做脚踏实地。如果你身为人父,为了追求自己的梦想而忽略了照顾家庭,别人不会认为这是伟大的事,只会认为你是个自私的人。如果你是那种在跑步时都会不小心跌到,完全没有运动的天分的人,但却又一意孤行地想往职业运动员的方向发展,那我建议你应该去检查头脑,或许你在跑步跌倒时把脑壳给撞坏了。然而,如果你出身于小康之家,不愁吃也不愁穿,父母也不期待你毕业后的薪水填补家用,但却又没有胆量去追求自己的梦想的话,那你应该把名字改成窝囊。

或许各位会问,如果追求梦想要量力而为,必须考虑到现实生活环境和个人能力,这是否意味着只有天才或者富家子弟才拥有追求梦想的资格呢?普通老百姓和平凡人是否只能够过着平凡的生活,完全与梦想一词沾不上边呢?这就要看大家对于梦想的定义有多狭隘了。如果各位坚持梦想应该是伟大和壮观的,必须是卓越非凡的,那么平凡人或许就没有资格谈论梦想了。不过,如果各位的梦想不为世俗眼光所左右,如果各位的梦想忠于自己的心,就算是最平凡的人也可以有最崇高的梦想。

记得绕着四百米跑道上跑一圈的梦想吗?如果你是普通人,这当然不可以算是梦想。然而,如果这是一个小儿麻痹症患者的梦想,你敢说此梦想比不上一个职业运动员期盼夺得世界冠军的梦想吗?或者说,有些人或许怎么苦练都无法创造出流芳百世的艺术作品。然而,如果他们把梦想寄托在下一代,透过自己的热诚来启发对艺术有兴趣的学生们,你敢说这也不是一种间接实现梦想的方法吗?就如同麦克乔丹在自传里所阐述,如果没有他的父亲,就没有篮球巨星麦克乔丹。尽管乔丹的父亲的篮球技巧并不了得,不过他对篮球的热诚却感染到了儿童时期的乔丹,最终造就了大家所熟悉的超级篮球巨星。

各位,或许我们许多人会因为现实生活的压力,或者是自己本身的局限,甚至是运气差而无法追求伟大和壮观的梦想,无法成就一番辉煌的事业。然而,这并不代表我们无法在平凡中追求着平凡却又崇高的梦想。不需要顾虑到现实生活的人所谈论的伟大梦想固然闪烁耀眼,不过普通人在平凡生活里追求着的平凡梦想和把梦想的意志传承到下一代时所散发出的微光更为可贵。

各位,或许我们这里许多人终究只能过着平凡无奇的生活,平凡地工作,平凡地努力,平凡地老去。然而,你们是否做好准备,在平凡的生活里继续追求着平凡的梦想,让这些平凡中的崇高所散发出的微光照耀出超凡的人生吗?

Monday, October 09, 2006

Hip Hop??? You fucking kidding me???

Five reasons why I do not want to see PAP MPs dancing Hip-Hop


(5) Taiwanese politicians, especially Chen Shui Bian, also tried stunts like these in the past to connect to the Taiwanese youths. Look at the state of that country under Chun Shui Bian's Rule.

(4) You probably can't dance well. If I want to enjoy a good hip-hop performance, I will tune into MTV, thank you very much.

(3) The people didn't fucking vote you into parliament because they think you can be like them. We voted you guys into parliament because we thought you were better than us, and that you would lead us well. If I don't think you were better than me, I would have run for elections myself. So fucking quit trying to be more like us.

(2) Seriously, for the wages you guys are getting, you should be doing something else rather than hip-hop. The go-to analogy would be paying someone a million dollars per day to work as a crew hand at Macdonalds. Leave the job of entertaining the public for clowns such as aspiring stars-wannabe for Singapore Idol. Seriously, go and do the jobs you were paid for.

(1) You want to connect to the people? How about this for an idea? Instead of learning to do hip-hop which obviously is quite difficult for you guys, why not just dine at the coffeeshops or hawker centres or fast-food resturants that most ordinary Singaporeans, teens or adults, have their meals? Or take public transport at least once a week? Or even stay over at a HDB flat unit in one of your constituency for a night per month? Trust me, you will be able to connect more with the people, understand our problems and increase your popularity stakes than performing some perfunctory and vacuous activity such as dancing hip-hop and probably looking like handicaps in the process.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006


Fluffy Clouds Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Sunday, October 01, 2006

科学和宗教

(刊登于联合早报2006年10月1日)

自从丹麦卡通事件发生后,许多进行公共谈话的人物和机构对于讨论宗教的言论特别注意和敏感。因此,当教宗在最近的演讲引述批评回教的言论而引发回教世界激烈的反应时,许多人都对教宗的话都感到意外,甚至震惊。

由于回教世界的激烈反应受到世人瞩目,因此各界媒体都把重点放在这句煽动意味浓厚的话,尽管就凭教宗的这句话判断他在攻击回教显得有些断章取义。然而,教宗此演讲真正的重点是现代社会因为过于仰赖由逻辑推理和实证主义主导的科学把对于上苍的信仰排除在外。教宗声称科学无法回答许多关于人类存在意义的问题,因此必须在某种程度上归还于着重于信仰的哲学和神学。

尽管这个话题没有引起激烈的反应,不过对许多人而言却同样具有煽动性。美国提倡无神论主义的作家山姆·哈里斯在网站上发表了对于教宗演讲的驳斥。他声称在许多国家被不同的宗教理念分裂的情况下,放弃着重于逻辑思考的科学而把此资产归还于神学等同自掘坟墓的做法。哈里斯认为人类必须放弃对于信仰的依赖才能够达到另一个人文的高峰。

虽然身为不可知论者的我不完全赞同哈里斯提倡的放弃信仰看法,不过却也无法苟同教宗的归还论。我认为科学所提倡的实证主义和所谓对于上苍的信仰是两个不同的领域。任何秉持实证主义的人都不会否定上苍的存在,因为他们会意识此话题并不属于实证主义的领域。对于上苍的信仰和强调实证主义的科学可以拥有并存的空间。

然而,对于必须把科学 归还于信仰的言论,本人也不赞同。更正确地说,在我们所生活的世界里,有些问题是可以而也必须用依靠实证主义和逻辑推理的科学来回答,有些问题却必须仰赖个人对于上苍或者其他科学无法实证的形而上学概念的信仰才能够得到圆满。

当然,教宗把科学归还于神学的言论并非等同摒弃所有科学的成就或者理性的思考。本人也并非想在此把教宗的话塑造成稻草人谬误。然而,我觉得教宗在某种程度上误解了科学的定义。所谓把科学 归还于信仰,其主要用意是希望科学可以包容在实证主义之外的知识。然而,科学从来就不排斥或者接受这些知识,因为科学只对于实证主义之内的知识感兴趣。

反观,我倒是希望所谓的信仰可以包容科学和实证主义内的知识。本人在美国和本地有过多次个人经验,许多信徒可以假借信仰的名义否定许多通过实证主义所获得的知识。例如,美国许多右翼的教徒都强烈否认进化论、板块构造论、遗传学等理论,尽管支持这些理论的证据堆积如山。

教宗在他的言论里提到信仰和科学之间必须互相尊重。由于本人先前提出两者所处理的问题属于不同的领域,因此对于教宗的这个提议,本人并不反对。然而,此提议的重点是互相。就如同科学家不应该因为某些古老教义抵触了某些科学理论而完全否认信仰,信徒也不应该在拿着信仰的挡箭牌而拒绝接受这些透过科学方式所取得的知识。

如果人类和社会都会随着时间进步,那么在许多社会扮演中心角色的宗教信仰是否也应该做出同样的调整呢?