作者：R.笛卡尔
出版社：辽宁人民出版社
格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT
方法论试读：
More classics to be soon published are:
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Dubliners by James Joyce
Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World by Jonathan Swift
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
The Vision of Hell by Dante Alighieri
The King James Version of the Bible
Essays of Michel de Montaigne Complete by Michel de Montaigne
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Democracy and Education:An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education by Dewey
The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
Paradise Lost by John Milton
The Bedside Classics of World Literature,Philosophy and Psychology
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The Essays on the Wisdom of Life
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Pascal’s Pensées by Blaise Pascal ￥23.00
The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan ￥14.00
Totem and Taboo by Sigmund Freud ￥11.00
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Is This Book for You?理性时代的“游戏规则”——“最经典英语文库”第四辑之《方法论》导读
马玉凤笛卡尔（1596-1650）生于一个法国贵族家庭，信奉天主教，自幼就读于耶稣会创办的学校，后在大学学习医学和法学，并始终对数学和科学保持兴趣。《指导心智的规则》、《第一哲学沉思集》、《哲学原理》及《方法论》是他的主要哲学著作。《方法论》（又译《谈谈方法》）是笛卡尔在拉丁文仍然是学术语言的背景下，用浅显易懂的法文撰写的哲学著作。1604年至1616年，笛卡尔在当时欧洲最著名的亨利四世公学学习，接受了经院哲学的严格训练。然而，他毕业之后，却发现自己陷入了疑惑和谬误的包围之中。在《方法论》的开篇，笛卡尔就对自己早年所学的各种知识，如神学、哲学、逻辑学等表示了怀疑。必须指出的是，笛卡尔的怀疑不同于古代的怀疑主义。怀疑本身不是目的，而是手段，是要通过怀疑去寻找那些不可怀疑的东西，把清晰分明的理性确立为判定真理的唯一标准。
面对充满谬误的陈旧知识，笛卡尔感到有必要重审哲学，并为新哲学奠基。他要把以往知识作为重构普遍知识的素材，为松散零乱的知识确立条理与秩序，并赋予它们以内在的灵魂和逻辑必然性。笛卡尔坚持统一的科学观，认为所有科学门类都统一于哲学。他把哲学比喻成一棵大树，树根是形而上学，树干是物理学（自然哲学），树枝是医学、力学、伦理学等应用学科。知识的统一性，科学的统一性，在很大程度上表现为方法的统一性，因此，笛卡尔强调可靠的方法对研究工作的重要性。他认为，数学方法是普遍适用的一般方法，并称科学的方法为“普遍数学”，普遍数学把数学最一般的特征（“度量”和“顺序”）运用到其他学科。数学的“度量”是量与量之间的比较，在数学以外的领域，我们可以把度量转化为不可量化的对象之间的同与异比较。科学研究的顺序有两种：一是从简单到复杂的综合；一是从复杂到简单的分析。形而上学的方法首先是分析，先寻找确定的第一原则，再运用综合，从第一原则推导出确定的结论。
按照先分析后综合的顺序，笛卡尔在《方法论》中确立了四条方法论原则。第一，凡是没有明确地认识到的东西，决不把它作为真的加以接受。这一条关涉知识的确实性及真理的判别标准。第二，把审查的每一难题按可能和必要的程度分为一个个的小问题，逐一加以解决。这涉及现代意义上的分析方法。第三，按秩序进行思考，遵循由简单到复杂，由易到难的顺序逐步认识对象，即便对象没有秩序，也要设定一个秩序。这一条关乎认识的程序。第四，在任何情况下，尽可能普遍地进行复查，确信毫无遗漏。这一条强调认识要全面，不能以偏概全。笛卡尔认为，他在研究几何学和代数学时就遵循了这四条规则，并从中获得两大益处：一是陶冶了心灵，使心灵养成了热爱真理、厌恶虚妄的习惯；二是确立了形成普遍有效的知识的基本模式。
作为17世纪法国著名科学家和哲学家，17世纪形而上学的奠基人，笛卡尔首先从方法论的角度，摧毁经院哲学体系的基础，同时又证明了新兴的自然科学的合法合理性。他不仅提出了普遍科学的基本设想，试图把所有知识组成一个演绎推理的体系，而且将直观与演绎方法作为一切科学的基本方法，从而建立了一种系统的科学方法论，开启了近代哲学的认识论转向。笛卡尔用“形而上学”一词来描述自己的哲学系统，提出了知识的起源、结构真理性、确实性和普遍有效性问题。为寻找确实性的根据，他从普遍怀疑开始，把目光从外部世界转向人的心灵，既给欧洲思想界树立了不盲从权威、不囿于成见的学术风尚，又使哲学从注重对自然的外在探讨转向注重心灵的自我反思。笛卡尔对哲学的贡献是多方面的。首先，他提出的心物二元论和天赋观念论引起近代哲学最持久、最热烈的争论；其次，他提出的“知识之树”的观念确立了形而上学的优先地位；再次，他对理性主义的推崇和张扬开辟了近代启蒙运动的先河；最后，他对“我思”及其意向性的阐释对现象学有过直接的启迪。
René Descartes
René Descartes (31 March 1596-11 February 1650) was a French philosopher,mathematician and scientist who spent most of his life in the Dutch Republic.
He has been dubbed the father of modern philosophy,and much subsequent Western philosophy is a response to his writing,which are studied closely to this day.In particular,his Meditations on First Philosophy continues to be a standard text at most university philosophy departments.
Descartes was also one of the key figures in the scientific revolution and has been described as an example of genius.
General Preface
Millions of Chinese are learning English to acquire knowledge and skills for communication in a world where English has become the primary language for international discourse.Yet not many learners have come to realize that the command of the English language also enables them to have an easy access to the world literary classics such as Shakespeare’s plays,Shelley’s poems,mark Twain’s novels and Nietzsche’s works which are an important part of liberal-arts education.The most important goals of universities are not vocational,that is,not merely the giving of knowledge and the training of skills.
In a broad sense,education aims at broadening young people’s mental horizon,cultivating virtues and shaping their character.Lincoln,Mao Zedong and many other great leaders and personages of distinction declared how they drew immense inspiration and strength from literary works.As a matter of fact,many of them had aspired to become writers in their young age.Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) is said to take along with him two things,waking or sleeping:a book and a dagger,and the book is Iliad,a literary classic,by Homer.He would put these two much treasured things under his pillow when he went to bed.
Today,we face an unprecedented complex and changing world.To cope with this rapid changing world requires not only communication skills,but also adequate knowledge of cultures other than our own home culture.Among the most important developments in present-day global culture is the ever increasing cultural exchanges and understanding between different nations and peoples.And one of the best ways to know foreign cultures is to read their literary works,particularly their literary classics,the soul of a country’s culture.They also give you the best language and the feeling of sublimity.
Liaoning People’s Publishing House is to be congratulated for its foresight and courage in making a new series of world literary classics available to the reading public.It is hoped that people with an adequate command of the English language will read them,like them and keep them as their lifetime companions.
I am convinced that the series will make an important contribution to the literary education of the young people in china.At a time when the whole country is emphasizing “spiritual civilization”,it is certainly a very timely venture to put out the series of literary classics for literary and cultural education.Zhang ZhongzaiProfessorBeijing Foreign Studies UniversityJuly,2013 Beijing
总序
经典名著的语言无疑是最凝练、最优美、最有审美价值的。雪莱的那句“如冬已来临，春天还会远吗？”让多少陷于绝望的人重新燃起希望之火，鼓起勇气，迎接严冬过后的春天。徐志摩一句“悄悄的我走了，正如我悄悄的来；我挥一挥衣袖，不带走一片云彩”又让多少人陶醉。尼采的那句“上帝死了”，又给多少人以振聋发聩的启迪作用。
读经典名著，尤其阅读原汁原味作品，可以怡情养性，增长知识，加添才干，丰富情感，开阔视野。所谓“经典”，其实就是作者所属的那个民族的文化积淀，是那个民族的灵魂缩影。英国戏剧泰斗莎士比亚的《哈姆雷特》和《麦克白》等、“意大利语言之父”的但丁的《神曲》之《地狱篇》《炼狱篇》及《天堂篇》、爱尔兰世界一流作家詹姆斯·乔伊斯的《尤利西斯》及《一个艺术家的肖像》等、美国风趣而笔法超一流的著名小说家马克·吐温的《哈克历险记》以及《汤姆索亚历险记》等，德国著名哲学家尼采的《查拉图斯特拉如是说》及《快乐的科学》等等，都为塑造自己民族的文化积淀，做出了永恒的贡献，也同时向世界展示了他们所属的民族的优美剪影。
很多著名领袖如林肯、毛泽东等伟大人物，也都曾从经典名著中汲取力量，甚至获得治国理念。耶鲁大学教授查尔斯·希尔曾在题为《经典与治国理念》的文章，阐述了读书与治国之间的绝妙关系。他这样写道：“在几乎所有经典名著中，都可以找到让人叹为观止、深藏其中的治国艺术原则。”
经典名著，不仅仅有治国理念，更具提升读者审美情趣的功能。世界上不同时代、不同地域的优秀经典作品，都存在一个共同属性：歌颂赞美人间的真善美，揭露抨击世间的假恶丑。
读欧美自但丁以来的经典名著，你会看到，西方无论是在漫长的黑暗时期，抑或进入现代进程时期，总有经典作品问世，对世间的负面，进行冷峻的批判。与此同时，也有更多的大家作品问世，热情讴歌人间的真诚与善良，使读者不由自主地沉浸于经典作品的审美情感之中。
英语经典名著，显然是除了汉语经典名著以外，人类整个进程中至关重要的文化遗产的一部分。从历史上看，英语是全世界经典阅读作品中，使用得最广泛的国际性语言。这一事实，没有产生根本性变化。本世纪相当长一段时间，这一事实也似乎不会发生任何变化。而要更深入地了解并切身感受英语经典名著的风采，阅读原汁原味的英语经典作品的过程，显然是必不可少的。
辽宁人民出版社及时并隆重推出“最经典英语文库”系列丛书，是具有远见与卓识的出版行为。我相信，这套既可供阅读，同时也具收藏价值的英语原版经典作品系列丛书，在帮助人们了解什么才是经典作品的同时，也一定会成为广大英语爱好者、大中学生以及学生家长们挚爱的“最经典英语文库”。北京外国语大学英语学院北外公共外交研究中心欧美文学研究中心主任全国英国文学学会名誉会长张中载 教授2013年7月于北京
PREFATORY NOTE BY THE AUTHOR
I f this Discourse appear too long to be read at once,it may be divided into six Parts:and,in the first,will be found various considerations touching the Sciences;in the second,the principal rules of the Method which the Author has discovered,in the third,certain of the rules of Morals which he has deduced from this Method;in the fourth,the reasonings by which he establishes the existence of God and of the Human Soul,which are the foundations of his Metaphysic;in the fifth,the order of the Physical questions which he has investigated,and,in particular,the explication of the motion of the heart and of some other difficulties pertaining to Medicine,as also the difference between the soul of man and that of the brutes;and,in the last,what the Author believes to be required in order to greater advancement in the investigation of Nature than has yet been made,with the reasons that have induced him to write.
A DISCOURSE ON THE METHOD OF RIGHTLY CONDUCTING THE REASON AND SEEKING TRUTH IN THE SCIENCES
PART I
Good sense is,of all things among men,the most equally distributed;for every one thinks himself so abundantly provided with it,that those even who are the most difficult to satisfy in everything else,do not usually desire a larger measure of this quality than they already possess.And in this it is not likely that all are mistaken the conviction is rather to be held as testifying that the power of judging aright and of distinguishing truth from error,which is properly what is called good sense or reason,is by nature equal in all men;and that the diversity of our opinions,consequently,does not arise from some being endowed with a larger share of reason than others,but solely from this,that we conduct our thoughts along different ways,and do not fix our attention on the same objects.For to be possessed of a vigorous mind is not enough;the prime requisite is rightly to apply it.The greatest minds,as they are capable of the highest excellences,are open likewise to the greatest aberrations;and those who travel very slowly may yet make far greater progress,provided they keep always to the straight road,than those who,while they run,forsake it.
For myself,I have never fancied my mind to be in any respect more perfect than those of the generality;on the contrary,I have often wished that I were equal to some others in promptitude of thought,or in clearness and distinctness of imagination,or in fullness and readiness of memory.And besides these,I know of no other qualities that contribute to the perfection of the mind;for as to the reason or sense,inasmuch as it is that alone which constitutes us men,and distinguishes us from the brutes,I am disposed to believe that it is to be found complete in each individual;and on this point to adopt the common opinion of philosophers,who say that the difference of greater and less holds only among the accidents,and not among the forms or natures of individuals of the same species.
I will not hesitate,however,to avow my belief that it has been my singular good fortune to have very early in life fallen in with certain tracks which have conducted me to considerations and maxims,of which I have formed a method that gives me the means,as I think,of gradually augmenting my knowledge,and of raising it by little and little to the highest point which the mediocrity of my talents and the brief duration of my life will permit me to reach.For I have already reaped from it such fruits that,although I have been accustomed to think lowly enough of myself,and although when I look with the eye of a philosopher at the varied courses and pursuits of mankind at large,I find scarcely one which does not appear in vain and useless,I nevertheless derive the highest satisfaction from the progress I conceive myself to have already made in the search after truth,and cannot help entertaining such expectations of the future as to believe that if,among the occupations of men as men,there is any one really excellent and important,it is that which I have chosen.
After all,it is possible I may be mistaken;and it is but a little copper and glass,perhaps,that I take for gold and diamonds.I know how very liable we are to delusion in what relates to ourselves,and also how much the judgments of our friends are to be suspected when given in our favor.But I shall endeavor in this discourse to describe the paths I have followed,and to delineate my life as in a picture,in order that each one may also be able to judge of them for himself,and that in the general opinion entertained of them,as gathered from current report,I myself may have a new help towards instruction to be added to those I have been in the habit of employing.
My present design,then,is not to teach the method which each ought to follow for the right conduct of his reason,but solely to describe the way in which I have endeavored to conduct my own.They who set themselves to give precepts must of course regard themselves as possessed of greater skill than those to whom they prescribe;and if they err in the slightest particular,they subject themselves to censure.But as this tract is put forth merely as a history,or,if you will,as a tale,in which,amid some examples worthy of imitation,there will be found,perhaps,as many more which it were advisable not to follow,I hope it will prove useful to some without being hurtful to any,and that my openness will find some favor with all.
From my childhood,I have been familiar with letters;and as I was given to believe that by their help a clear and certain knowledge of all that is useful in life might be acquired,I was ardently desirous of instruction.But as soon as I had finished the entire course of study,at the close of which it is customary to be admitted into the order of the learned,I completely changed my opinion.For I found myself involved in so many doubts and errors,that I was convinced I had advanced no farther in all my attempts at learning,than the discovery at every turn of my own ignorance.And yet I was studying in one of the most celebrated schools in Europe,in which I thought there must be learned men,if such were anywhere to be found.I had been taught all that others learned there;and not contented with the sciences actually taught us,I had,in addition,read all the books that had fallen into my hands,treating of such branches as are esteemed the most curious and rare.I knew the judgment which others had formed of me;and I did not find that I was considered inferior to my fellows,although there were among them some who were already marked out to fill the places of our instructors.And,in fine,our age appeared to me as flourishing,and as fertile in powerful minds as any preceding one.I was thus led to take the liberty of judging of all other men by myself,and of concluding that there was no science in existence that was of such a nature as I had previously been given to believe.
I still continued,however,to hold in esteem the studies of the schools.I was aware that the languages taught in them are necessary to the understanding of the writings of the ancients;that the grace of fable stirs the mind;that the memorable deeds of history elevate it;and,if read with discretion,aid in forming the judgment;that the perusal of all excellent books is,as it were,to interview with the noblest men of past ages,who have written them,and even a studied interview,in which are discovered to us only their choicest thoughts;that eloquence has incomparable force and beauty;that poesy has its ravishing graces and delights;that in the mathematics there are many refined discoveries eminently suited to gratify the inquisitive,as well as further all the arts an lessen the labour of man;that numerous highly useful precepts and exhortations to virtue are contained in treatises on morals;that theology points out the path to heaven;that philosophy affords the means of discoursing with an appearance of truth on all matters,and commands the admiration of the more simple;that jurisprudence,medicine,and the other sciences,secure for their cultivators honors and riches;and,in fine,that it is useful to bestow some attention upon all,even upon those abounding the most insuperstition and error,that we may be in a position to determine their real value,and guard against being deceived.
But I believed that I had already given sufficient time to languages,and likewise to the reading of the writings of the ancients,to their histories and fables.For to hold converse with those of other ages and to travel,are almost the same thing.It is useful to know something of the manners of different nations,that we may be enabled to form a more correct judgment regarding our own,and be prevented from thinking that everything contrary to our customs is ridiculous and irrational,a conclusion usually come to by those whose experience has been limited to their own country.On the other hand,when too much time is occupied in traveling,we become strangers to our native country;and the over curious in the customs of the past are generally ignorant of those of the present.Besides,fictitious narratives lead us to imagine the possibility of many events that are impossible;and even the most faithful histories,if they do not wholly misrepresent matters,or exaggerate their importance to render the account of them more worthy of perusal,omit,at least,almost always the meanest and least striking of the attendant circumstances;hence it happens that the remainder does not represent the truth,and that such as regulate their conduct by examples drawn from this source,are apt to fall into the extravagances of the knight-errants of romance,and to entertain projects that exceed their powers.
I esteemed eloquence highly,and was in raptures with poesy;but I thought that both were gifts of nature rather than fruits of study.Those in whom the faculty of reason is predominant,and who most skillfully dispose their thoughts with a view to render them clear and intelligible,are always the best able to persuade others of the truth of what they lay down,though they should speak only in the language of Lower Brittany,and be wholly ignorant of the rules of rhetoric;and those whose minds are stored with the most agreeable fancies,and who can give expression to them with the greatest embellishment and harmony,are still the best poets,though unacquainted with the art of poetry.
I was especially delighted with the mathematics,on account of the certitude and evidence of their reasonings;but I had not as yet a precise knowledge of their true use;and thinking that they but contributed to the advancement of the mechanical arts,I was astonished that foundations,so strong and solid,should have had no loftiersuperstructure reared on them.On the other hand,I compared the disquisitions of the ancient moralists to very towering and magnificent palaces with no better foundation than sand and mud:they laud the virtues very highly,and exhibit them as estimable far above anything on earth;but they give us no adequate criterion of virtue,and frequently that which they designate with so fine a name is but apathy,or pride,or despair,or parricide.
I revered our theology,and aspired as much as any one to reach heaven:but being given assuredly to understand that the way is not less open to the most ignorant than to the most learned,and that the revealed truths which lead to heaven are above our comprehension,I did not presume to subject them to the impotency of my reason;and I thought that in order competently to undertake their examination,there was need of some special help from heaven,and of being more than man.
Of philosophy I will say nothing,except that when I saw that it had been cultivated for many ages by the most distinguished men,and that yet there is not a single matter within its sphere which is not still in dispute,and nothing,therefore,which is above doubt,I did not presume to anticipate that my success would be greater in it than that of others;and further,when I considered the number of conflicting opinions touching a single matter that may be upheld by learned men,while there can be but one true,I reckoned as well-nigh false all that was only probable.
As to the other sciences,inasmuch as these borrow their principles from philosophy,I judged that no solidsuperstructures could be reared on foundations so infirm;and neither the honor nor the gain held out by them was sufficient to determine me to their cultivation:for I was not,thank Heaven,in a condition which compelled me to make merchandise of science for the bettering of my fortune;and though I might not profess to scorn glory as a cynic,I yet made very slight account of that honor which I hoped to acquire only through fictitious titles.And,in fine,of false sciences I thought I knew the worth sufficiently
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