What's the purpose of gaining knowledge? ITLES 12
A
‘I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any subject.’ That was the founder’s motto for Cornell University, and it seems an apt characterization of the different university, also in the USA, where I currently teach philosophy.
“我想要找到一个机构可以让每个人找到关于每个学科的介绍。” 这是一个Cornell University创始人的座右铭，这是似乎是对的不同的大学的恰当的描述，当前我在那里教哲学。
A student can prepare for a career in resort management, engineering, interior design, accounting, music, law enforcement, you name it.
一个学生可以准备从业度假村管理，工程，内部设计， 会计，音乐，律师，你取决于他。
But what would the founders of these two institutions have thought of a course called ‘Arson for Profit? I kid you not: we have it on the books.
但是什么这两个机构会对‘Arson for Profit’课程怎么想？我没有骗你：书上有这个东西。
Any undergraduates who have met the academic requirements can sign up for the course in our program in ‘fire science’.
任何有学术需求的本科生都会在我们“火灾科学”程序中注册这个课程。
| 单词 | 音标 | 翻译 |
|---|---|---|
| founder | ˈfaʊndə(r) | n. 创始人 |
| institution | ˌɪnstɪˈtjuːʃn | n. 机构 |
| motto | ˈmɒtəʊ | n. 座右铭 |
| apt | æpt | adj. 恰当的 |
| arson | ˈɑːsn | n. 纵火罪 |
B
Naturally, the course is intended for prospective arson investigators, who can learn all the tricks of the trade for detecting whether a fire was deliberately set, discovering who did it, and establishing a chain of evidence for effective prosecution in a court of law.
很合理的，这个课程是针对那些纵火罪的潜在调查者的，他们可以学习所有这个行业的技巧，以检测火灾是否是故意放的，以调查是谁做的，然后在法庭中为有效的诉讼创建一个证据链条。
But wouldn’t this also be the perfect course for prospective arsonists to sign up for?
但是这个会不会也是为潜在的纵火犯准备的完美课程？
My point is not to criticize academic programs in fire science: they are highly welcome as part of the increasing professionalization of this and many other occupations.
我的观点不是为了批判火灾里的学术程序：他们非常欢迎成为增加这个职业的和其他职业专业程度的一部分。
However, it’s not unknown for a firefighter to torch a building.
无论如何，一个消防员烧楼的案例并不是从未发生过。
This example suggests how dishonest and illegal behavior, with the help of higher education, can creep into every aspect of public and business life.
这个例子说明了一个不诚实和非法的行为如何在高等教育的帮助下蔓延到每一个公共和商业生活中的。
| 单词 | 音标 | 翻译 |
|---|---|---|
| intend | ɪnˈtend | v. 意指 |
| prosective | prəˈspektɪv | adj. 潜在的 |
| deliberately | dɪˈlɪbərɪtlɪ | adv. 故意 |
| prosecution | ˌprɒsɪˈkjuːʃn | n. 起诉 |
| occupations | ˌɒkjuˈpeɪʃn | n. 工作 |
| torch | tɔːtʃ | v. 放火烧 |
| unknown | ʌn’nəʊn | adj. 从未发生的；未知的 |
| creep | kriːp | v. 蔓延 |
C
I realized this anew when I was invited to speak before a class in marketing, which is another of our degree programs.
在我被邀请去一个市场营销的班级前发言时我重新意识到了这一点，这是我们的另一个学位课程。
The regular instructor is a colleague who appreciates the kind of ethical perspective I can bring as a philosopher.
这个普通的导师是一个我的一个同事，很欣赏我作为一个哲学家所带来的道德观点。
There are endless ways I could have approached this assignment, but I took my cue from the title of the course: ‘Principles of Marketing’.
我有无数种方法可以完成这个任务，但是我从这个课程的标题得到了暗示：“市场原则”
It made me think to ask the students, ‘Is marketing principled?’
这让我想要去问学生：“市场是有原则吗？”
After all, a subject matter can have principles in the sense of being codified, having rules, as with football or chess, without being principled in the sense of being ethical.
毕竟，一个课程事情在被编纂的意义上可以有原则, 有规则，就像足球或者国际象棋，在道德的意义上没有原则。
Many of the students immediately assumed that the answer to my question about marketing principles was obvious: no.
很多学生立刻假设我的关于市场原则的问题的答案很明显：没有。
Just look at the ways in which everything under the sun has been marketed;
只要看看太阳底下被市场营销的方式就知道了。
obviously it need not be done in a principled (=ethical) fashion.
很显然他不需要以原则（=道德）的方式进行。
| 单词 | 音标 | 翻译 |
|---|---|---|
| anew | əˈnjuː | adv. 重新 |
| ethical | ‘eθɪk(ə)l | adj. 道德的 |
| perspective | pəˈspektɪv | n. 观点 |
| principle | ˈprɪnsəpl | n. 法则；原则；原理: |
| chess | tʃes | n. 国际象棋 |
D
Is that obvious? I made the suggestion, which may sound downright crazy in light of the evidence, that perhaps marketing is by definition principled.
这个很明显嘛？我做了一个假设，考虑到证据方面听起来完全是扯淡的，那可能是市场影响是被定义有原则的。
My inspiration for this judgement is the philosopher Immanuel Kant, who argued that any body of knowledge consists of an end( or purpose ) and a means.
我对于这个判断的灵感是一个哲学家Immanuel Kant，他证明只是的任何方面都包含一个结尾（或者目标）和一个途径。
| 单词 | 音标 | 翻译 |
|---|---|---|
| in the light of | 考虑到；鉴于 | |
| downright | ‘daʊnraɪt | adj. 彻头彻尾的；十足的 |
| inspiration | ˌɪnspəˈreɪʃn | n. 灵感 |
E
Let us apply both the terms ‘means’ and ‘end’ to marketing.
让我们把两个词“途径”和“结尾”应用到市场营销上。
The students have signed up for a course in order to learn how to market effectively. But to what end?
两个学生来学这个课程为了学习如何让市场更加有效率。但是哪里是结尾呢？
There seem to be two main attitudes toward that question.
关于这个问题呢看起来有两个主要的看法。
One is that the answer is obvious: the purpose of marketing is to sell things and to make money.
其中有一个答案是很明显的：市场营销的目标是卖东西赚钱。
The other attitude is that the purpose of marketing is irrelevant: Each person comes to the program and course with his or her own plans, and these need not even concern the acquisition of marketing expertise as such.
另一个看法是市场营销的e目标是无关紧要的：每一个人来到这个项目和课程都有他们自己的计划，并且这些甚至都不需要获得市场营销的专业技能。
My proposal, which I believe would also be Kant’s, is that neither of these attitudes captures the significance of the end to the means for marketing.
我的建议，我相信的也会是K‘s相信的，就是不管哪种看法都没有抓住市场方式结尾的意义。
A field of knowledge or a professional endeavor is defined by both the means and the end: hence both deserve scrutiny.
一个范围的知识或者专业的的努力是被方法和结尾定义的：因此两个都需要仔细检查
Students need to study both how to achieve X, and also what X is.
学生需要研究如何完成X以及X是什么。
| 单词 | 音标 | 翻译 |
|---|---|---|
| irrelevant | ɪˈreləvənt | adj. 无关紧要的 |
| acquisition | ˌækwɪˈzɪʃn | n. 获得 |
| expertise | ˌekspɜːˈtiːz | n. 专门技能 |
| proposal | prəˈpəʊzl | n. 建议 |
| endeavor | ɪnˈdevə(r) | n. 努力 |
| deserve | dɪˈzɜːv | v. 值得 |
| scrutiny | ˈskruːtəni | n. 仔细检查 |
F
It is at this point that ‘Arson for Profit’ becomes supremely relevant.
这就是’Arson for Profit’成为极其有价值的关键点。
That course is presumably all about means: how to detect and prosecute criminal activity.
这个课程是很可能全部关于方法的：如何检测和起诉犯罪活动。
It is therefore assumed that the end is good in an ethical sense.
因此假设结尾是好的在道德的情况下。
When I ask fire science students to articulate the end, or purpose, of their field, they eventually generalize to something like, “The safety and welfare of society‘, which seems right.
当我问到火灾科学的学生清晰说明结尾或目的，在他们的学科范围中，他们甚至概括成：“社会的安全和幸福”，这看起来是对的
As we have seen, someone could use the very same knowledge of means to achieve a much less noble end, such as personal profit via destructive, dangerous, reckless activity.
就像我们所看到的，一些人可以使用非常一样的途径的知识去达到非常不鸿丽的结尾，就像通过毁灭性的，危险的，鲁莽的活动获取个人利益。
But we would not call that firefighting.
但是我们不能叫他消防员。
We have a separate word for it: arson.
我们把这个词分开：纵火罪。
Similarly, if you employed the ‘principles of marketing’ in an unprincipled way, you would not be doing marketing.
相似的，如果你用一个非常没有原理的方式运用了 “市场营销的原理”，你将不会去做市场营销。
We have another term for it: fraud. Kant gives the example of a doctor and a poisoner, who use the identical knowledge to achieve their divergent ends. We would say that one is practicing medicine, the other, murder.
我们有另一个词说他：欺诈。Kant给出了关于医生和毒杀别人的人的例子，都可以用相同的知识点取得他们的不同的结局。我们会说这个是积极的医学者，另一个，凶手
| 单词 | 音标 | 翻译 |
|---|---|---|
| supremely | su:’pri:mli | adv. 极其 |
| relevant | ˈreləvənt | adj. 有价值的 |
| presumably | prɪˈzjuːməbli | adv. 很可能 |
| prosecute | ˈprɒsɪkjuːt | v. 起诉 |
| articulate | ɑːˈtɪkjuleɪt | v. 明确表达 |
| welfare | ˈwelfeə(r) | n. 幸福 |
| noble | ˈnəʊbl | adj. 崇高的 |
| destructive | dɪˈstrʌktɪv | adj. 破坏(或毁灭)性的 |
| reckless | ˈrekləs | adj. 鲁莽的 |
| divergent | daɪˈvɜːdʒənt | adj. 不同的 |